A few years back, a well-known company ran a series of advertisements that included the line “the future will be here in a moment. Don’t let it take you by surprise.” Astute observers and expert practitioners in our business recognize just how true this is. Our world of integrated, outcome-based product support strategies, agile supply chain management, and system sustainment is evolving at lightning speed. In addition to ever-changing the fiscal, operating and threat environments, so are a plethora of new tools, enabling technologies, agile processes, strategic priorities, and transformative capabilities (and enablers) that include:

• Mid-Tier/Agile Acquisition
• Resilient and Agile Supply Chains
• Condition-Based Maintenance
• Prognostics and Advanced Diagnostics
• Total Asset Visibility
• Blockchain Technologies
• “Big Data” Analytics/ Predictive Analtics
• Augmented and Virtual Reality
• Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning
• Supportability Analysis, Product Support Analysis
• Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) Analysis, Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)
• Digital Engineering, Model Based Systems Engineering, Digital Thread/Digital Twin
• Agile Software Life Cycle Management
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
• Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) & Advanced Manufacturing
• Sharing Economy
• The Internet of Things
• Cybersecurity & Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM)
• Autonomous/Self-Driving Vehicles
• Cloud Computing
• Advanced Robotics
• Nanotechnologies
• ….and the list goes on

Some are already an integral part of how we do business, while others are fast becoming a reality. Are we prepared? Are we cognizant? Are we knowledgeable? Have we thought about how they can be (or are) leveraged to directly support the three primary lines of effort outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy:

• Rebuilding military readiness as we build a more lethal Joint Force,
• Strengthening alliances as we attract new partners; and
• Reforming the Department’s business practices for greater performance and affordability

I’d contend that in order to be successful practitioners of our craft, we as DoD life cycle logistics professionals and product support managers must to be cognizant not only of the concepts themselves and how to leverage them, but also of the implications, applications, opportunities and threats resulting from the technological sea change happening around us. We must also be thinking about not only how we can harness them, but also prepare the defense acquisition workforce for the very different future that is unfolding in real-time.

Although possibly somewhat trite as the second decade of the twenty-first century rapidly draws to a close, these commercials mentioned above presciently reminded us, “The future is now”. The question for us is: are we ready for a future that in large measure is already here?