A few days back, I shared a few thoughts and references on the subject of “Core Logistics Capabilities.” Included were references to 10 USC §2366. There are, however a range of other requirements identified in that statutory requirement that defense acquisition professionals should be aware of, including one in particular that every DoD life cycle logistician and product support manager (PSM) should be intimately familiar with. I refer specifically of 10 USC §2366b. “Major defense acquisition programs: certification required before Milestone B approval”, which reads in part “…A major defense acquisition program may not receive Milestone B approval until the milestone decision authority-… (3) certifies that-….(E) life-cycle sustainment planning, including corrosion prevention and mitigation planning, has identified and evaluated relevant sustainment costs throughout development, production, operation, sustainment, and disposal of the program, and any alternatives, and that such costs are reasonable and have been accurately estimated” (emphasis added).

There is much to digest here, but in a nutshell, it emphasizes not only a key” what” and “when” for our community, but the “why” as well. It reiterates what all life cycle logisticians know to be true, namely the importance of early and continued product support strategy development across the system life cycle, the planning, designing, and development of affordable comprehensive product support to affordably support warfighter requirements, and that this is so critical, that the milestone decision authority must certify that it is being done in order for the program to advance past Milestone B. Effective life cycle sustainment planning is by no means a "once-and-done" activity, nor can it be an afterthought. See Enclosure 6 “Life Cycle Sustainment” of the recently-issued January 2015 DoD Instruction 5000.02 for additional details.