Trust within C-E LCMC helps programs like JNN succeed

Army Communicator, Fall, 2006 by Nada Brackmann

The formation of C-E LCMC

Just over two years ago, in August of 2002, a formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the GEN Paul Kern, then commanding general of the Army Materiel Command and Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition Logistics and Technology's Army Acquisition Executive, Honorable Claude M. Bolton, establishing the Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command. The C-E LCMC is headquartered at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

The primary purpose of the formation of the C-E LCMC serves to promote the integration and coordination of priorities across the Communications Electronics Command, Program Executive Office Command Control and Communications Tactical, and Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Sensors and Warfare according to COL Kent Woods, chief of staff of the C-E LCMC.

While CECOM's higher headquarters remains to be AMC and the PEOs still ultimately report to ASAALT, both organizations are lead by MG Michael Mazzucchi serving in a dual-hatted capacity as both the C-E LCMC's commanding general and the Program Executive Officer Command Control and Communications Tactical.

The Communications Electronics Research and Development Center, which reports to the Research Development Electronics Command's, while not officially designated, is a full member of the CE LCMC.

Integration ... changing the way we do business

According to Woods, "In the past, the Project Managers' focus has essentially been on the acquisition and fielding perspective. The Research and Development was out there doing the R&D and things were not necessarily linked to what the PMs were trying to do. The Sustainment community was not really linked in either. At some point when a system was fielded across the Army and was ready to be transitioned between the EE and SS peg, the PM quit worrying about it and it was the sustainment community's job to come up with how to sustain that particular system."

"The goal of LCMC is to integrate those parts of Life Cycle Management back under the PM. The PM is the epicenter of LCM, and by charter they are responsible for full life cycle management," Woods added.

"The biggest way we've changed is that there is one individual [the CG C-E LCMC] who is now in charge of integrating and setting priorities for the Software Engineering Center, the Acquisition Center, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Information Systems Engineering Command, and the two PEOs, as well as [working together with] CERDEC," said Woods.

MG Mazzucchi remains chartered as Program Executive Officer for C3T, and is the only commanding general of an LCMC that has a dual role.

Woods stated that the dual hatted role is an advantage because it assists in that integration aspect. "MG Mazzucchi now has the ability to impact through his presentation, to AMC for instance, in building the POM here are the priorities of SEC for example]. He can better align the priorities with what C3T and IEWS are doing as opposed to the SEC or LRC putting a higher priority somewhere else," Woods said.

Woods went on to say, "Although MG Mazzucchi does not have the ability to impact PEO IEWS Milestone Decision Authority, he does have the ability to affect the priorities of the centers that support PEO IEWS. Mazzucchi certainly has the relationship with Edward Bair,that they have some pretty frank discussions about priorities that need to be changed or the order in which they are executed."

A matter of trust

In a recent interview with Mazzucchi, he stated that the Army not only transforming its combat forces, but also those organizations that build and make the Army better.

The new construct of the C-E Life Cycle Management Command helping to make programs like the Joint Network Node-Network succeed.

"Although we have worked as team across the development, acquisition, sustainment and logistics part of materiel development for the last decade, the C-E LCMC has brought a new understanding of how to build systems and how to sustain them. It really comes down to a five letter word called TRUST." Mazzucchi said. "Because now, any member of the team can pick up the phone, stop by, talk to, and engage any other member of the team knowing that regardless of organizational construct or chain of command, and they will be supported."

"It is that trust relationship that new and different," Mazzucchi said.

"It is almost, some would say, like a religion. If you believe it, you can make it happen. We used that construct, that new way of thinking and operating, to develop the JNN. That system, unlike any of the others, is one that has truly transformed the way we do acquisition. While other systems have been modified or enhanced for our current warfight, JNN has completely replaced an existing system. In order to do it in a short time and as well as we have, has taken the understanding and use of LCMC concepts to a new level," Mazzucchi said.

C-E LCMC team effort helps JNN succeed

Under Project Manager Tactical Radio Communications Systems for Product Manager, James Sintic is the Deputy Chief of the Technical Management Division. Sintic credits JNN's success to a total team effort of each of the organizations within the C-E LCMC.