Aviation ground support equipment: the forgotten enabler: since its establishment in December 2003, PM AGSE has taken a number of steps to improve the condition of the Army's aviation ground support equipment

Army Logistician, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Robert H. Lunn, Roderick A. Bellows

Short-Term Actions

To alleviate immediate operational support shortfalls, PM AGSE has--

* Procured, assembled, and shipped battle damage assessment and repair kits directly to deployed units.

* Push-issued unit maintenance aerial recovery kits to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

* Fielded shop equipment contact maintenance platforms to AVIM units.

* Overhauled the current aviation vibration analyzers for direct return to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, with a 24-hour depot turnaround.

* Begun reset of aviation ground power units and established theater repair cycle float for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. [Resetting the power units takes the equipment as it returns from an operation and conducts the maintenance needed to bring it back to a fully operational state. A theater repair cycle float is a pool of equipment that can be loaned to a unit in place of equipment being repaired.]

The path ahead for PM AGSE is changing with Army aviation. PM AGSE has designated several internal focus areas for meeting the challenge of change--

* Finding a maintainer for AGSE.

* Reprioritizing AGSE products to meet soldier and mission needs.

* Developing evolutionary acquisition strategies with a goal to "field a Chevy, not a Cadillac."

* Developing multipurpose systems that are configurable and reconfigurable.

* Pursuing modularization, flexibility, and interoperability in the design, procurement, and support of AGSE.

* Improving diagnostic and prognostic capabilities.

* Reassessing the level of repair analysis.

* Conducting a complete sets, kits, outfits, and tools onsite review for AGSE in the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2005.

* Ensuring that designs of new AGSE systems support a two-level maintenance process.

PM AGSE continues to look at families of systems and systems of systems to fill capability gaps. Its top priority is providing the logistics soldier with the best equipment, reducing his workload, and enhancing readiness in support of a diverse range of missions. Aviation logistics' keystone enabler--AGSE--is no longer forgotten. ALOG

LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT H. (CHIP) LUNN IS THE PRODUCT MANAGER FOR THE UH-60M HELICOPTER IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA. HE WAS THE PRODUCT MANAGER FOR AVIATION GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT WHEN THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN. HE HAS A B.S. DEGREE FROM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY AND AN M.S. DEGREE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT FROM THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL. HE IS A GRADUATE OF THE ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLLEGE.

RODERICK A. BELLOWS, A CONTRACTOR BAE SYSTEMS, ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS, IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, WORKS IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRODUCT MANAGER FOR AVIATION GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. HE 15 A RETIRED ARMY AVIATOR AND HAS A B.S. DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR IN TEXAS AND AN M.S. DEGREE FROM CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY.