By Ann Roosevelt
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.–The Program Executive Office (PEO) Combat Support and Combat Service Support (CS&CSS) finds what keeps him up at night is making the right decisions for the programs for which he is the acquisition decision executive.
“What keeps me up at night is continuously having to keep up and making sure everything is cost, schedule and performance so a lot of it is just paying attention to the fine details,” Kevin Fahey, PEO CS&CSS, told Defense Daily at the Association of the United States Army Winter Symposium here last week.
Fahey’s office conducts life cycle management for the Army’s combat support and combat service support portfolio.
“Depending on the day of the week you count the programs, I have, what I would tell you is somewhere between 300 and 500 programs,” he said. “Some of them are big, like MRAP, but some are like a jackhammer. I’ve got all the Army tactical trucks, I’ve got all the Army watercraft, I get all the force provider stuff, the tents, the kitchens and the food, I’ve got all the bridging all the engineering equipment, all the test and measurement equipment.”
For most of the programs that are considered Acquisition Category (ACAT) 3, he is the milestone decision authority.
“On weekends, I spend a significant amount of time reading the milestone decision documentation to make sure it’s all in line,” Fahey said. “I probably have, on average, 12 milestone decisions a month. Some of them are easy, some of them are on acquisition strategy, but others are on full-rate production decisions.
The office is transforming as it goes along, he said. “I find everything exciting; part of it is I’ve got an unbelievable staff.
For example, he just hired a strategic communicator–Ashley John– because I’m a believer in going out to talk to the press, talk to Congress, talk to everybody. It’s better for you to tell them the truth than for them to try and decide what the truth is.”
His staff supports a focus on lean Six Sigma and facts and data. “Let’s organize things in facts and data and let’s not keep chasing things,” he said.
“I don’t find I have a significant problem with cultural change,” he said. “It seems like everyone’s saying, yeah, we’ve got to change, the budgets are declining, and I’ve really got to focus.”
The office recently had a strategic offsite focused on how to position the office for the future.
“It’s been relatively easy,” Fahey said. “I will tell you, it’s not rocket science; it’s just a lot a lot of work.”