Q&A: Major General Dennis L. Via
Team C4ISR Leader
Developing and Sustaining Critical Battle Command Capabilities
Major General Dennis L. Via
Commanding General
Army Communications-Electronics
Life Cycle Management Command
Fort Monmouth, N.J.
Major General Dennis L. Via serves as the commanding general, Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CECOM LCMC). Prior to assuming command, he served as commanding general, 5th Signal Command, and U.S. Army, Europe and Seventh Army (USAREUR) chief information officer/assistant chief of staff, G6 (CIO/G6).
A native of Martinsville, Va., Via attended Virginia State University, where he graduated in May 1980 as a Distinguished Military Graduate, and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He holds a master’s degree from Boston University, and is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.
Via began his career with the 35th Signal Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C. Key assignments have included commander, 82nd Signal Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division; commander, 3rd Signal Brigade and III Corps assistant chief of staff, G6; division chief, Joint Requirements Oversight Council Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army G8, Headquarters, Department of the Army; director, global operations, Defense Information Systems Agency; and deputy commander, Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (USSTRATCOM).
Via’s military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and five awards of the Meritorious Service Medal. He is authorized to wear the Army Staff Identification Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge.
Via was interviewed by MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly.
Q: What is your role as commanding general of the Army Communications- Electronics Life Cycle Management Command and Fort Monmouth, N.J.?
A: As commanding general of CECOM LCMC, I lead a global organization comprising more than 10,000 military and civilian personnel located in 43 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting worldwide operations. We have the mission of developing, coordinating, integrating, synchronizing, delivering and sustaining the entire life cycle management of C4ISR systems for all the Army’s battlefield mission areas, which include maneuver control, fire support, air defense, intelligence, combat service support, tactical radios, satellite communications and the Warfighter Information Network.
My primary responsibilities are to provide senior-level leadership, establish command priorities, and set the conditions for successful mission accomplishment across the wide array of enterprise operations within the command in support of our soldiers and warfighting commanders. It’s an exciting challenge, because the systems and technologies we support here at CECOM go across the entire Army and DoD enterprise, from the tactical edge to the sustaining base. Our support teams include the Logistics Readiness Center [LRC], the Acquisition Center, which will do close to $13 billion in goods and services this year in support of the Army and DoD, and the Software Engineering Center [SEC].
We work very closely with the product and project managers in the PEO communities, in particular, PEO Command, Control and Communications-Tactical [PEO C3T], PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors [PEO IEW&S], and PEO Enterprise Information Systems [PEO EIS]. They in turn, work closely with our subordinate commands and organizations, the Information Systems Engineering Command [ISEC] at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, and the Central Technical Support Facility [CTSF] at Fort Hood, Texas, which was recently assigned to Army Material Command [AMC] and placed under CECOM for day-today operations and oversight. The CTSF is responsible for all Army systems-of-systems interoperability testing and certification. Key to accomplishing our mission is enhancing the quality of life and support for our soldiers and their families, and our Department of the Army civilian work force, and creating a positive command and work environment.
Q: What do you see as the key issues facing your command?
A: With our nation at war, there are many challenges facing the command on a daily basis. The most pressing is to sustain support to our soldiers and warfighting formations. When I speak of soldiers, I’m referring to all deployed service men and women, including Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen. We must remain focused on providing the critical battle command capabilities, via the Army Force Generation [ARFORGEN] model and unit set fielding prior to deployment, be responsive to changing operational requirements during deployments, and posture the command to reset the forces when they redeploy.
To ensure coordinated and synchronized efforts across the command, we chair a biweekly Team C4ISR battle update brief, which encompasses all the functional components of CECOM LCMC—the Logistics Support Center, Software Engineering Center, PEO C3T, PEO IEW&S and PEO EIS, along with the respective PMs, Tobyhana Army Depot, Communications Electronics Research and Development Center [CERDEC], and the Acquisition Center. We use a five-phase system-of-systems approach, which includes planning, fielding execution, RSO&I [reception, staging, staging, onward movement and integration], combat operations, and reset. Synchronizing all of those phases enables the command to stay at the forefront of planning and coordinating the activities and efforts that must occur for the units as they are deploying, while they are deployed, and resetting them when they return.
Another major challenge is to execute the aforementioned while planning for the eventual relocation of the CECOM LCMC mission to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure [BRAC]. In that regard, we have to continue executing the critical day-to-day mission in support of the war while setting the successful conditions for the relocation to Aberdeen and take care of our people in the process.
Q: Your predecessor, Major General Michael Mazzucchi, was also PEO C3-T. How was the command changed, and how are you ensuring coordination between these two areas?
A: In general, the organization of CECOM LCMC remains unchanged. As you mentioned, my predecessor, General Mazzucchi, was dual-hatted as both the CECOM commander and the PEO C3T, and if I recall correctly, he was the first and only CECOM commander to be dual-hatted as commander and PEO. When I assumed command, the Army had already made the decision not to retain the dual-hatted PEO responsibilities under the CECOM LCMC commander. So the difference is that, as the commanding general of CECOM, I can focus more broadly on the entire mission of CECOM LCMC, while Brigadier General Nickolas G. Justice, as the PEO, will be able to focus directly on the life cycle aspects of the C3T product line and the milestone decision authority that is part of a PEO’s responsibility. Further, this affords me the opportunity as the CECOM commander to engage all the functional areas and commodities across the command from a global enterprise perspective as we execute our mission.
What has not changed is our vision of implementing the life cycle management command concept. Collectively, we bring together all facets of the materiel life cycle for C4ISR to form an integrated, holistic command supporting the joint warfighter. In that regard, the PEO C3T, PEO IEW&S, PEO-EIS, CECOM LCMC and our partner, CERDEC, coordinate very closely to develop, acquire, field and sustain C4ISR systems for the tactical and strategic battlespace.
Since I assumed command, one of the changes that I requested from General Benjamin S. Griffin, commanding general, AMC, was to retain the name CECOM in our title. The name, CECOM, has a long-valued reputation of supporting the warfighter, and has acquired world-wide brand name status. We were previously known as CELCMC, but now we’re CECOM LCMC, similar to TACOM [Tank and Automotive Command] and AMCOM [Aviation and Missile Command] within the AMC’s major subordinate commands. CECOM is still there, as a brand name, but the concept of the life cycle management command is also there, and it’s working very well from what I’ve seen. So I’m encouraged by where I see we’re headed in supporting the warfighter.
Q: How are you preparing for the relocation of your command under the BRAC process?
A: This is clearly a challenge and a priority for the command. In accordance with the BRAC law, Fort Monmouth will close in September 2011. However, the CECOM LCMC command team and CERDEC mission support for the warfighter will continue up to and through the relocation, as we move to Aberdeen Proving Ground [APG]. Shortly after assuming command, I established a BRAC task force made up of subject matter experts from across the command team—CECOM, the PEO community and CERDEC, with the mission of developing a strategic plan for the entire command’s relocation to APG. This is essential so that we can continue to plan for the implementation of BRAC without interrupting essential combat support to GWOT and the warfighter. A tremendous amount of planning and coordination is underway; however, much work remains.
The most important part of this is the human dimension aspect in terms of what we’re developing in our strategy, which is critical to enabling the command to successfully accomplish our mission while we’re executing the move to APG. This includes those employees who elect not to move by retiring or pursuing other career opportunities, those who elect to move with the command, and those we hire at Aberdeen. So we’re aggressively taking action now to ensure each employee is well informed as they make important, personal and professional career decisions. For example, we’re surveying our work force to understand their issues and quality of life concerns, and embracing our senior leaders to help us plan this move and ensure that we take care of the work force in the process. We’re addressing quality of life in every aspect of construction planning at Aberdeen, and we’re taking direct action to inform the work force by holding town hall meetings and relocation fairs, and placing information in our knowledge center portal. We’re also working with the state of Maryland and local APG county officials to address some of our work force concerns, and the Garrison Command is working with state and local New Jersey officials regarding potential re-use of post facilities following closure.
Q: What is the role of the Tobyhanna Army Depot, and what are some of the most impressive technological programs under way there?
A: I’ve known what a crown jewel Tobyhanna is for the Army ever since I commanded 82nd Signal Battalion and the depot reset and upgraded some of our tactical satellite systems, and designed and built unique single channel communications systems for our airborne mission. Tobyhana has been experiencing rapid growth, with an annual workload that has practically doubled since 2003 because of critical wartime requirements and its support of hundreds of C4ISR systems for all branches of the armed forces. The depot has become a global enterprise, operating now at more than 40 forward repair activities around the world, of which more than a dozen are in-theater in Southwest Asia. The depot’s technicians are delivering direct support on critical communications and computer systems, as well as such force protection systems as the Firefinder weapons-detecting radar. They’ve also had a key role in the manufacturing of Blue Force Tracking, and they are assisting in the fight to defeat IEDs.
To operate as efficiently as possible, Tobyhanna has embraced Lean Six Sigma, utilizing it so well that it has been awarded the Shingle Prize—considered the “Nobel Prize” of manufacturing excellence— in consecutive years. They’ve also had extensive public/private partnership programs with major defense contractors, teaming with the private sector to best support the warfighter. All of these accomplishments define a progressive, forward-looking organization, which has been recognized for its best business practices, hazardous waste minimization, workplace safety standards, employment programs for special needs workers, and many other initiatives. I’ve been extremely impressed every time I visit, and it was the same during my most recent visit. Tobyhana is a magnificent asset and capability that our Army and DoD has within AMC.
Q: Until recently, you were commanding general, 5th Signal Command/ deputy chief of staff, G-6, U.S. Army Europe [USAREUR] and Seventh Army. How has that experience shaped your plans and goals for your current position?
A: In many ways, there are similarities between the commands. 5th Signal Command is USAREUR and 7th Army’s operational arm, and as the commander this afforded me the opportunity to be at the center in support of the warfighter, both USAREUR and 7th Army headquarters, the V Corps, 1st Armored Division, 1st Infantry Division, Southern European Task Force, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and all of the other enabling brigades in theater. Being a commander on the ground, and on the receiving end of many of the C4ISR systems fielded by CECOM, gave me a perspective of the capabilities, systems and processes that were in place as those systems and capabilities were delivered and sustained throughout the theater. 5th Signal Command also had a very diverse work force of soldiers and civilians—both Department of the Army and from host nations—as well as contractors, arrayed across five countries, supporting missions across the entire European theater. This provided me an operational perspective from the tactical to strategic base, of the systems and capabilities that CECOM and the PEO community delivered to the warfighter.
5th Signal Command units were involved in the sustainment and reset of those systems, as well as fielding new operational capabilities, through battalions within the command that were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and understanding what their requirements were and CECOM’s role in supporting them. I also worked closely with our civilian work force as we restructured our command across Europe in support of global rebasing. That experience provided me a perspective of the human resource issues that faced my command in Europe and faces the command here at CECOM as we implement BRAC. I would also say that just as I’ve experienced here at CECOM, we had a tremendous work force in 5th Signal Command that was highly competent, productive and responsive in support of the warfighters and continuing the transformation of the Army. So all of those experiences during my time in 5th Signal Command will be applicable as we move forward here at CECOM LCMC.
Q: What are your goals for the acquisition contracting process in your area of responsibility?
A: I arrived here after having already been supported by CECOM in acquisition contracting process in previous commands. Given the implementation of BRAC and the impending move to Aberdeen, I have two basic goals for the contracting process. The first is to expand the capability of our automated contracting system, through the incorporation of more advanced artificial intelligence modules, which will enable our more junior work force to increase their capability and expand their knowledge based on expeditiously moving through the contracting process. It will also facilitate a smoother transition to Aberdeen, since all of the contracts and pertinent information will reside in the electronic space, enabling the work force that transitions to Maryland to immediately be up and running on Day One of the move.
The second goal is to continue to hire and train high caliber interns, using our world-class experienced work force to transition knowledge and experience during the remaining years at Fort Monmouth. Attracting and training these talented individuals, who come to us with business acumen and personal mobility, will ensure that we remain mission-capable as we transition to APG. I would add that I’ve been extremely impressed with the systems that we have in place at the Acquisitions Center. Looking at the number of contracts and value that we have, approaching $13 billion, illuminates the workload, capacity and throughput that this organization is able to accomplish. Some of the best business practices being utilized here within the Acquisition Center and are being adopted throughout the Army and DoD. I’m very proud of this part of our organization.
Q: Batteries are an ongoing issue in current operations. What are you doing in this area, and what do you see as the long-term future of portable power technology?
A: While we are no longer the inventory manager for batteries, that mission having been transferred to the Defense Logistics Agency in 2005, we continue to be the face of batteries to the soldier. In that capacity, we are continually engaged in keeping the field aware of various options to power equipment. For example, recent improvements in rechargeable battery performance presented opportunities for our soldiers to both accomplish their mission and reduce costs. Our mandate here is to ensure that our soldiers are educated consumers of battery products.
For the future, CERDEC is developing high power and higher energy portable power technologies that will lead to integrated hybrid power sources, utilizing batteries, fuel cells, solar panels, wind turbines and fuel systems, for example Sterling engines. The goals are lighter, smaller, longer-lasting devices that are safe, reliable, costeffective and able to meet the every increasing electronics demands for soldiers today and in the future. Our Logistics Readiness Center works very closely with the Defense Logistics Agency in ensuring that we keep that capability available and provide responsive support to our warfighters.
Q: What are some of your key goals for 2008?
A: First, my primary and long-term goals for the command are about one word—the warfighter. They revolve around establishing the right command priorities, implementing effective and responsive processes, and fostering a climate and environment of excellence that provides joint warfighters the capabilities and support they require.
Second is to ensure that we set the right conditions for successful relocation of the command and mission to APG under BRAC without disruption of support to the war and our warfighting commanders. We must ensure we remain focused on retaining the intellectual capital that has developed here since the command was established.
Third is sustaining a positive command climate, work environment, and quality of life for our work force. I learned long ago that Coach Woody Hayes was right when he said, ‘You win with people.’ Taking care of this tremendously talented work force while executing our wartime mission and planning for successful relocation to APG is critical to our success.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: The mission that CECOM LCMC soldiers and civilians perform everyday in support of the warfighter can be summed up into two words—“silent professionals.” The soldiers, civilians and contractor work force here are some of the most professional and committed that I’ve been privileged to serve with. It’s not well known that CECOM has more than 2,700 soldiers and civilians deployed overseas—many of those in the CENTCOM area of operations—providing 24/7 support to our deployed units, and many in harm’s way, serving right behind or alongside of soldiers to provide the required sustainment support they need to execute their mission. We’re very proud of these committed professionals who volunteered to do this, often for repetitive tours. They are some of our Army’s unsung heroes.
In this regard, this year at Fort Monmouth we’re celebrating 90 years of exceptional service and support to our nation. Initially established in 1917 as Camp Vail, Fort Monmouth has been on the forefront of technological innovations and advancements for the warfighters, and this holds true today. Our engineers, scientists, logistics and acquisition specialists, project and program managers, contractors and support personnel, working in partnership with the private sector and academia, are supporting warfighters around the world. So this is a great year to celebrate these accomplishments and build upon the legacy of this great organization.
Finally, as I’ve been saying since I assumed command, I’ve been a customer of CECOM for 27 years, and have been on the receiving end of what these professionals deliver to the warfighter. It’s an honor and privilege to join this tremendous organization, and continue to deliver superior C4ISR and battle command capabilities to the joint warfighter as part of the AMC Team. I’m honored to be here. ♦
