RSF. What are the gains? Where are we? What range of gains are we achieving? What cost
understand that, OK, there’s a main- tenance plan, there’s a warranty, there are all these other aspects. Now, we’re not necessarily talk- ing about warranty here, but we are talking about maintenance. And understanding what kind of maintenance is involved from the start is essential. We’re partnering with DSCA, to work with them to update their procedures for case cre- ation, so that when a foreign military sales case is initiated, the partner gets more of a focus to consider sustainment going forward. It’s great to have these helicopters, aircraft,
efficiencies are we achiev- ing? But also, where are these assets? Because we need to have our command- ers informed about where we have these RSF capa- bilities developed under the strategy of RSF. And so, we’re working on data tools such as Advana and taking a holistic ap- proach to the RSF guidebook. Additionally, we’re partnering with DAU on coming up with a creden- tial attached to Life Cycle Logistics, and there’s
ships, tanks, etc., wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles. U.S.- made equipment is tremendous. But you have to maintain it, and that is a cost that you have to consider from the start. So, for those new systems that you brought up, I think getting sustainment in the wedge ahead of time is possible, and we’ve seen this a little bit with the joint strike fight, because that’s a program where sustainment was more of an upfront consideration, especially with allies and partners. I think going forward we also have to consider our leg- acy items because we’ve got to be prepared tonight . We’ve got to be prepared as soon as possible, and that means going to war with what you have and sustaining what you have in this case. More importantly for our communities, we have to be able to sustain it. And so, considering RSF co-sustainment, the idea that we can burden share the investment necessary for long-term sustainment of assets in theater, I think that’s essential and it’s almost platform agnostic. You need to be able to sustain whatever you have forward in a time of crisis. Q Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share with our audience about how you see the future un- folding here? A. I’m just excited. We are in a time when there are many changes, and with many more coming there is an oppor- tunity to improve. And I think regional sustainment is an opportunity to improve. It’s an opportunity for us to im- prove DoD. It’s an opportunity for allies to improve. It’s an opportunity for industry to improve. The partnerships that they could gain internationally, our industry partners, are huge, you know? And then as a Defense Department employee, the first thing on my mind is making sure that the Warfighters have what they need to succeed. Editor’s note of appreciation: Shawn Harrison, the DAU learning director for Product Support Integration and a pro- fessor of Life Cycle Logistics, helped shape this interview.
been a lot of great work toward life cycle logistics. I think, thanks to DAU and organizations like the Defense Logistics Agency, OSD, etc., we’ve got a great curriculum there. And so, we’re looking to attach a credential for RSF on top of life cycle logistics. We’re planning on having that out at the end of this year, in December 2025. But again, lots of resources are coming, and we’re all ears. One of the things we want to do is make sure that these capabilities we develop have instant transmission, instant benefit to the combatant commanders, the Warfighters. Q How do you think RSF will be reflected in the work done by government and contractor DoD sustainment professionals? Will there be a significantly increased DoD civilian presence abroad to manage the program? A. I don’t want to get too far ahead of the Services here. The Services really are in charge of resources and trying to figure out how we specifically execute. I could certainly see a bit more of an international presence, especially in terms of artisans going forward. We have tremendous skills in our organic industrial base. For instance, GENUS is one of these programs that use the artisan. The Air Force Sustain- ment Center sends the artisan forward, and they basically use a little bit of the trainer approach. They send that per- son out there, and they help get that location up to speed. I could see some roles like that. I could certainly see other roles. But by and large, we’re looking to increase capacity abroad, and that could engender some more movement of folks abroad. But again, it’s up to the Services exactly how they want to execute. Q What advice would you have for our readers as they contemplate establishing RSF capabilities for their weapon systems, both new and legacy? A. Life cycle logistics—the whole idea of when I buy some- thing, I have to figure out how I’m going to maintain it. A lot of times when we go buy a car, we go in that back room, and sometimes that’s not a pleasant experience, but it is a good experience in the sense that it helps us
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10 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | May-June 2025
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