Defense logistics agency issue - KMI Media Group

Dan Keefe is executive vice president
and group general manager for Man-
Tech’s Technical Services Group. Keefe is a
retired U.S. Army brigadier general whose
career highlights included service as commanding
general of U.S. forces in Kosovo
and V Corps chief of staff during Operation
Iraqi Freedom.
Q: Let’s start with some background on
ManTech. What does ManTech do and how
does the company contribute to the DoD
logistics mission?
A: ManTech provides innovative technologies
and solutions for mission-critical
national security programs. Founded in
1968, ManTech has almost 10,000 employees,
with 2011 revenues of $3 billion. In
addition to the Department of Defense, our
customers include the intelligence community;
departments of State, Homeland
Security and Justice; the space community;
and other U.S. federal government
customers. Logistics and global supply
chain management are at the core of many
of our offerings.
We also provide C4ISR life cycle support,
cyber, IT modernization and sustainment,
intelligence, counterintelligence
support, systems engineering, and test and
evaluation services. We support our government
in major missions, such as military
readiness, terrorist threat detection,
information security and border protection.
For example, we support technology
modernization and network operations for
the State Department at all U.S. embassies.
We also support NATO worldwide, particularly
in-theater.
ManTech goes where our customers
go. We help them meet their missions
anytime, anywhere, with about 2,000 staff
members overseas supporting our customers’
vital missions. In fact, most of
ManTech’s overseas staff works side-by-side
with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Kuwait
on logistics, supply chain management and
systems readiness programs.
Q: As a major player in the military logistics
arena, how is ManTech helping DoD
meet current key logistics objectives?
32 | MLF 6.5
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW Military Logistics Forum
Dan Keefe
Executive Vice President and Group General Manager
ManTech Technical Services Group
A: For more than 20 years, ManTech has
provided core logistics services worldwide.
Among these are warehousing, logistics
management, property management, shipping
and receiving, repair and maintenance,
unique system training and fielding support,
resource management, and inventory
tracking for customer systems in deployed,
isolated and remote locations. We maintain
life-sustaining operational readiness for
counter-improvised explosive device vehicles
and systems, including mine resistant
ambush protected vehicles, MRAP all-terrain
vehicles and route-clearance vehicles,
predominantly in Afghanistan. We began
our support for the MRAP family of vehicles
in 2003 and have expanded our services over
the years to meet operational requirements.
We’ve supported the U.S. Army TACOM and
its unique customers with sustainment and
maintenance; through our supply chain
effectiveness efforts, we’re providing people
and parts so we can meet our customers’
stringent readiness needs.
One of our teams is responsible for
maintaining the Army’s array of elevated
sensors in Afghanistan at the highest operational
availability rate possible. Recently,
the team achieved an operational availability
rate of 99 percent, the highest ever
achieved over the life of the program. The
team accomplished this while lowering program
costs 40 percent and at the same time
having the quantity of supported systems
grow over 70 percent. We realized this level
of efficiency by optimizing the logistics
labor force, aligning technicians and spares
with transportation lines, adjusting authorized
stock levels based on historical experience,
leveraging the gamut of shipping
vendors, and streamlining routine logistical
and supply processes.
Because we work side-by-side with
military personnel on these programs, we
get an up-close view of the support our
customer needs from us. We see each day
that the work we do is an essential part of
the military’s effort to reduce casualties
and improve personnel survivability.
Q: What are some of the main challenges
you are facing in meeting the needs of the
21st-century warfighter?
A: We see the need for a fuller range of
services support in a more efficient delivery
model. With our in-theater support
of logistics and materiel readiness, we
also provide services in cybersecurity and
C4ISR, particularly around border management,
real-time visualization of the
environment and sensors.
Our approach significantly increased
readiness while driving efficiencies and
lowering the cost to the customer. These
are the systems our warfighters depend
on, so it’s essential that they get comprehensive
and consistent support. We also
see a high demand for modernization to
enhance the efficiencies of IT investments
and extend the life of IT systems—another
way to not only improve the usefulness of
the system, but to reduce the cost of capital
for the military.
Program execution is essential—we
have to support the warfighter and the
mission—but so is efficiency. Our customers
are facing pressure to do more with
less, and we continually help them meet
those demands. Efficiency is about managing
the business in its entirety while
ensuring mission integrity. We know how
to keep costs down by hiring the right
people, training them and empowering
them to be effective in the work they do for
our customers. The best qualified worker
also is often the most cost-effective, and
that’s why cross training is a smart investment.
The one person, one job approach
gives some immediate efficiency, but for
us, it makes more sense to have people
who can fit smartly into a broad range of
mission-critical logistics and supply chain
processes. It keeps vital missions running
effectively for our customer and has the
added benefit of providing career development
and advancement opportunities for
our people. O
www.MLF-kmi.com