MODERNIZATION UPATE: SFLC's Patrol Boat Product Line (PBPL)

--Guest Post by Coast Guard SFLC CO, CAPT Mark Butt

On October 26, 2009, the Patrol Boat Product Line (PBPL) of Surface Forces Logistics Center initiated a pilot program on CGC OSPREY and SWORDFISH, two 87’ patrol boats (WPB)’s in Group Port Angeles, to test the maintenance tracking and asset visibility processes used in both the aviation community and the Small Boat Product Line. The pilot program introduced the cutter community to the Electronic Asset Logbook (EAL) and the Asset Configuration and Maintenance System (ACMS) which are two of the tools contained in the Asset Logistics Management Information System (ALMIS). The goals of the program were to test business processes for reporting and updating cutter status to provide the operational commander full visibility of operational resources as well as validating new maintenance procedure cards that are being developed to support the 87 WPB fleet.

The pilot program is a culmination of months of planning that established the baseline configuration of the 87 WPB and included a detailed analysis of all cutter systems to identify maintenance requirements in the bi-level support model, as well as the parts necessary to support the maintenance. The pilot began with two weeks of instruction that provided the cutters’ crews training on the IT tools as well as new business processes. During November and December, the cutters’ crews exercised the new tools and processes and helped the implementation team refine procedures to support the cutter community. The pilot successfully demonstrated that ALMIS can be used to support cutter maintenance and provide total asset visibility. Furthermore, it demonstrated that one IT tool can be used to support all aircraft, small boats and cutters while eliminating the need for 87 WPB’s, once modernized, to submit CASREP’s to request logistics support. Due to the success of the pilot, it is being expanded in January to include the five remaining 87 WPB’s assigned to Group Port Angeles.

To date, PBPL has identified more than 200 organizational level (O-level) scheduled maintenance tasks and has developed nearly 60 maintenance procedures that provide detailed guidance to field units in the execution of the maintenance. Over the next few months, the PBPL and Asset Project Office (APO) will develop the maintenance procedures for the remaining O-level tasks. When the procedures are validated , they will be posted on Aviation Logistics Center’s website (http://cgweb.arsc.uscg.mil/) for all 87-ft cutters to use. The maintenance deck for the 87 WPB’s comprises a combination of maintenance tasks previously promulgated in the 87-ft WPB preventative maintenance manual and newly identified maintenance tasks; all of which are intended to increase asset reliability. Additionally, more than 250 corrective maintenance tasks have been identified and procedures for these tasks are being developed.

To complete the modernization initiative for 87 WPB’s, the Patrol Boat Product Line is currently developing the supply chain inventories, processes and units allowances to support both scheduled and corrective maintenance. In the near future, the supply module of ALMIS will be deployed to complete the modernization of Group Port Angeles 87 WPB’s. Once implemented, all modernized 87 WPBs will be in a pushed logistics system meaning that most parts required for scheduled and corrective maintenance will be provided. The lessons learned from this pilot will be incorporated into the transition plan for the rest of the 87 WPB fleet as well as the Integrated Logistics Support Plan for the SENTINAL class.

MODERNIZATION UPDATE: DCMS Comms iTeam

- Guest Post by Mr. Hiram Bell, Director of the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s Office of Strategic Planning and Communications, CG-925

I recently had the opportunity to update the DCMS Executive Leadership Council on the DCMS Communications Integration Team (iTeam). Chartered by VADM Currier, the team’s executive sponsor is RADM Hewitt (CG-1). Our task is to analyze communications requirements and provide VADM Currier with recommendations for an integrated communications capability to deliver consistent and effective messages to DCMS internal and external audiences. The team has professional communications representatives from all of the Assistant Commandants in mission support – CG-1, 4, 6 and 9 as well as Headquarters Public Affairs (CG-092S) and CG-095. Another member, EMCM Lance Abernethy, helps keep the information needs of the field front and center.

The need for more information sharing became clear as the Coast Guard was transitioning last fall from the legacy field support staff of the Maintenance and Logistics Centers (MLCs) and the Integrated Support Commands (ISCs) to the new Logistics and Service Centers and their field units. Traditional channels were used to communicate these changes, including in person meetings at every ISC, ALCOASTs, All Hands e-mails, etc as well as some new ones like this blog. The upcoming “Mission Support Users Guide” will help further explain the new organization in more detail, but much work remains. Feedback from DCMS employees at Headquarters and in the field made it clear that improved and enhanced communication capabilities are essential to successful modernization efforts.

The new Logistics and Service Centers plan to stand up asset communities into product lines following the Coast Guard Logistics Business Model. Communications has been identified as a critical success factor. All Coast Guard members who provide support and those who receive it must receive clear instruction on how new business practices affect their day to day work.
The team began its work in October by establishing a baseline of the existing communication capabilities. It has identified existing challenges; attributes of a high performing communications capability and print publications produced with the mission support organization. Requirements were analyzed from the USCG Public Affairs Manual, the Assistant Commandant and internal stakeholders such as Coast Guard Headquarters Public Affairs (CG-092), CG-8 and CG-095.

In the weeks ahead, recommended Courses of Actions (COAs) will be developed and followed by red cell exercises for further refinement. Recommendations must also align with the efforts of other iTeams such as the Field Mission Support Delivery iTeam. We plan to complete our preliminary report by the end of January, with a final report and recommendations delivered by 1 March 2010. Discussions have been candid and constructive with everyone keeping a sharp eye on the desired end-state: communication capabilities for a responsive, effective and efficient mission support organization.

MODERNIZATION UPDATE: Reserve Force Readiness System (RFRS)

-- Guest Post by RDML Dan May, Coast Guard Director of Reserve and Training (CG-13)

Integrating our 8,100 Coast Guard Reservists into the Coast Guard’s total force back in the mid 1990s has proven to be one of the best organizational decisions we’ve made regarding operationalizing our reserve forces. Now, our professional men and women integrate with the active duty commands, training and working side by side to provide an additional local surge capacity but most importantly, providing the capability of being mobilized and deployed to respond to contingencies at home or worldwide. However, the one piece we didn’t provide to the active duty units in this reorganization was dedicated resources to ensure the maximum readiness of our reservists.

Our experiences responding to September 11th and to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, taught us that the active duty units responsible for training our reservists require these dedicated resources to ensure they are ready to mobilize and, once mobilized, are capable of performing the assigned missions required. The Commandant’s Reserve Policy Statement defines the missions: maritime homeland security, support to national defense, and natural and man-made disaster response. Now, as part of our overall Coast Guard Modernization effort this organizational “gap” is being addressed by our Reserve Force Readiness System (RFRS). To ensure reservists are ready to mobilize and perform the missions required, we have assigned dedicated resources to active duty commands for the expressed purpose of supporting reserve training.

These “full-time support” (FTS) billets have been performing this function successfully at our Port Security Units for years. But starting with the 2009 assignment season, FTS billets were assigned to district and sector staffs as well as key elements of RFRS.

Under RFRS, over 250 FTS billets will be assigned to direct support of reserve training throughout the Coast Guard between 2009 and 2012. Personnel filling these billets include Reserve Program Administrators—active duty officers whose career specialty is reserve training and administration—regular active duty warrant officers, chiefs, and petty officers, plus significant numbers of civilian employees. For those members filling FTS billets who have no experience administering reserve inactive duty training, a C-school has been developed to provide the necessary background. This will ensure we have the right personnel, with the right skill sets, now filling these important positions within our modernized Coast Guard organization.

RFRS is an integral part of Coast Guard Modernization. Not only are FTS billets embedded within operational commands, but dedicated reserve training staffs have been established in Force Readiness Command and in the prospective Operations Command. The Reserve Force Readiness Division (FC-1) within FORCECOM is responsible for reserve training doctrine, training compliance, budget distribution, and reserve force package development. The prospective Reserve Operations Division (OC-1) within OPCOM is primarily responsible for execution of the reserve inactive duty training program.

Implementation of RFRS is expected to be complete by 2012. Approximately 75% of direct support FTS billets were put in place during the 2009 assignment season, while the remaining 25% will be phased in during 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Coast Guard Reservists are a valuable national asset and a key component of our total force. With the Reserve Force Readiness System, we expect to maximize the readiness of our reservists to ensure that they, like all of us, are Semper Paratus.

MODERNIZATION UPDATE: "Naval Engineering Leadership Symposium"

-- Guest Post by Coast Guard CAPT Paul Roden, Chief of the Office of Naval Engineering (CG-45)

I am pleased to provide the following summary of the Naval Engineering Program Management Review held in Washington, DC on 14 December 2009.

We were addressed by numerous senior Coast Guard leaders, including: the Commandant, ADM Thad Allen; the Chief of Staff, VADM John Currier; the Assistant Commandant for Acquisition, RADM Ronald Rábago and the Assistant Commandant for Engineering and Logistics, RDML Tom Ostebo. Other speakers included Mr. Daniel Scott, Director of Mission Support Resources, who provided a budget review, LCDR Joseph Franklin, from the office of Mission Support Workforce Management, who gave a look at the health of our workforce and CDR Brian Ellis, from the Office of Naval Engineering, who presented an overview of recent naval engineering policy and doctrine changes. In summary, the symposium was nine hours packed with information, guidance and camaraderie.



The day kicked off with a little ‘budget speak’ from Mr. Scott. While Fiscal Year 2010 is a good budget year for the depot maintenance accounts, we must prepare and recognize that outyear budgets may present formidable challenges.

RDML Ostebo introduced our keynote speaker, ADM Allen, who gave us a generous portion of his busy day. ADM Allen expressed his appreciation for the long history of dedication and support that Naval Engineers have provided our service. He also made it clear that while legacy systems and processes don’t always help us do our jobs, we must continue to be successful despite the system.

The Commandant gave us a historic perspective having been involved in the Gilbert Study as a Lieutenant Commander. He reiterated that we missed an opportunity at that time to have centralized logistics support. We also missed an opportunity to move to a core accounting system that would have allowed our books to be in compliance with the Chief Financial Officer’s audit. We chose not to change because many had considered these problems to be in the ‘too-hard’ locker. Somewhere along the way we lost the key to this locker, and now we have to deal with the outcome of some bad choices. Our Modernization initiative is the key, and we are now tackling the many challenges that will lead us to a more adaptable and change centric, learning organization.
Other points made included:
· Future budgets will drive us to more critical decisions related to recapitalizing or sustaining our assets. Because of this we’re going into a period of “legacy hospice” where we need the AC&I to recapitalize, perhaps at the expense of maintaining the assets we have. Recent events with DALLAS and GALLATIN tell us we can’t wait to improve our business.
· With this in mind we need to do a better job with capturing the total cost associated with our operations. The modernized Coast Guard will get us there.
· The current and near-future budget “realities” will present challenges to the entire federal government. Our goal, regardless of the current budget environment, is to maintain affordable readiness.

RDML Ostebo and RADM Rabago then spoke about building our community to achieve affordable readiness. RDML Ostebo provided a very detailed picture of the out-year budgets we can expect. The budgetary challenges that are anticipated demand that we refine our processes to provide the best support possible. RDML Ostebo expressed his pride and strong support for our naval engineers, and spoke about our need to claim ownership for mission support. We are more than just a customer service organization …we are responsible for the success of Coast Guard operations and nearly everything about our business is in a state of change. As our “Ancient Snipe,” RADM Rabago presented “Naval Engineering Way Forward – One Officer’s Opinion”, which spoke to clarification of roles and relationships, certifications and credentialing, involvement with professional societies (e.g. American Society of Naval Engineers [ASNE] & Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers [SNAME]), mentoring, and partnership with our enlisted and civilian team members.

The Coast Guard Chief of Staff, VADM Currier, then led us in a passionate discussion of why we need affordable readiness and how the Naval Engineers need to bring it. He is clearly relying on us and ‘has our back’ as we look for solutions to hard problems. It was clear that the disestablishment of the Maintenance Logistics & Commands (MLCs) and Integrated Support Commands (ISCs) put our Coast Guard at risk, but it was a very necessary step to enable the Product Line Managers and the Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC) to be successful in our new organization. VADM Currier presented us with the plans for Mission Support Modernization, which included a discussion of his “integration Teams” that will define what Mission Support 2.0 will look like. Most notable in his presentation was the explanation that the Coast Guard will flex capacity, not capability in a reduced budget environment. Admiral Currier’s Q&A period was very direct and candid. He called us out as a community to take care of each other, grow our workforce and take ownership in operations and mission successes. He directed us to learn from each challenge and keep moving forward.

Overall it was an extremely valuable day for Naval Engineers and our program. While this event included only our senior naval engineering officers, I expect next year’s symposium will include broader representation from our entire program (i.e. senior civilians and enlisted) and operators. Just as the aviators have their “Flight Plan” that results from their annual leadership conference, one product from this symposium will be a naval engineering “Track Line” which will summarize the way-ahead. Look for this and other information from this symposium in the next edition of the monthly “Naval Engineering News.”

MODERNIZATION UPDATE: Field Mission Support Delivery Integration Team

-- Guest Post by Coast Guard CAPT Timothy Heitsch, CG-44

I have spent the last several weeks participating in the Field Mission Support Delivery Integration Team (FMSD iTeam). This iTeam is hard at work to finalize the part of mission support that will deliver support to the operational field elements under our new organization. This team’s charter is essentially to ‘get sector logistics right’ and to provide recommendations to VADM Currier on how to organize and structure our mission support organization that is physically located at or near operational units.

While this is widely acknowledged as a difficult problem, the team is up to the challenge and committed to developing the best solution. Members were selected from both the operational and mission support communities from around the Coast Guard, taking into consideration their current assignment and experience. To date, the team has reviewed previous studies related to the creation of DCMS with a specific emphasis on the data elements involved, and thoroughly reviewed the principles of the Four Cornerstones of the Coast Guard Logistics Business Model: Configuration Management, Total Asset Visibility, Bi-Level Maintenance/Support and a single point of accountability through Product Line Managers.

One very important aspect that everyone should know is that this team is not starting from scratch. It is building upon a wealth of information developed over the past several years, and it is working within the business principles outlined by the Four Cornerstones. The team’s perspective is bottom-up; considering the solution from the point of view of the various types of operational commands: sectors, air stations and major cutters. Additionally, the team is working in parallel to and maintaining close liaison with the District Core Study Team chartered by VADM Papp that is looking at the future construct of Districts. This is to ensure that recommended solutions from both teams are compatible.

Currently the recommended Courses of Actions (COAs) are being developed, and the plan is to have those completed by the end of January. The FMSD iTeam timeline is closely aligned with that of the District Core Study Team, with our preliminary report due in March and a final report delivered in June of 2010. Discussions have been frank, open and constructive, with everyone keeping a sharp eye on the desired end-state; a mission support organization that is responsive, effective and efficient.

Chili Cook-Off raises $500 for CFC

VADM J.P. Currier participated in Coast Guard Headquarter's First Annual Chili Cook-Off to benefit the Coast Guard's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The event raised over $500 for the Coast Guard's CFC.

Way Ahead

--Guest Post by Coast Guard Chief of Staff, VADM J. P. Currier

My recent travels to various field units have reinforced the need for us to communicate on a much more frequent basis about changes occurring throughout our organization. I am committed to providing each of you the information you need to better understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, the many issues we are addressing and successes that we have seen to date.

One of my top priorities is to develop a detailed DCMS Users Guide. We’ve told you on numerous occasions that, in most cases, the individuals you were dealing with prior to the disestablishment of the MLCs and ISCs are the same people you will deal with in the new DCMS organization. I want to provide a thorough list of POCs throughout the new organization so there is no question about who to contact when you have a question or problem that needs to be addressed. The User’s Guide won’t be a silver bullet, but it will provide a great deal of information about all the units in DCMS - information many of you have been asking for.

Additionally, our integration team (iTeam) sponsors and leaders are giving me an overall status report on Tuesday 15 December. I chartered iTeams to address gaps in our mission support organization. Although their recommendations hit the street next summer, we’ll share updates over the next several weeks.

I will also update you on the progress of our logistics transformation efforts. There’s a lot of good work being accomplished here and you need to understand what that means. The Surface Forces Logistics Center’s (SFLC) Small Boat Product Line (SBPL) continues to spearhead the transformation efforts with all D11, D13, D5 and D1 Sectors completed. The Patrol Boat Product Line (PBPL) recently kicked off an 87’ CPB pilot project at Group Port Angeles. The other logistics and service centers are on track with their plans to stand up one new product line each by 1 June 2010.

We’ve also begun work on a DCMS strategic plan to achieve the support requirements for Coast Guard missions. I consider this more like an action plan in that it will have clear assignments about what we’re doing and deadlines to get us there. As I’ve said numerous times, I will hold people accountable for meeting those deadlines.

CAPT Mark Carmel, Commanding Officer of the SILC, kicked off the first in a series of modernization posting updates Thursday with his update on the SILC and BSUs. For this and future communications, I encourage you to provide us feedback and tell us what issues or areas you’d like to understand better. To better address questions from the field level, we prefer real names when posting a comment. Anonymous comments have been disabled on this journal. I ask Coast Guard members to request questions or topics for future posts by e-mailing AskMissionSupport@uscg.mil.

Thank you for your readiness to move forward with Modernization.