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Whether forces at peace are actively engaged, the business of keeping the Army equipped, fed and fueled never really ends. At the Association of the U.S. Army conference earlier this week, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin caught up with the commander of the Army Sustainment Command, Major General David Wilson.

Interview transcript: 

David Wilson: Of course Army Materiel Command. If a soldier drives it flies it eats it, shoots it or communicates with it, Army Materiel Command provides it. Army Sustainment Command is a command that is really AMCs execution arm for their material enterprise operations and they leverage the national level, provide the capabilities or lifecycle management commands, TACOM, AMCOM, CECOM, JMC and we introduced those capabilities at the operational, tactical and strategic levels of sustainment across the globe.

Tom Temin: What are the processes that make that happen? That is to say you’re not an acquisition type of command? Or are you that also?

David Wilson: Not an acquisition type of command, but we do leverage the acquisition community to help us do everything from LOGCAP to some of the other contracting activities that go on with regards to our installation logistics mission. Army Sustainment Command also has responsibility for 74 logistics readiness centers across all of our installations, where we provide installation logistics support, and so that’s a key aspect. One key aspect of what the command does, the other piece is Army pre-position stocks. The APS stocks are around the globe, Army Sustainment Command manages those stocks, as well on behalf of Army Materiel Command and the Army.

Tom Temin: And that’s worldwide.

David Wilson: And that’s worldwide. That’s globally. Everything from things that are setting on the ground and our various combatant commands area of responsibility to include the sets that are floating out in the various parts of world, apart from ships.

Tom Temin: And that includes ordnance also.

David Wilson: That’s right, munitions and operational project stocks, as well as unity equipment sets that our formations might be required to fall on and during competition crisis.

Tom Temin: So in that mission, then there is a readiness kind of component. That drives it. And also the sustainment. If there is an ongoing operation, that you’re feeding it and keeping it going.

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David Wilson: Absolutely. Our job is to make sure that that the equipment is ready when called drawn upon, just like we’ve done in the European Theater, and in support of our allies there. When we sent a unit over from one of our divisions to conduct training, that unit drew the equipment sets in Europe, and you know, in record time moved out of their assembly areas and was able to begin starting the training of our partners and allies in that space.

Tom Temin: Really, the worst thing that can happen in an Army situation is to run out of stuff.

David Wilson: That’s right. But one of the things that we do is we ensure that this stuff is ready.  Muhammad Ali, said you don’t have to get ready when you stay ready. And a big part of what we’re doing is making sure that the capability stays ready. So when it’s called upon, we can deliver at the speed of war versus the speed of bureaucracy.

Tom Temin: Got it. That’s a good way to put it. And give us a sense of the people; uniforms, civilian contractor support, where are they all?

David Wilson: Absolutely, my headquarters and command is primarily majority department, the Army civilians that that really makes up two thirds of the organization 1/3 of it is uniform and military personnel. And so this, vast, and we do it with also supporting our contracting workforce that you know, we leverage to the contracting community and ensure that we can deliver the capability to those at the tip of the spear.

Tom Temin: We’re speaking with Major General David Wilson, commander of Army Sustainment Command, and what are your top strategic initiatives right now? What are you doing to advance the whole operational capability of the command?

David Wilson: Right now one of the things is really the dynamic employment of Army pre-position stocks. Looking at where we have capability across the globe, and showing that that capability is not just maintained, but it’s modernized to meet our future requirements in the various theaters of our combatant commanders.

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Tom Temin: So that must be a challenge because you want things to be fresh. I mean, ordnance dry, you’re going to put the old fashioned way and food to be edible, but yet you don’t want to have a waste and just reposition things and then throw them out in two years. How does that all work?

David Wilson: Well, there’s good ways in which we do that from rotating of stocks. So there are stocks that we can leverage doing exercises when units are conducting exercises, the older stocks we might rotate out and then replace them with newer stock so that we don’t have things in the theaters that may, specifically, shelf life expires and then they become non-usable. So we have a whole team that’s really dedicated on looking at the shelf life of things and modernization and try to make sure that we strike the right balance. And where we can use, you know, those exercises as opportunities to, you know, really replace things that may be end of life, that’s a win because the units then can leverage the capability forward. And we’re not worrying about flying things from the continental United States in the zone and the different places where we may have capability on the ground.

Tom Temin: Sure. And how is the tempo changed in the post-Afghanistan era, where the Army is not really as engaged as it was around the world.

David Wilson: I can tell you for Army Sustainment Command, that’s not the case. Because with us having the responsibility for installation logistics on 74 installations, having brigades in each one of the combatant commanders area of responsibility is providing AMCs material enterprise support, our pace hasn’t slowed down within the Army Materiel Command or Army Sustainment Command for that matter.

Tom Temin: Has the mix of what’s moving around and being modernized and sustained. Has that changed at all?

David Wilson: Not the mix of what’s being sustained. I think the pace of what’s going to happen with modernization, we’ll have to change the dynamic look at how we put things in certain theaters. You know, as of course, the Pacific’s a maritime-dominated theater and what we put things on the ground and the Pacific will have to be things that will enable the speed of assembly, extend the operational reach of our supported command and give them the measure of endurance that they need, so that we preserved the commander’s freedom of action so that they can conduct operations at their own time and choosing. I often tell people of the maneuver forces is the fist doing the strike. Then logistics is the muscle that enables the fist to strike.

Tom Temin: And in recent years, the Army has gotten a little bit more specialized with respect to operating in heat types of climates. And now, you know, more recently in cold climates as the Arctic becomes more strategically important, so that must affect how you look at the world in terms of heat versus cold.

David Wilson: Absolutely as as a logistician, we have to look at all of the requirements, you know, a good logistician, looks at requirements, takes the capabilities that are available sources them and where there are shortfalls, that’s where the creative action, and then juices start to flow and how we solve those typical problems. So we definitely do so. Because we know that there’s equipment that’s required to operate in different environments. And so decisions that are made on where we stock, store, issue or deliver those capabilities based on the environments that the Army is going to operate in, that’s full well in the calculus in the logistics community before any operation commences. Logistics can’t be the afterthought, it has to be the forethought, I often tell my maneuver peers, they need to channel their inner U.S. Grant. General Grant was a master in logistics. And that’s what gave him a great advantage. There’s a saying that amateurs study tactics, but professionals study logistics. And so we tried to make sure that our core across the board, as it pertains to logistics, we’re doing the things that allow us to meet our commanders’ requirements.

Tom Temin: Yeah, you don’t want to be able to be outrun by the people on the front, right. And I just wanted to talk about refurbishment for a moment. On this floor, everything is shiny, there’s a tank across from where we’re talking. And the poor guy keeps polishing it as people put their fingerprints all over it. But that’s brand new and shiny, like everything else, the engines down the way you deal with stuff after it’s kind of had some road use. What what’s going on there?

David Wilson: Well, right there. I think it’s a comprehensive look. So when you start talking about maintaining of equipment, the stream of it starts really down at the operator and soldier level that’s operating. Pride and ownership with a piece of equipment for the for most is what our soldiers do each and every day out in the field. And they make sure they maintain that capability in the army. The army has over 97,000 ordinance professionals that’s primarily maintainers that turn wrenches on stuff and beautify equipment, and those individuals along with the the operators, they do a phenomenal job and make sure that our capability stays ready each and every day. Now when it exceeds their ability to maintain them i.e. there’s some problem in the supply system downstream or the maintenance repair is at the level in which Army Materiel Command touches them which is sustainment maintenance level at the depot level. That’s where we get involved and we then you know, operate, maintain the equipment and then return back to the field or return back in the stocks issue  for subsequent requirements.

Tom Temin: Does it ever get down to the detail of say you might need to re-tap a threaded opening because it’s worn out?

David Wilson: Absolutely. And that capability actually happens down at the tip of the spear. Army maintenance doctrines about repairing and fixing forward; not dragging things to the rear. A commander can’t afford to have everything brought back out of theater. He has to be able to fight forward and that’s what our maintainers enable our commanders in the field to do.

Tom Temin: I’d like to see the torque wrench  down there on one of those things. That’s a big one, isn’t it?

David Wilson: Yes. There’s there’s a lot a lot of capability that’s out there. That’s pretty remarkable that our maintainers are dealing with today.

 Tom Temin: Major General David Wilson as commander of the Army Sustainment Command.

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