National Guard RESET Program and Projects

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IDGA: As Program Manager, you face an extremely broad array of challenges, with top RESET priorities consistently shifting and evolving.  What are the current primary equipment priorities for RESET?

COL Leonhard: First and foremost, our rest priorities are established based on the ARFORGEN cycle and the mission of the owning unit. Equipment reset requirements are those essential items our soldiers need to perform both domestic and operational missions.

Standard procedures outline individual weapons and masks as the first priority; basic soldier essential items. Next in line is the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment, followed by vehicles and major end items.

An important note is that due to the depth and breadth of technical capability in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard full time workforce, we are able to conduct reset operations on all of the aforementioned categories simultaneously. This economy of scale is uncommon…an important fact nonetheless.

IDGA: What are the challenges you face to ensure efficient domestic supply chain management?

COL LEONHARD: Maintaining operational readiness to meet combat readiness requirements for future deployments as well as for domestic operations is paramount.  This is certainly a challenging cycle in the National Guard business.

A primary challenge is the amount of time dedicated to data mining valuable information from various stovepipe systems only to find inconsistent and unreliable reports.  This condition clouds situational awareness in real time with predictable resources needed to plan and execute an effective supply chain management process.  Our challenge becomes that we spend far too much time in reactionary mode attempting to acquire supplies

The stovepipe processes that impede planning are systematic throughout the Army, and affect every level of command.  Too many ‘work-a-rounds’ have compartmentalized processes between ordering supply parts and components, to asset visibility, to available funding resources to meet the requirements.

The hope is that GCSS-Army will solve a lot of these challenges in the future and help us streamline the logistics business. The idea of looking at supply chain management from the perspective of, “what is my budget and what can I buy” should become a thing of the past.  What is needed is a holistic approach that reduces uncertainty and improves predictability through enterprise solutions to logistics.

IDGA: Can you discuss any recent updates to National Guard policies/procedures that impact on your responsibilities, or on RESET efforts as a whole?

COL LEONHARD: The biggest impact to the success of the RESET program is financial solvency. John B. Johns, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for maintenance policy and programs, told attendees at this year's Defense Logistics Conference, "If you haven't felt the [budgetary] pressure yet, then get ready, because it's coming."

Conversely, and due to the efficiency of extending the life cycle of equipment assets through RESET and RECAP as opposed to new equipment acquisition, the program is a real bargain.

Maintaining critical field and sustainment journeyman level skill sets of soldiers in uniform is crucial for both combat and domestic operations missions. 

IDGA: Finally, one thing I always like to ask is, what is the "lead" to you? That is, in your role as RESET Program Manager for the PA ARNG, what strikes you as the one point/issue that is of the most interest to the defense/government community?

COL LEONHARD: Extending life cycle of equipment assets; having dependable equipment fully operational when needed; and skilled soldier mechanics, supply personnel, and supervisors enable self sufficiency.

RESET, not only for deploying and redeploying assets, but in the broader sense of extending utility of these assets is a prudent use of tax revenues.

Colonel Brian K. Leonhard is the Director of Logistics / G4  and the immediate past Commander of the 213th Area Support Group (ASG) headquartered in Allentown, PA.  He will be speaking at IDGA's 2nd Annual Military Logistics and RESET Summit, to be held Jan. 24-25, 2012 in Washington, DC.

COL Leonhard was promoted to his current rank in June, 2005.  He is a member of the Combat Support / Combat Service Support Task Force for the National Guard Association and past Chairman of the Reserve Component Advisory Group for the Army Ordnance Center and School.

Colonel Leonhard deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Commander of the 213th ASG. He had nearly 4,000 soldiers in his charge.  His unit performed a Sustainment Brigade mission as the general logistics hub for the Iraqi theater of operations, and as part of the first “Modular” Logistics formation in the Army. His unit also conducted operational combat logistics patrols during the surge of forces in 2007/8, and was awarded both the Presidential and Governor’s unit citations.

Contributor:   Christopher Dauer

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