The Program Executive Office for Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) came under new leadership on April 11 following a Change of Charter ceremony hosted by Lt. Gen. William Phillips, Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition Logistics and Technology), during which Brig. Gen. Harold Greene relinquished command to Stephen Kreider who will serve as the acting PEO.
As the ceremony host, Phillips reflected on the numerous accomplishments that PEO IEW&S had during the brief 10 months Greene spent as the PEO prior to his nomination and confirmation for promotion to major general and assignment as Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management, ASA(ALT).
“In providing Soldiers with a decisive edge and making sure they have the advantage against a determined enemy that is prepared to adjust fires and adapt to our systems, no one has done it better than this PEO,” said Phillips. “You made sure that our Soldiers have the ability to defeat IEDs, to detect the enemy wherever they are with intell sensors and to make sure our Soldiers have the information they need so that they act quickly and decisively to ensure they can come home safely.”
With Greene at the helm, the PEO fielded approximately 45,000 systems many of which were quick reaction capabilities developed to meet the immediate needs of the men and women serving in theater. He led a team of military, civilian and contractor personnel under seven varied but inter-connected Project Manager Offices to include more than 2,000 forward deployed personnel supporting 51 separate military exercises, assistance missions and combat operations across 34 countries.
Over the course of the past year PEO IEW&S pushed forward numerous long-term programs that will ensure technologically superior capabilities for Soldiers for years to come. Under Greene’s guise the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System, which will serve within the Army’s aerial layer, was able to begin work by resolving protests that had held up the program and will ultimately provide Soldiers with an adaptable system for aerial surveillance. Additionally; the Common Infrared Countermeasure program moved into Technical Development phase that will ultimately provide aircrew and their passengers an unprecedented level of protection from Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems. Greene also oversaw the contract award for the AN/TPQ-53, which will bolster the level of protection for Soldiers in the field, by expanding basic counterfire radar capabilities in both 90 and 360 degree mode.
During his time as PEO, Greene set a path for the organization to operate within current and future budget constraints while delivering systems to Soldiers that they want as was evidenced by his leadership of the Operations-Intelligence Convergence construct. Soldiers will now be able to operate critical mission command and intelligence platforms via one system. This new approach reaches across multiple PEOs and greatly increases productivity while ultimately saving on cost and time.
As operations came to a close in Operation New Dawn, Greene led the execution of a rapid drawdown and transfer of $442M worth of equipment in Iraq over 30 days along with the safe withdrawal of 281 personnel from theater to meet the Presidential directive for a zero footprint by the end of 2011.
In his final remarks to the PEO workforce Greene left the team with one final charge. “You have two customers, the taxpayer that gives their hard earned money so that you can provide for the common defense and that Soldier, Sailor, Airmen and Marine that uses our kit on the battlefield, so keep doing what you doing. You are on the right track and I couldn’t be more proud to say that I served with you all.”
Kreider who has served as the Deputy for PEO IEW&S since September is a member of the Senior Executive and a retired colonel. Prior to coming to PEO IEW&S he was the Acting Deputy PEO for Program Executive Office Integration.