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Data-Driven Success: Army Logistics & Operation Warp Speed
Jun 4, 2025
We discuss the crucial role of teamwork and data in achieving success. We also share insights from 40 years in the Army and the importance of data in Operation Warp Speed. #DataDriven #ArmyLogistics #OperationWarpSpeed #Teamwork #Leadership #DataAnalysis #Military #SupplyChain #Logistics #Government
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But it was the teamwork with the
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industry, uh, academia, and the
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government that really made us
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successful. Uh, and Palunteer, I'm going
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to just self-report, the reason why I'm
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here is they were such a great teammate.
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Uh, and Julie and Aaron, uh, two people
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that many people know in this room were
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a big part of that. And I'm going to
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walk my way through that in a moment.
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Uh, because I just enjoyed what they
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did. Uh, and I wouldn't be here if that
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wasn't a part of their persona. Uh, and
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I'll articulate that in a little bit.
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So, I spent 40 years in the army. I did
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two in the National Guard while I was
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finishing college and I did 38 years of
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active duty. I started out as an
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infantry officer and begrudgingly went
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to become a uh, logistics officer.
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Turned out very lucky move for me. I was
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an average infantry officer. I was a
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great logistician. My self-reporting. Uh
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but truthfully, I think you know results
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at the end of the day validate my
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comment. So uh it was the best thing
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that ever happened to me. My love was
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running through the woods and doing the
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maneuver and attacking. Uh the hardest
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thing I ever did was learn how to become
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a logistician where data is so so
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important. But I know you can understand
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this. In the last 40 years, data hasn't
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been as prevalent
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um as we might think it is because now
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there's so much of it. Back in those
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days, it really wasn't a lot or we
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didn't know how to obtain it or we
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obtained it in very draconian ways,
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right? And we were all there. I remember
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sitting in Somalia as a young captain,
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maybe seven, eight years in the army. I
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got there the night before. So the next
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day we're we're in this firefight and
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somebody comes and gets me and says,
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"Hey sir, the Pentagon's on the phone
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for you." I said, "For me? I'm Captain
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Pera?" Yeah. They asked for you by name.
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So I get on the phone as Brigadier
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General. Hey, I need you to tell me the
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status of the equipment in
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Somalia. I mean, literally, you could
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hear rifle bullets going right. And so I
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said, "Hey, um, nope, no excuses. answer
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the question. I said, "Okay." And I
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rattled off about 10 pieces of equipment
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and the readiness rates. The guy sitting
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next to me says, "Sir, how'd you do
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that? You didn't even see a piece of
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paper." I said, "Hey, you know what? He
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has no
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clue." And I know I was close
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enough, right? to fast forward right to
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here we are in operation warp speed and
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I have access to all the information I
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might need. Uh and this is so crucial.
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Okay, this is really an crucial uh point
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because when we took over
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