Joint Logistics and the Best Ways to Make Coffee
Lessons from a Company Grade Officer on Deployed Joint Staff
“You know how to spell joint, right? A-R-M-Y.” During my first few weeks working in the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (CDDOC) (forward deployed in USCENTCOM), leaders presented this question and answer to me, gently poking at my U.S. Army affiliation. I naively thought I understood the joint environment, having close experience with Joint Task Forces on prior missions. I rapidly learned- as the above question and answer allude to- the differences between working alongside the joint force and working with and through the joint force.
My time on the joint staff gifted me with an on-the-job crash course in joint logistics, and more specifically, the complexity of theater-wide movement and operations. It also opened my aperture to strategy and how it translates into operational and tactical mission execution. The culture of our staff supported idea proposals and discourse at all levels. The environment promoted growth, learning, and space to reach the best and most efficient ways to support the joint force. Of the lessons I learned at CDDOC, the most notable and developmental included the introduction and immersion to the Joint Logistics Enterprise (JLEnt), communicating and leading in a joint environment, problem solving on a theater staff, and personally and professionally growing because of our differences.
Immersion into Joint Logistics
Optimize and synchronize became the short phrase I anchored to as I stepped into the Operations Shift Lead position at CDDOC. A terse and pithy statement, the motto served as our compass when making decisions. Founded in 2004, CDDOC is a part of the USCENTCOM J4- Directorate of Logistics and Engineering. Historically and presently, CDDOC serves to “make decisions on allocation, mode determination, and validation of movements from an area of operations–wide, combatant command perspective.” The forward deployed joint staff is a critical command and control node for component commands and JLEnt partners, orchestrating intra-theater movement, Joint Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration, asset visibility, and support for theater retrograde in USCENTCOM.
As defined in Joint Publication 4-0, Joint Logistics, JLEnt is defined as “the collective community of logistics stakeholders that generate and/or fulfill logistics requirements of the joint force.” Providing options for decision makers at echelon, JLEnt synchronizes assets such as the Defense Logistics Agency, Army Materiel Command, United States Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, Non-Government Organizations, and the joint logistics staffs of Combatant Commands. Understanding all available assets and how to use them became as important as understanding how to synchronize all of them. In turn, this assignment taught me to think beyond my current Army understanding of logistics.
Learn to Speak the Language
My “joint illiteracy” became clear while sitting in my first operations sync, chaired by our director and deputy director. Surrounded primarily by United States Air Force (USAF) officers of all ranks/seniority, and senior enlisted airmen, we had few U.S. Army personnel in the room by comparison. As the sync started, a series of acronyms casually came out of the briefing airman’s mouth. I watched heads nod, while I strained to piece together context clues and letters. After I asked a question about aircraft maintenance, my deputy director handed me a small, printed USAF maintenance manual. It became vitally important to catalyzing my learning curve in “speaking joint”. My questions became mutually supportive to our staff. I became a proof for whether information passed the “joint” test. In turn, I also picked up on some new vernacular- the common phrases unique to the branches- that I could adopt, in gesture, via correspondences with sister services.
Learning a new language does not happen overnight. At my workstation, I kept a document that broke down ranks, abbreviations, and pay grades for all six branches of the DoD. It proved vital while communicating with service members across the joint force. A Captain in the Army is not the same as a Captain in the Navy, and a Master Sergeant in the Air Force is not the same as a Master Sergeant in the Army. As a professional, it is important for both accurate communication and a gesture of respect to learn and understand the differences. On a joint staff, it shows your integration and adds to your credibility as a teammate.
Leading and Learning in a Joint Environment
Leadership, at its core, does not change with different uniforms. I had never led a joint team before this job, and my direct team comprised USAF Technical Sergeants, Master Sergeants, and a U.S. Army Sergeant First Class. Leading, coaching, and mentoring subordinates through tense situations and problems, or giving advice, transcends the service branch. I provided counsel to my teammates struggling with family issues, coached some on how to interpret data and which clarifying questions to ask, and taught the team how to communicate information more effectively to the branch chief and director. I, too, received incredible coaching and mentorship from senior and field-grade officers from different branches during that assignment. From receiving support with writing a Joint Lessons Learned paper, thoughts on future career opportunities, and life advice, I found that our cultural branch differences did not limit their effectiveness as leaders in my life.
When asked to write an Airmen-of-the-Month award for submission to the local USAF wing’s leadership, I sought understanding of the differences in USAF awards and counseling from our processes in the Army. A few things helped me in this endeavor: I reminded myself that capturing and highlighting the work of a servicemember is the same regardless of affiliation, all branches have governing doctrine to use as a foundation or for regulatory guidance, and I could leverage the senior air force officers on my staff for help in understanding branch nuances.
Problem Solving in Joint Space: An Added Layer of Complexity
Problem solving at its core can be distilled to three basic areas: 1) Have enough information to start understanding the problem set and end state, 2) know the stakeholders involved, and 3) know your resources (and use them). I sat on a secure line one night with a U.S. Marine while we worked on a critical munitions resupply mission for the U.S. Navy. Like how I felt when I first interacted with USAF aircraft Maintenance Operations Centers, I felt lost among the terms used in naval operations. I dove into research, phone calls, and problem solving with our joint partners until I understood the situation and could effectively communicate it across joint channels. In reflection, I thought, “it’s all about asking the right questions, understanding enough to start the problem solving, attention to detail, and communication”. With that same vigor, I worked with the airmen on my team for months to solve movement problems and bridge gaps between other branches of service. The lesson learned: problem-solving methods at their core are the same; the joint space only adds nuisance and complexity. And when you are not fluent in everyone’s joint “language”, ask or research until you understand enough to functionally use the information.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap on a Joint Staff
I recognized that not everyone on our staff had experience being on the other side of what we did- the service member or piece of equipment being moved. It is where I became a valuable asset to our staff, especially during key decisions. I had once been the Soldier waiting for a C-130 or C-17 to take me out of a country. I had waited on a flight line for a critical class of supply to arrive. I understood the capabilities and constraints of the equipment being repositioned or deployed. That perspective was needed in our decision-making matrix. Everyone on a joint staff has unique experiences from their respective service branch and career. We leaned on each other to create shared understanding and maintain pace in decisions and execution to deliver on behalf of the warfighter.
The Best Ways to Make Coffee: Growing Past My Army Uniform
Following the position interview with my soon-to-be director at CDDOC, a USAF Colonel, he proudly showed me the team’s coffee bar. Lined with different types of roasts, bean grinders, and coffee machines, he exclaimed, “If you see something we’re missing, let me know!” I had to swallow the joke I wanted to make about the Air Force having higher quality things than the Army. With over a decade in the Army, I was grateful (and settled) for whatever I could get, ranging from enjoyable to tolerable.
I momentarily scoffed at the idea of what I perceived as “fancy” coffee. However, taking a few extra minutes to make a great cup of coffee produced a better product with minimal risk, and one I would adopt. That lesson in pausing was a matter of quality over quantity. Instead of rooting myself in preconceived notions about the other service branches, I learned to welcome the differences in how they each operate. Whether it was how certain branches held meetings, interacted with staffs, articulated problems, or planned missions, I took away lessons to incorporate for my follow-on assignments.
We Are Better Together
Joint staffs grow leaders in many and unexpected, making it an opportunity worth pursuing. As a U.S. Army Logistics officer, I never imagined pulling together joint mobility threads to load munitions onto naval vessels engaged in kinetic operations, collaborating with leaders in the Air Mobility to support sensitive operations, or interacting with Defense Attache Officers about local diplomatic clearance processes. I learned to communicate differently, speaking with clarity driven by an understanding of capabilities and requirements. The assignment also illuminated the complexity of operations, learning firsthand from the joint partners involved in different aspects of them. Most importantly, I was challenged to be a more multifunctional and multifaceted leader, something I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
Author Bio
CPT Melissa A. Czarnogursky is a LTG (R) James M. Dubik Writing Fellow. She currently serves as a Logistics Officer at Fort Bragg, N.C. Prior assignments include platoon leader, maintenance company executive officer, battalion maintenance officer, brigade assistant mobility officer, brigade assistant S4, and a logistics officer in the USCENTCOM CCJ4. Her operational experience includes USAFRICOM, USCENTCOM, and USINDOPACOM. She is a prior enlisted Field Artillery Sergeant.
