GFIM product lead leverages decades of acquisition experience

JT Craft, product lead for the Global Force Information Management (GFIM) program, manages an effort that will automate the Army’s core deploy-to-redeploy and retrograde (D2RR) business processes.

Craft joined the Army as an infantry officer, served in the Acquisition Corps, managed the mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) program and retired as a colonel after 30 years of service. When not working, Craft enjoys driving a 1966 Mustang Coupe and riding a Harley Davidson Softail.

A committed patriot and today’s #PEOEISTeammateTuesday, Craft answered 15 questions about his career and life.

How does the GFIM program help the Army?
GFIM will give combatant commanders insights into the types of Soldiers and equipment required to support their mission. GFIM will enable Army leaders to make quick decisions about how to reallocate resources to meet evolving threats. It will transform the way data is created and transmitted to people who man, equip, train, resource and ready our force. Right now, that’s an entirely manual and laborious process across 13 different systems that don't talk to one another.

When do you plan to award GFIM prototypes?
Eleven companies submitted white papers outlining their technical solution. We invited nine companies to demonstrate their solution. The demonstrations exceeded our expectations. We plan to award at least three prototypes in June 2021.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Scotland is astonishingly beautiful, and the Scottish people are extremely friendly. A Scotsman doesn't know any strangers; everyone's a friend.

I moved to the United States as a teenager and attended high school in Cape Charles, Virginia. I graduated from high school when I was 16 years old due to the accelerated education I received in Great Britain. I graduated from Longwood University in Virginia and was commissioned as an infantry officer at the age of 20.

What inspired you to join the Army?
When you grow up in another country, you hear a lot of wonderful things about the United States, and you can’t help but wonder if the stories are too good to be true. But when I moved to the United States, I quickly learned that the stories I heard were absolutely true. The United States and the Army gave me the opportunity to do things I would never have done in Scotland.

The Army also gave me a moral compass and enduring values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

What is exciting about Army acquisition?
The ability to develop new capabilities and new material solutions for Soldiers is hands down the most satisfying work I've ever done. When I was the MRAP program manager, we built vehicles that were sent right into the fight. My son is deployed right now and uses an MRAP; you’d be hard pressed to find more professional satisfaction than that.

Do you have any book recommendations?
I recommend My American Journey, Colin Powell’s autobiography. He overcame a lot of challenges. When he was at Fort Benning in Georgia, he had to enter the back door of a McDonald’s to get a meal because he couldn’t be served in public. Here he was: a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army on his way to fight in Vietnam. He rolled into a McDonald’s drive-thru and was told that he couldn’t be served there but could get a meal if he entered the restaurant through the back door. It was outrageous, but it didn’t stop him from becoming President Ronald Reagan’s national security advisor and President George W. Bush’s secretary of state.

What does a good leader do?
A good leader identifies that one thing that every person does better than anyone else and gives them the opportunity to do it. 

Why have you been so successful in your career?
Luck. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by talented and selfless people who have taken my vague guidance and made incredible things happen. GFIM is a good example of that. The support I get from the Army Data and Analytics Platforms leadership and the Strategic Initiatives Group is second to none.

We also have a great partnership with G-3/5/7, the functional. Often, the functional will toss the requirements to the acquisition community and say, “Go figure it out.” We can do that, but it’s much better when the requirements owner is an active participant in shaping requirements. At the end of the day, that produces a better product.

Why is PEO EIS the best PEO in the Army?
It’s easy to see the benefits of a tangible weapon system that you put in the hands of Soldiers. It’s harder to see the benefits of enabling business systems like pay and personal-tracking software that gives a Soldier peace of mind so they can focus on their mission. And that's where PEO EIS stands out. We take care of those things behind the scenes. We are a silent, unsung hero in the background giving the Soldier that peace of mind.

The PEO EIS culture is inclusive. The organization is utterly and sincerely committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity, assuming they are qualified, to contribute to the mission. PEO EIS hires the best qualified people who are committed to serving Soldiers.

What advice do you want to share with PEO EIS employees?
We have a two-fold sacred trust. The first is with Soldiers. What we do makes the difference between success or failure on the battlefield. The second is with the taxpayers who trust us with their treasure to accomplish the first.

What advice do you have for industry?
You need to do your homework and find out where a particular program or effort is in its lifecycle and tailor your message to that specific lifecycle.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
I wouldn't want to go anywhere. I think we are living in the best time in human history. I am pretty happy to be alive right now.

What is your proudest moment?
Retiring from the Army was my proudest moment. If you had told me when I was a kid in Scotland that I would move to the United States, serve in the military for 30 years and retire at the Pentagon, I would have called you crazy. 

If you could thank one person for the role they played in your life, who would it be and why?
My wife. She supported me during five combat deployments.

What do you consider the most valuable virtue?
Honor.