Navy establishes new PEO LCS

Rear Adm. James Murdoch has been named the program executive officer for the newly established Program Executive Office, Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS).and E. Anne Sandel has been named as the executive director.

The new PEO was established at a July 11 ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, and provides a single program executive responsible for acquiring and maintaining the littoral mission capabilities of the littoral combat ship (LCS) class from end to end, beginning with procurement, and ending with fleet employment and sustainment.

“The littoral combat ship is a critical shipbuilding program and demands the very best skill and effort from government and industry teams. To ensure that we deliver this program to the fleet successfully, I am establishing a new Program Executive Office, Littoral Combat Ships that will align several program offices into one consolidated PEO, focused entirely on achieving that result,” said Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) Sean J. Stackley in a memo establishing the new PEO. “This action takes efforts that are currently managed across multiple organizations, and integrates design and development and tests, trials and evaluations under one roof. PEO LCS will have authority across all aspects of the program.”
LCS and its mission modules have been developed under a different strategy for shipbuilding using modular capability, minimal manning and new sustainment concepts. This strategy and these unique aspects of LCS lend themselves to a PEO structure that takes into account the complexity of a system-of-systems approach. Realignment to co-locate the shipbuilding and mission modules programs, together with fleet introduction, is designed to optimize program communication and increased programmatic syner

Previously, acquisition and maintenance of the seaframe and mission modules were conducted by two different PEOs — PEO Ships and PEO Littoral and Mine Warfare (PEO LMW) respectively. With the stand up of PEO LCS, PEO LMW has been disestablished and resident LCS program functions have been transitioned to this new Command. Non-LCS program functions from PEO LMW have been realigned within the Naval Sea Systems Command and existing PEOs.

“I am excited by the challenge of leading this historic effort to provide the Navy with new and highly capable warships equipped with extraordinary aviation features, large payload capacities and flexible environments for future missions – all contained within a fast, stable and efficient seaframe to support the Navy’s needs today and tomorrow,” said Admiral Murdoch.

Rear Admiral Murdoch reported as director of Fleet Maintenance for U.S. Fleet Forces Command in August 2010.

Since becoming a member of the Acquisition Professional Corps, he served as assistant program manager for Modernization (PMS 312E) in Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers; project manager for Naval Surface Fire Support in Program Executive Office, Integrated Warfare Systems; major program manager, Surface Weapons & Launchers (IWS 3.0) in Program Executive Office, Integrated Warfare Systems; and major program manager for the Littoral Combat Ship in Program Executive Office, Ships.

His career as a Surface Warfare officer included assignments in USS Virginia (CGN 38); USS Capodanno (FF 1093); USS California (CGN 36); USS Trenton (LPD 14); and PCU Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). He served on the staffs of  Nuclear Power School; Atlantic Fleet Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board; and Commander, Amphibious Group Two. He is an NROTC graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and graduated with distinction from the Naval War College.

His personal awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

The new PEO LCS will include the following Program Offices: LCS (PMS 501), Remote Minehunting System (PMS 403), Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406), LCS Mission Modules (PMS 420), Mine Warfare (PMS 495), and essential fleet introduction program and functional offices, such as test and evaluation and aviation integration.

July 13, 2011