Army activates new command for combat sustainment
By RAE HIGGINS
Capability Program Executive for Combat Sustainment
DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. – The U.S. Army on April 30 celebrated the establishment of the Capability Program Executive for Combat Sustainment, or CPE CS, in a ceremony at the Detroit Arsenal officiated by Brent Ingraham, assistant secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology).
Brig. Gen. Camilla White leads the new CPE, which was formerly known as the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support. The CPE is under the newly formed Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment & Ammunition, led by Maj. Gen. John Reim.
During the ceremony, the PEO colors were cased and Ingraham, who is also the Army Acquisition Executive, officially chartered White as CPE CS. The move is part of broader continuous transformation and acquisition reform efforts aimed at bolstering efficiency and speeding delivery of critical capabilities to Soldiers and joint warfighters, as well as our partners and allies.
The U.S. Army is undertaking a sweeping transformation of its acquisition process, designed to dramatically accelerate the delivery of critical warfighting capabilities. As such, the Army is implementing significant structural and procedural changes to prioritize speed, accountability and delivery. The aim is to place less focus on individual programs, but rather, an increased focus on capabilities.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the former Program Executive Office Combat Support & Combat Service Support past and present: Today we do not just case a flag. We secure a legacy of unbroken sustainment that has carried the Army through every mile of the last part of the 20th and into the first two-and-a-half decades of the 21st century,” said White.
“When we look at this formation,” she continued, “we see more than acquisition professionals - we see the architects of the Army's reach. For decades, this organization has operated on a simple truth: nothing in the Army moves without us and the critical equipment we deliver to the force.”
CPE CS acquisition professionals manage nearly 20% of the Army’s total equipment programs, which span the Engineer, Ordnance, Quartermaster and Transportation portfolios. CPE CS teammates are located in four states and manage $11.9 billion across the Future Years Defense Program. In fiscal year 2025 alone, CPE CS fielded 23,582 systems to the force.
“Those are not just statistics,” Ingraham said. “They represent mobility delivered. Readiness restored. Units sustained. Lives protected.
“If there is one message I want to leave with this team today, it is this: Combat logistics is combat power,” he continued. “You are responsible for transforming requirements into real-world capability … not only to our Army, but to joint and global partners. That is not support to the fight. That is the fight.”
In a charge to the CPE CL workforce, Ingraham emphasized, “The Army is counting on you to make sustainment faster. Industry is counting on you to make acquisition clearer. Soldiers are counting on you to make readiness certain.
“Transformation is not something that is happening to you. It is happening because of you.”