Don’t Mess Around with Gus. I Have A Good Bit on My Mind.
He is sixty years-old and was two weeks from retirement. Two weeks from walking away from retiring from the U.S. Army, where during his 39-year career he quickly rose through the ranks to become a four-star general. Earning a bachelors degree in business management from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in logistics management from the Florida Institute of Technology, his career included the following commands:
- Commander, Joint Munitions Command, responsible for the lifecycle management of $40 billion of conventional ammunition.
- Commander, 4th Sustainment Brigade, where he deployed the brigade to combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Commander, 64th Forward Support Brigade, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado, where he deployed the battalion to combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Commander, B Company, 143rd Ordnance Battalion, Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Two weeks from retirement, and having earned honors including two Bronze Stars, the Army Distinguished Service Medal three times, and the Legion of Merit, New Jersey-born Gustave (Gus) F. Perna was selected to be the Chief Operating Officer of Operation Warp Speed, overseeing the logistics in the search for and the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines. A vaccine process that usually takes between 5-10 years to produce, test, approve, distribute and administer, General Perna was given less than one year to devise strategy, plans, suppliers and support staff to provide 330 million Americans with the vaccine. While it looks like the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna may be available as early as December or January, there are some serious logistical factors that General Perna will come up against:
- The Pfizer/Moderna vaccines will be a 2-shot process, and administered no sooner than 21 days apart. If my math is correct, that equals 660 million doses.
- The vaccine must be kept cold; not refrigerator cold but 94 degrees below zero.
- The General’s task force has already identified many parts of the mainland U.S. and U.S. territories that do not have the necessary ultra-cold freezers nor the ability to produce the necessary amount of dry ice to sustain the vaccine.
- Kits, that include needles and other supplies to administer the vaccine, must marry up with the vaccine at all U.S. locations.
I wrote about the supply chain issues with administering the vaccine weeks ago, but last Sunday night’s 60 Minutes show included an eye-opening segment featuring General Perna. While this seems like a near-impossible undertaking, we should all have a high level of confidence that General Perna will make this happen. My one big takeaway from the 60 Minutes segment: General Perna makes it very clear that he is 100% accountable for the success of Operation Warp Speed, and at the time he gives the ‘execute’ command, the available vaccine will be deployed and in place at selected distribution points in under 24 hours. Godspeed General Perna. Here is excerpt from the 60 Minutes segment. General Perna is one serious man.
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Some Random Thinking:
- Yesterday, fifteen college football games were cancelled or postponed. There has to be a correlation with college students and Covid-19 protocols.
- After watching the General Perna video, and with no political alliance that I would care about, maybe we should stand him up as a presidential candidate? General Perna running this country would certainly create a level of confidence among all Americans – and put the rest of the world on alert. Can you imagine a conversation between General Perna and Kim Jung-un? I would pay big money to watch that meeting. It would be a massive pay-per-view event.
- The Masters is not the same without the massive galleries and blooming azaleas. With that said, it is still the Masters and today’s final round should be great to watch. Can Dustin Johnson, under immense pressure, hold onto his four stroke lead?
- The SpaceX Crew Dragon launch, with four astronauts aboard, has been moved to tonight. I am fortunate that I am 52 miles directly east of Kennedy Space Center and with clear skies have watched many launches from my rooftop. It does not matter how many I have watched to date, the launches and red glare in the night sky is still very cool to take in.
- The Major League Soccer playoffs start this Friday night and for the first time in four years Atlanta United is not involved. I am confident that Darren Eales and Carlos Bocanegra will use the extended off-season to get this Club turned around – quickly.
- Deutsche Bank – your idea of taxing people who work from home is ridiculous and absurd. Tax people working from home during and due to a pandemic? Just shut up with your dumb ass ideas or better yet, remove your businesses from the U.S. and go back to Europe.
- A headline taken from Google News. Only in 2020 could we try to understand and absorb: “Twitter for the Mac updated with macOS Big Sur optimization, M1 chip support”. Seriously?
Adios, pay if forward, stay safe and have a Funday Sunday!