Project Manager · Transitioning U.S. Army Officer · Fort Worth, TX

Fourteen years leading operations. Ready to deliver your next project.

I'm Marcus Reed, a logistics officer leaving the Army after 14 years, 180 soldiers, three deployments, and $62M of equipment accounted for to the last item. Project management is what I've been doing. Now I'm doing it for you.

180Soldiers led as company commander
$62MEquipment accountability, 100% on audit
3Deployments · Europe and Middle East
0Safety incidents in 24 months of command

About

Operations is project management with higher stakes

For fourteen years my job was to take an objective, a deadline, a budget, and a team that didn't choose each other, and deliver, usually somewhere difficult. Every operation had a scope, a schedule, a risk assessment, a resource plan, and an after-action review. The vocabulary is different. The work is the same.

As a company commander I was accountable for 180 people, $62M in vehicles and equipment, and a maintenance and supply operation that supported a 900-soldier battalion. As a battalion logistics officer I planned the movement of 2,000 people and their equipment across three countries for a multinational exercise, on time.

I've spent the past year translating that into civilian terms: CAPM earned, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt earned, PMP exam scheduled, and the three operations below written up the way a hiring manager would want to read them.

Objective: a project or program manager role in logistics, operations, manufacturing, or infrastructure, where delivery under pressure matters more than a perfect résumé keyword match.

Strengths: planning under uncertainty, leading large cross-functional teams, risk management, and calm, clear communication when things go wrong.

Military to civilian

What my experience means in your terms

Recruiters don't always have a translator. Here's the one I'd hand them.

What I did in the ArmyWhat it's called in project management
Company command180 soldiers, 6 platoons, 24 months accountable for everything
→
Program leadershipLeading a large cross-functional team to deliverables and budget
Operations order (OPORD)Mission, scope, timeline, resources, contingencies
→
Project charter & planScope statement, WBS, schedule, resource and risk plans
Risk assessment matrixProbability × severity on every operation, mitigations assigned
→
Risk register & mitigationQualitative risk analysis, owners, response plans
Convoy & movement planning2,000 people and equipment across 3 countries
→
Scheduling & supply chainCritical path, dependencies, logistics coordination
Property accountability$62M, 4,000 line items, 100% on every audit
→
Budget & asset managementCost control, procurement, inventory and compliance
After-action review (AAR)What was supposed to happen, what happened, why, what changes
→
Retrospectives & lessons learnedContinuous improvement, closing documentation

Operations as projects

Three operations, written as projects

Scope, team, budget, constraints, and result. Unit details are generalized.

OPERATION 01 · ASSET MANAGEMENT

Battalion equipment reset

Company commander · 90 days · $62M · 4,000 line items · 180 personnel

After a nine-month deployment, every vehicle, weapon, and piece of equipment had to be inventoried, inspected, repaired or replaced, and certified ready within 90 days, with an audit at the end that my name was on.

I broke the inventory into six platoon workstreams with daily targets, stood up a single tracking sheet every leader updated by 1800, and ran a 15-minute stand-up each morning on blockers only. Shortfalls were escalated with a request already drafted, not a problem description.

Accountability
100%on the final audit
Schedule
Day 84six days early
Readiness
94%up from 61% on return
READINESS · 90 DAYS 61%94% Day 0Day 45Day 84 Target 90%
Daily tracking made the trend visible by week two.
OPERATION 02 · MULTI-SITE LOGISTICS

Multinational exercise movement plan

Battalion logistics officer · 5 months planning · 2,000 personnel · 3 countries · 14 partner units

Move a 2,000-person task force and 600 vehicles from home station through two European countries to a training area, on a fixed exercise start date, coordinating with rail, port, and host-nation authorities who didn't report to us.

Built the plan backwards from the start date, mapped every dependency (rail slots, border crossings, fuel points, customs), and ran weekly syncs with partner units. Kept a 72-hour buffer on the critical path and spent two days of it when a rail slot was cancelled.

Arrival
On timeexercise started as scheduled
Equipment
600vehicles, zero lost in transit
Dependencies
140+tracked on one plan
CRITICAL PATH · 5 LEGS Rail out Port Rail in Convoy Start Buffer on critical path 48 h used (rail slot cancelled)72 h planned · 24 h remained at start Coordination 14 partner units · 2 host nations · weekly sync · one shared plan
The buffer was the plan working, not the plan failing.
OPERATION 03 · PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Fleet maintenance turnaround

Company commander · 6 months · 140 vehicles · 32 mechanics · Lean Six Sigma project

Vehicle readiness had fallen to 71% because parts requests were lost between the motor pool and supply, and no one could say how long a repair had been waiting. Leadership noticed when a mission had to borrow trucks.

Mapped the repair process end to end, found that 40% of delay was parts waiting on a signature, and redesigned the flow: one parts clerk embedded in the motor pool, a visual board for every open repair, and a weekly review of anything over 10 days. Trained the 32 mechanics and their leaders on the new flow.

Readiness
94%from 71% in six months
Repair time
−46%average days open
Sustained
12 moafter I handed over command
AVERAGE DAYS PER REPAIR Beforewaiting on signature24 d After13 d Fleet readiness Month 071% Month 694% Fix the signature, fix the fleet.
Green Belt project; the process stayed in place after handover.

Leadership

How I lead a team

Clear intent

Everyone knows the objective and why it matters, so they can make good decisions when the plan meets reality and I'm not in the room.

Plan the risks, then rehearse

Every plan carries a risk matrix and a contingency. The hard parts get walked through before they happen.

Review honestly

After-action reviews with no rank in the room. What was supposed to happen, what happened, and what we change next time.

Service record

Fourteen years, U.S. Army

2023 — 2026

Company Commander (Captain)

Forward Support Company · 1st Cavalry Division · Fort Cavazos, TX
  • Led 180 soldiers across maintenance, supply, fuel, and transportation platoons supporting a 900-soldier battalion.
  • Accountable for $62M in equipment; 100% on every inventory and audit over 24 months.
  • Delivered the equipment reset and fleet turnaround projects above; zero safety incidents during command.
2020 — 2023

Battalion Logistics Officer (S4)

Infantry Battalion · deployed Europe 2022
  • Planned and executed the movement of 2,000 personnel and 600 vehicles for a multinational exercise across three countries.
  • Managed a $3.4M annual operating budget and coordinated with 14 partner units.
2016 — 2020

Platoon Leader → Executive Officer

Logistics units · deployed Middle East 2018
  • Led a 40-soldier transportation platoon running convoy operations; later ran day-to-day operations for a 140-soldier company.
2012 — 2016

Supply Sergeant → Officer Candidate

Enlisted service · deployed Middle East 2014
  • Managed supply operations for a 120-soldier company; selected for Officer Candidate School.
Earned
CAPMProject Management Institute · 2026
Earned
Lean Six Sigma Green BeltArmy Office of Business Transformation · 2025
In progress
PMPExam scheduled November 2026 · 4,500+ qualifying hours
Degree
B.S., Supply Chain ManagementTexas A&M University–Commerce

Contact

Let's talk about your next project

Available from January 2027 for project and program management roles in logistics, operations, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Open to relocation within the United States. Veteran-hiring programs welcome.

TXFort Worth, Texas · willing to relocate
INlinkedin.com/in/marcusreed-pm
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