New leader takes helm of Armament Directorate

  • Published
  • By Jasmine Porterfield
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Team Eglin recently welcomed Brig. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris as the Program Executive Officer for Weapons and director of the Armament Directorate.

With a $68 billion portfolio of all life cycle activities for air-delivered munitions, Morris' responsibilities span across several capabilities, to include air dominance, strategic, direct attack, and long range systems; miniature munitions; armament and munitions sustainment; test and training; and advanced programs.  

"I'm very excited to be part of the armament enterprise," said the 26-year veteran. "I'm extremely impressed by what this team is accomplishing each and every day to support the warfighter."

With a high demand to meet the pressures of an ever-changing battlefield, supporting the warfighter's needs is a priority that keeps Morris motivated to push the envelope in weapons development and sustainment.

"We've been in non-stop combat operations now for more than two decades," said Morris. "The world-class air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions and test and training systems that have enabled and sustained those operations were developed, tested, produced and sustained by the armament enterprise."

As Morris attests, the directorate is not alone in its achievements.

"The Armament Directorate is a big part of that success, but so are our partners in the [Air Force] Research Laboratory, [Air Force] Test Center, Air Combat Command and industry," he said.

Morris' own success as an officer goes back to his lineage growing up in a military household.

According to the U.S. Air Force Academy grad, there was never a day in his life someone in his house hasn't woken up and donned the uniform.  He credits his father, a retired Air Force chief master sergeant, as someone who has exemplified what it takes to be a good leader.

"Leadership is like any other skill - you have to work at it," said Morris. "I learned my work ethic from my dad, and it has served me very well in everything I've ever undertaken."

Morris continued to grow as a leader throughout his career, learning from his working relationships and building on the leadership foundation his father embodied. 

"Every person I have ever worked for, with or had the honor to lead has shaped me into the person I am," he said.

As a leader for an organization charged with enhancing worldwide Air Force combat capability and effectiveness, Morris' greatest challenge will be to keep such endeavors on-going in a fiscally-constraint environment.

"There is some inherent flexibility in the armament enterprise to adjust to budget fluctuations; however, being reactive to budget changes is inherently inefficient," he said.

Though current fiscal restraints prove to be challenging for any Department of Defense activity, it especially holds true for the armament community, where funding is a determining factor in moving forward with projects. 

"There are a number of affordability initiatives under consideration to include multiyear contracts and 'large-lot' procurements that are difficult to plan for in the current budget environmental," said Morris. "I want us to see us collectively meet our commitments, while continuing to find ways to drive affordability and increased capability into our weapon systems."

When asked about what is most important to his organization - mission, vision or core values, Morris attributed all three to its success.

"Our mission, to equip warfighters by acquiring and supporting war-winning capabilities, defines what we are focused on today. Our vision, to deliver affordable world-dominant armament capabilities... on time, on target, describes where we want to be tomorrow," he said. "The core values encapsulate the fundamental behaviors that allow us to achieve both."

For Morris, making every idea a reality in his high-performing organization would not be possible without its people.

"Great ideas come from everyone," said Morris. "In my short time here, I believe this is absolutely the case in the Armament Directorate."

Morris comes to the directorate from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he served as the director of the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate.