By Megan Clark | PM IS&A Public Affairs |
MAJ Chris Foster, Assistant Product Manager for Product Manager Intelligence Systems (PdM IS), smiles after a Change of Responsibility ceremony at the Myer Auditorium on Aberdeen Proving Ground.
MAJ Chris Foster, Assistant Product Manager for Product Manager Intelligence Systems (PdM IS), has been with Project Management Intel Systems & Analytics (PM IS&A) for one year. The Army National Guard Reservist supports his product office and specifically supports the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) program.
MAJ Chris Foster, Assistant Product Manager (APM) for the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) program, found his way to Project Manager Intelligence Systems & Analytics (PM IS&A) in an unconventional way. Foster is a T-10 Active Guard Reservist in the Army National Guard and has spent much of his career supporting Special Operations Forces intelligence as an All-Source Intelligence Officer.
In 2019, Foster moved to Arlington, Virginia, to begin a tour at the National Guard Bureau (NGB). He held two different positions with the G2, including Program Manager for Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination, as well as a division Executive Officer.
In 2023, Foster transitioned to the acquisition workforce. He began working alongside the Acquisition Program Management Office at NGB, where other National Guardsmen learn to become acquisition officers and prepare for certification. Given his background in intel, Foster was assigned to PM IS&A to support cost, schedule, and performance for TITAN about one year ago.
TITAN is the Army’s next-generation, artificial intelligence-enabled, expeditionary, maneuverable ground station supporting multi-domain operations, joint all-domain operations, and long-range precision fires. It provides multi-domain deep sensing analysis and processing, exploitation, and dissemination in order to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline.
As an APM for TITAN, Foster’s main job is supporting his Product Manager for Intelligence Systems, LTC Jake Singleton.
“MAJ Foster is a fantastic officer, leader, and has excelled as an APM in his first year in the product manager office,” Singleton said. “He hit the ground running on day one and has been the lead for us at multiple unit exercises including Project Convergence Capstone 5, III Corps Warfighters, and Soldier Touch Points. He has also been trailblazing and leading the foundation for the future Software Pathway efforts for the TITAN program. He has done nothing but accomplish the mission since joining the team.”
Mission accomplishment comes with many responsibilities, all of which Foster can handle.
“Over the past year, I have overseen multiple sections within TITAN, including Information Assurance/Cyber, Human Systems Integration, hardware and software development, general program support for the Software Pathway, Middle Tier of Acquisition Rapid Prototyping, exercise planning, system issuance, Soldier training, and more,” Foster said.
As someone from a small town in Alabama, Foster often reflects on the privilege he has to serve in the role he’s in and the opportunities he’s come to have.
“During my initial weeks on the job, I [traveled] to Joint Base Lewis-McChord to oversee a ‘flood the zone’ event for TITAN, which aimed to resolve outstanding technical issues prior to deploying the pre-prototype,” he continued. “The team and I addressed mission-critical requirements within weeks, ensuring the unit received a more operational system.”
At his core, Foster is a problem solver, a skill that comes in handy as an APM. Recently, he coordinated a software-focused event to achieve near-term efficiencies before TITAN’s Operational Demonstration (OD) at Fort Hood, Texas. The OD event was organized and executed in weeks, bringing together Soldiers from across the country to demonstrate and update TITAN software.
MAJ Chris Foster poses with his husky dogs Tait and Quorra.
Foster values the ability to influence others both professionally and personally.
“My leadership style has been shaped by the diverse teams I’ve worked with throughout my life,” he said. “I have faced significant personal challenges, including the [losses of my mother, stepbrother, girlfriend, and most recently, my husky Quorra], and abandonment by my father which led to my sisters and I being adopted. Each of these things has taught me that overcoming adversity depends on the support of those around you.”
Over the last year as a TITAN APM, Foster says the team has consistently demonstrated resilience and worked together to address challenges and achieve mission objectives.
“Any success I’ve had as an APM are a direct result of the dedication of the entire TITAN team,” he said.
Success doesn’t come without obstacles. Being a dual-pathway acquisition program, the TITAN program entails substantial work for both MTA-RP efforts and the Software Pathway.
“There is extensive knowledge required to process, recall, and apply at any given time,” Foster said. “That’s the most challenging aspect.”
When he’s not directly supporting the development of major Army capabilities, Foster likes to explore his surroundings looking for great coffee places with his dog, Tait. He likes to go to concerts and music festivals and go to the gym.