Fort Belvoir, Va
If you had told 18-year-old Army recruit Michael J. Kelly in 1987 where he would be nearly four decades from then, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“I didn’t think I would be here after I retired from the Army,” Kelly said during a recent interview. “I didn’t think I’d go back into government civilian work.”
Yet after serving honorably in the Army for 25 years, Kelly proudly serves as the Acquisition and Operations Chief for Project Manager IVAS.
The Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems (IVAS) is the Army’s cutting-edge mixed-reality headset of the future that provides Soldiers with a single platform to train, rehearse, and fight through a mixed-reality heads up display. IVAS has the flexibility to integrate situational awareness tools such as low light and thermal sensors, augmented reality, advanced targeting capabilities, 3D mapping and navigation, squad immersive training, and much more all in one platform.
IVAS provides Soldiers with a level of situational awareness and human-machine integration capabilities not currently seen anywhere else in the world.
It’s that unprecedented level of flexibility and Soldier integration that Kelly is most excited about while working with IVAS.
“It’s the extensibility and everything else that we can bring into the system,” Kelly said about IVAS, noting the advancements offered to Soldiers now compared to when he was in the Army.
Having used old PVS-5 night vision goggles, which he jokingly described as “like strapping a brick to your face,” Kelly knows first-hand just how much Soldiers will benefit from using IVAS headsets.
“There’s no extensibility in goggles,” Kelly said, holding his hands up to his face to mimic binoculars as a way to demonstrate a goggle’s smaller field of vision. “You don’t get the extensibility or ability to be extensible.”
IVAS is unique in that it provides both low-light and thermal vision to Soldiers, as well a fused option to provide soldiers with an unprecedented amount of visibility all in one headset.
“When you’re in the woods, even with low-light and enhanced night vision there’s still parts you can’t see,” Kelly explained. “But if you turn thermals on, if there’s a person there they won’t be able to hide.”
That’s also in-part due to IVAS providing Soldiers a significantly wider FOV that what night vision or thermal goggles.
There’s a lot more that Kelly enjoys about working with IVAS, such as the headset’s digital zoom feature to allow soldiers to see objects from further away, or IVAS’ ability to create 3D maps and models that can be shared across all soldiers to provide enhanced situational awareness.
But it’s getting to work with the IVAS team that Kelly most appreciates.
“I like this team,” Kelly says, answering almost immediately when asked about what he liked most about his position. “This is a very high-performing team. It’s one of the things I enjoy about this. More than most places I’ve worked, it’s the team here at IVAS. And I’ve been on a lot of teams in a lot of situations both in and out of the Army.”
Kelly definitely speaks from experience, having served multiple tours in the Middle East during the height of the War on Terror.
Although he prefers not to think of moments during his life and career as highlights, Kelly did mention one moment in particular as something he is particularly proud of.
In 2008, Kelly was again deployed to Iraq as a First Sergeant. His unit was moved around a lot, due in part to the fact that America had already begun the process of withdrawing from the country. Despite that, all of Kelly’s unit returned home.
“We brought everybody back,” Kelly says. “We had some injuries, but no KIAs.”
Kelly has lived a fascinating life, one that has taken turns that even he never would have expected. Throughout all of it, however, Kelly has always held the mindset of embracing things as they come, and it’s led him to where he is today.
“Never say never. Because you don’t know what is going to change in your life,” Kelly said, reflecting on how he never imagined he’d have the duties and position he has now. “So keep your possibilities open. Keep your options open.”
By Zach Montanaro
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Read the full article here
