Charles O. Coogan, founder of Acquisition Logistics Engineering (ALE)
A graduate of the General Electric Machinist Apprenticeship program, Charlie joined the New York Air National Guard (NY-ANG) as an enlisted aircraft mechanic before being accepted into the Aviation Cadet Program. He flew the P-51 and F-94 with the NY-ANG before joining the active duty Air Force as an instructor pilot in numerous aircraft, including the T-33 and F-84. Charlie earned both his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees within three years from Oklahoma State University.
Drawing upon his broad experience, Charlie developed a flight data recording and interface system to enhance the F-105 Wild Weasel’s ability to locate and target SAMs more effectively early in the Vietnam Conflict. Turning his attention to logistics, Charlie developed Front End Analysis (FEA); an effective method to assess logistics and availability impacts while developing system requirements. His impact can be seen in the continued operation of many aircraft designed in the 1970s. Charlie achieved the rank of Colonel before retiring after 30 years of service.
In 1984, Charlie founded ALE with the help of his wife, Lillian, a computer powerhouse, with the goal of helping customers reduce total ownership cost and increase availability of complex systems and equipment through the application of integrated logistics analyses throughout the entire acquisition process. Charlie was a Certified Professional Logistician (CPL) and Fellow of the International Society of Logistics (SOLE) and was awarded the Founder’s Medal in 2003.
Recognized internationally as a leader within the acquisition logistics community, Charlie was a visionary. He demonstrated the value of FEA on underwater, surface, land, air, and space systems for both military and commercial application. Charlie developed the framework for the Reliability and Maintainability Information System (REMIS), still used by the Air Force today.
The consummate teacher and mentor, Charlie authored numerous papers published by SOLE and spent much of his time traveling the United States and the world teaching workshops on all pillars of logistics support. He literally wrote the book on Logistics Analysis in the Concept Phase for the Army in early 1989.
Charlie also wrote the Forward for Ben Blanchard’s Logistics Engineering & Management, now in the 7th Edition. Charlie continued to mentor young logisticians after handing over the reins of ALE to Renee Coogan in 2016. Charlie’s legacy will live on with the many colleagues, friends, and ALE staff members whom he mentored during ALE’s 40 years.
“The successful engineer of the modern world must go well beyond making the product work—the product must meet the customer’s needs for dependability, serviceability, and economy. To meet these objectives, the modern engineer, logistician, and/or manager must be capable of developing not only the system or product, but also a highly efficient process for the support of that system or product.”
– Charles O. Coogan
