SUPPORTING THE FUTURE FORCE A HAPPY MEDIUM


Middle- tier acquisition authority features flexible prototype and fielding options.


by Douglas W. Burbey, Mindy Gabbert and Kathryn Bailey T


he Army is employing one more option for programs of record to acceler- ate the way they usher Soldier technologies along the path from innovative concepts to fielded capability.


Middle-tier acquisition authority, granted by Congress in Section 804 of


the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, allows the Army acquisi- tion executive (AAE) to determine if a program of record can place its capability on a more flexible acquisition path to meet emerging military needs.


In doing so, a program of record’s product or program manager should be prepared to break new ground every day when navigating the process of middle-tier acquisition. Te time spent with every staff element along the acquisition path is crucial.


Situated between the acquisition pathways of “urgent” and “tailorable traditional DOD 5000.02,” middle-tier acquisition is for programs that house mature prototypes from government and industry that should not require much additional development to begin production.


In May, the AAE empowered the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) to use the process for two of its top efforts—the Integrated Tactical Network and Unified Network Operations—both of which support the Network Cross-Functional Team and Army network modernization initiatives.


https://asc.ar my.mil 29


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