LEAN THINKING
improvements: work standardization, spe- cifically the use of templates for customer requirements; consistent and accurate use of the contracting data management system of record; tighter management of military acquisition personnel; and elimi- nation of redundant actions between base contracts and task orders. Lastly, incor- porating cross-functional teams, such as those employed by USACE, to man- age individual contract actions enables acquisition workers to address challenges during requirements development.
For CONTRACTING TEAM
SSG Vincent Smith and CPT Christian Hasbach research contract payment history using the General Fund Enterprise Business System at Fort Carson, CO. Hasbach is the 724th Contingency Contracting Team leader, and Smith is a contract specialist. (Photo by CPT Jerrick Hunter)
more information, contact
craig.a.falk.mil@
mail.mil jeremy.c.gottshall.mil@
mail.mil.
frequently cut short by overseas tours, such as those supporting the Worldwide Individual Augmentation System (WIAS). While WIAS deployments are designed to address emergent acquisition needs in strategic hot spots such as the U.S. Cen- tral Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility, they often have the unintended consequence of interrupting the officer’s experiential development, par- ticularly when junior officers are involved. Te Gansler Commission warned of the dangers inherent in sending junior military contracting personnel into remote combat or contingency operations, where they are often expected to operate seamlessly and independently, without first tend- ing to their professional and experiential development in a garrison environment. Frequent military deployments or transi- tions also hurt the customer-contracting office relationship, as they disrupt the con- tinuity of contract actions.
To develop a more experienced and com- petent military acquisition workforce,
104 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2015
senior acquisition leaders must pursue assignments of at least three uninter- rupted years for military personnel. Moreover, they should look to recruit junior officers who are naturally more receptive to institutional training and bet- ter positioned to start their acquisition career by learning the tradecraft earlier in their development. Within their sphere of influence, contracting commanders should assign military personnel to spe- cific focus areas within the contract action spectrum, rather than frequently transi- tioning them throughout the command, which appears to be the rule rather than the exception. Witnessing a single action from requirements development through award and eventually to closeout better prepares military acquisition personnel for a career in contracting.
CONCLUSION To achieve greater consistency in single- award task and delivery order processing while facilitating waste elimination, con- sider instituting the following process
CPT SEAN DUNSTAN recently earned his MBA from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary, where he was a MG James Wright fellow. He earned his B.S. in psychology and counseling at Old Dominion University. He currently serves as a watch officer on the Army Staff, G-3/5/7.
CPT CRAIG FALK recently earned his MBA from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary, where he was a MG James Wright fellow. He earned his B.S. in police administration from East- ern Kentucky University. He is currently assigned to the Command Planning Group of the Combined Arms Support Command.
MAJ JEREMY GOTTSHALL recently earned his MBA with honors from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary, where he was a MG James Wright Fellow. He earned his B.S. in engineering technology from Texas A&M University. He currently serves at the Combined Arms Support Command’s Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate.
the
authors at
sean.p.dunstan.mil@mail. mil,
or
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184
