GROUND TRUTH Lessons learned point to innovation, savings for Army of the future by Ms. Ruth S. Dumer L


everaging past experiences, whether a solu- tion to a problem or a best practice worth replicating, is essential to preserving the U.S. military’s status as the best-trained and best-


equipped in history. Tose who have learned real-world acquisition lessons continue to submit them to the Army Acquisition Lessons Learned Portal (ALLP) to share their experiences. Te ALLP, championed by the Army acquisition executive and deployed in October 2012, is a knowledge management tool that not only enhances the performance of the Army acquisition enterprise but also influences its policies, planning and decisions. Following is a sample of lessons that shed light on how we can pre- pare for Force 2025 and Beyond.


BETTER BUYING POWER LL_710: Te Army has resources that offer the same development and production capabilities as contrac- tors; by using these, the Army can realize large cost savings.


Background Te product office for a communication system identi- fied that contracts would no longer be viable because the program had reached its contract ceiling and a visit to the production facilities of several Army depots revealed that the organic industrial base could produce the items.


34 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2015


Using an Army depot’s production facilities avoided sub- stantial costs, and this particular depot was already the only source of repair for the items. Additionally, new production by the depot would allow for easier upgrade, compared with previous versions.


Recommendation Be sure to consider the Army’s organic capabilities at the depots when investigating potential development and production vendors, as they may provide the same ser- vice at lower cost.


LL_691: Use an acquisition approach that leverages a competitive environment when possible, to maximize return on investment (ROI) for the government.


Background A program executive office (PEO) developed an acquisi- tion strategy for producing ammunition and operating, maintaining and modernizing the major ammunition plant. Completing the modernization program and pur- chasing intellectual property laid the groundwork for a competitive acquisition. Te successful contract for dual use of the plant (government and commercial) is expected to save almost $1 billion over the 10-year period of performance.


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