ACQUISITION SPOTLIGHT: MR. LONNIE JOHNSON
International agreement work leverages law degree, active-duty experience
I MR. LONNIE JOHNSON
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation; Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology
TITLE: International armaments cooperation staff officer, international agreements team lead
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in program management
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 3
EDUCATION: J.D., College of William & Mary; B.A. in history, Norfolk State University
n ensuring that Soldiers have the best equipment for mission success, acquisition professionals often look outside the United States, to partner
nations or U.S. allies. Tat’s where Lon- nie Johnson comes in. As a team lead for international agreements for the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for defense exports and cooperation (DASA(DE&C)), Johnson negotiates and develops interna- tional cooperative research, development and acquisition (ICRDA) agreements that put the world’s state-of-the-art technology in the hands of U.S. warfighters.
Te goal of ICRDA agreements is to promote
research, development and
acquisition collaboration that improve coalition warfare, maximize scarce pro- gram resources and leverage the global technology and industrial base. Te Army enters into such agreements when there’s a technology it sees as promising, with the U.S. government and the developer pay- ing for its development.
“As an agreements negotiator, you often have to be able to decipher what the intended objectives of joint collaboration are and then determine how best to achieve those objectives through development of international agreements that authorize specific cooperative activities,” Johnson said. Tat can be challenging, he con- ceded, “but proponents rely on negotiators
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to help them fulfill their requirements for joint cooperation. Te ability to do so successfully builds confidence in our organizational core competencies and individual subject-matter expertise.”
Before coming to the Army Acquisition Workforce, Johnson, a self-described
“Army brat,” spent three years on active duty, including a deployment to Iraq. “My father served for 30 years, and I joined the Army in part because I felt indebted for all that his career had allowed him to provide for us,” he said. Johnson left the Army in 2004.
Before going on active duty, he obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary Law School. “Having a law degree definitely helps [in my work],” he said. “A key part of our work is negotiation, and my legal background helps with that skill. Also, experience in interpreting the law has enabled me to review the legal authori- ties that authorize armaments cooperation more critically so that I can recommend specific mechanisms to achieve intended objectives.”
He’s been in acquisition for three years and counts an agreement he helped to develop with representatives from India as one of his proudest accomplishments. “Te Next Generation Protection Ensemble Project Agreement has the potential to lead to the next chemical protection garment for the
Army AL&T Magazine
January-March 2016
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