THE ‘NEW’ ACQUISITION WORKFORCE


operational advantage. Starting this fall,               for Afghanistan. Our work to build, inte- grate, and validate these capability sets through the NIEs will pay huge dividends when Soldiers downrange receive game- changing gear that has been tested and is  Process have matured from a new concept


-       the supporting policies and procedures. These improvements include additional upfront integration before each NIE, a well-trained and multidisciplinary NIE  for each member of the NIE triad: the Brigade Modernization Command, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command


(ATEC), and System of Systems Integra- tion (SoSI) Directorate.


The NIE process still isn’t perfect. Like         realize the Army’s ultimate vision. But we are making progress, thanks in large part to the individuals of the “new” acquisition workforce. These are some of their stories.


SARIKA RANA


Role and organization: DA civilian, Pro- gram Executive Office Command, Control, and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T)


NIEs participated in: 3


From Sarika Rana’s point of view, the NIE is forcing the Army to do two things that are easier said than done: communicate and make decisions.


As an engineer for PEO C3T’s Technical Management Division, which builds the network architecture for the NIEs, Rana has       communication dramatically across and within PEO boundaries. She said the NIEs    different communication systems are, lead- ing to partnerships such as the cooperation among three different PEO C3T PMs to create mission command on-the-move appli-  –Tactical Increment 2 in time for NIE 12.1, which took place in fall 2011.


“You would not have had that happen if you didn’t have an event like this pushing the groups together and forcing them to com- municate,” Rana said. “They’ve been talking before, but arguably NIE drove them to talk better.”


34


The output of NIE and the Agile Process—       13—has also added a sense of urgency. With      - ing, and deployment schedules, the Army        units to ensure that urgent needs are met. If - tion for the moment, Rana said, then so be it.


“It’s not as neat as we would like it to be, but it’s breaking into manageable chunks, because you can’t do all of it,” she said. “At least you can start focusing on the things that 


Before working as a DA civilian, Rana worked for MITRE Corp., supporting the Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center and then PEO C3T. She participated in other tests of network equipment, a career path she calls “an interesting circle,” but those did not force the community to come together in the same way NIE has, she said. Rana called the NIE environment more challeng- ing—requiring personnel to master the arts of multitasking and patience—but in a way that ultimately will be good for the Army.


“We’re now being forced to work together in a greater capacity,” Rana said. “That’s been really great, because you start seeing a lot of new things that you wouldn’t have before.”


Army AL&T Magazine


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