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reflected in the procurement packages that are submitted to our contract center.
How did you become part of the AL&T Workforce, and why?
I applied through the intern program when I was in college and was hired as a contract specialist at the TACOM Contract- ing Center in Rock Island, IL. A few people in my family have worked as DA civilians and I was interested in finding a similar position.
LIFESAVING PROCUREMENT
O’Day works with Darrell Brown, PEO CS&CSS’ staff program protection lead. O’Day has been closely involved in the JLTV acquisition, ensuring that deviations from the Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and DOD Source Selection Guide met headquarters’ expectations. He also led the development of source selection criteria. (Photo by Rae A. Higgins, PEO CS&CSS Strategic Communications)
What do you see as the most important points in your career with the Army AL&T Workforce, and why?
I view my current position as the most important point in my career, as I’m playing a role in the development of a vehicle that is intended to save more lives and will ultimately be ridden by almost anyone who serves in the Army after the vehicle is fielded.
Te source selection criteria incorporated several Better Buying Power (BBP) initiatives, O’Day said. Te RFP included multi- ple affordability requirements and anticipates evaluating future life-cycle costs as part of the best-value decision, both of which are part of the BBP initiative to achieve affordable programs. In line with the BBP initiative to promote effective competition, the program leveraged competitive prototyping by having three competing contractors in the engineering and manufactur- ing development phase before selecting a single vendor for the LRIP and FRP. Program officials also are evaluating an option to purchase the technical data package as part of the best-value decision, which will help to ensure future competition.
“Te biggest challenge in this job is getting all of the stakehold- ers and organizations to agree on one path forward,” said O’Day. “And we do that with a lot of brainstorming—proposing alter- natives until we devise a plan that everyone is happy with.”
What do you do, and why is it important to the Army or the warfighter?
I’m a procurement analyst for JPO JLTV, which basically involves preparing procurement packages that are subsequently executed by our contracting center and serving as a liaison between our program office and the contracting center. Tis is important to the Army, as I’m able to help streamline the acquisition process by providing contracting-related advice to our program office and make sure that the needs of our warfighters are accurately
What’s the greatest satisfaction you have in being a part of the AL&T Workforce?
Being able to work on the development of a vehicle that will ultimately save more lives.
Acquisition is a very broad term encompassing a lot of differ- ent job specialties, with many career tools available to them. What advice would you give to someone in an acquisition position who would like to further and broaden their career?
Don’t be afraid to seek out opportunities in other organizations in an attempt to broaden your experience and to gain perspec- tive from another part of the acquisition process.
What’s something that most people don’t know about your job? What surprises outsiders most when you tell them about your job?
When I speak to people outside the government, the thing they are normally most surprised by is the length of time it takes to develop and field a new system—they think it should happen more quickly than it does. One thing they’re not usually aware of is the complexity: the number of steps that are involved and the rules and regulations we have to follow. I’ve met a lot of people who are familiar with private-sector acquisition; for the Army, it’s a lot more complicated.
—MS. SUSAN L. FOLLETT
ASC.ARMY.MIL 91
BBP 3.0
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