From the Army Acquisition Executive
The Importance of a Highly Skilled Army Acquisition Workforce
contractors and commercial industry since the Revolutionary War. While this issue of Army AL&T Magazine does not take us back to the beginning of our Nation’s history, it focuses on several decades of Army acquisition and even includes an article on the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which was created in 1860. It was the Signal Corps that awarded the first Army contract on December 23, 1907, to Wilbur and Orville Wright for the “purchase of one heavier-than- air flying machine.” In 1909, the Wright Military Flyer became the world’s first military airplane.
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With our entry into World War I and World War II and the introduction of new and major weapon systems such as the tank and long-range, heavy-payload bombers, the need for massive manufacturing capability gave rise to a domestic defense industry. No longer could the govern- ment rely on its own shipyards and arsenals to meet our warfighting needs. To manage the weapon systems and equipment being built by industry, the government required a highly skilled civilian and military procurement workforce. These efforts extended to space as the Army Ballistic Missile Agency launched the first U.S. satellite, Explorer I, into orbit on Jan. 31, 1958. This workforce grew in strength and complexity during our involvement in Korea and Vietnam and ebbed only as the Cold War ended. Our acquisition workforce, which now totals roughly 43,000 professionals, is down from a Cold War high of more than 100,000 members.
Several studies and commissions during this period recognized the need for a smaller, well-trained, well- educated, highly motivated workforce for efficiency and innovation. In particular, I am reminded of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, which was led by David Packard. The commission’s findings influenced the passage by Congress of major workforce
he Army has acquired weapon systems, equipment, goods, and services by working in partnership with private
reform legislation, including the Goldwater- Nichols DOD Reorganization Act of 1986 and the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 1990.
It is clear that the dramatic reduction in work- force numbers, along with the loss of acquisition knowledge and expertise acquired over a
lifetime of work, contributed significantly to the problems we have witnessed in the past 15 years.
At present, we are working with Congress, DOD, and others to strengthen and rebuild a skilled acquisition workforce. The candid and comprehensive report by Dr. Jacques Gansler and the members of his Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations has given us insights for the way ahead. By the end of this year, we will have hired and in-sourced 1,791 civilian acquisition workforce members. Our goal is to hire 1,885 people and in-source 4,041 professionals, for a total of 5,926 new members. We are also addressing the need to expand, train, structure, and empower our acquisition experts to better support joint expeditionary operations. We are changing our culture to recognize the essential nature of contracting. We are also improving professional development, certification, education, and acquisition experience opportunities at all workforce levels.
Our efforts are aimed at improving our ability to attract and retain the best possible people to perform our vital mission—to provide our Soldiers a decisive advantage in any mission by developing, acquiring, fielding, and sus- taining the world’s best equipment and services and by leveraging technologies and capabilities to meet current and future Army needs. Our acquisition workforce is dedicated to meeting the needs of our Soldiers around the clock and around the world, and I am dedicated to ensur- ing that they have the right skills and training to success- fully perform their jobs.
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