of the roles, responsibilities and pro- cesses were not documented; they were just “known.” And those who had been doing it for so many years made it look easy. Tere was very little hiring going on in contracting.
Most Army leaders in the late 1990s did not understand that a looming exodus of baby boomers was fast approaching, and they were unprepared for the change that the emerging Defense Acquisition Work- force Improvement Act (DAWIA) and new Career Program 14 (CP-14) brought. Tere were not enough DAWIA-trained and -certified contracting professionals prepared to replace those who would soon retire. But the work was done sat- isfactorily, customers had few complaints, and contracts were awarded on time. It was difficult to make leaders understand the coming staffing crisis in the acquisi- tion workforce.
BRAIN DRAIN To compound this impending problem, the requiring activities were also fac- ing the exodus of
their own seasoned
workforce. And as the acquisition teams and contracting workforce began to shrink in the late 1990s, timelines for procurements began to increase. Major milestones began to slip. Much-needed products and services were not delivered as required. Army readiness was starting to be affected.
Tis predicament gave rise to an increase in the number of bridge contracts awarded as well as an increase in sole- source contracting. In the early 2000s, the GAO published a series of reports that quantified the need for a bigger contracting workforce in the Army. Te DOD Acquisition 2005 Task Force Final Report entitled “Shaping the Civilian Acquisition Workforce of the Future” stated bluntly that DOD “is facing a crisis
COMPLEX PROCESSES
SFC Ricardo Bailey of the 928th Contingency Contracting Battalion, 409th Contracting Support Brigade, and TSgt Jonathon Hollis of U.S. Air Forces in Europe Headquarters, both contingency contracting officers, discuss the acquisition process for chaplain services in support of the multi- modal mission at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, Jan. 30. As contracts have grown more complex, so have the regulations, policy and guidance related to the contracting process. (Photo by SSG Warren W. Wright Jr., 21st Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs)
MORE HANDS NEEDED Programs like ACC’s Deployable Cadre point out the increasing need for deployable civilians as the expeditionary mission grows. (Image courtesy of ACC)
ASC.ARMY.MIL
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COMMENTARY
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