COMMENTARY FROM THE DIRECTOR,


ACQUISITION CAREER MANAGEMENT LTG MICHAEL E . WILLIAMSON


IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL


Te work done by the Army Acquisition Corps makes a difference far into the future


with the AAC, I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished. Nor could I be more certain that the men and women of the AAC, and the Army Acquisition Work- force as a whole, are the right people to meet the challenges of an uncertain future.


A


Tis silver anniversary is a good time to take a wide-ranging look at how far the AAC has come and where we’re going, while answering many of the questions I hear frequently from members of the workforce, be they students at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) or the Army Acqui- sition Center of Excellence, or seasoned product and project managers in our program executive offices.


Q. At this 25th anniversary of the Army Acquisition Corps, we would like to hear about the reasons you joined the AAC.


A. I came into the Army as an Air Defense officer, and at that time, I thought my greatest achievement would be to become an O-5 battalion commander. To me, that was suc- cess. My dad retired as an E-8 in the U.S. Air Force, and my


s we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Army Acquisition Corps (AAC), it is clear that the AAC’s work has lasting implications and last- ing effects. As I look back on my association


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joining the military was a big deal for me and my parents. Te opportunity to become an officer and ultimately com- mand a battalion seemed to be the culmination of all of my career dreams.


When the Army started the Acquisition Corps, I was an automation officer (Functional Area 53). In fact, I was pulled out of Air Defense and into the Acquisition Corps. However, any disappointment I may have had didn’t last long. I was given the opportunity to be the product man- ager for the Global Command and Control System – Army. Up to that point, I had not spent much time in a product office, so my first year was a huge learning curve.


It was the early part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and we were in Kuwait, dealing with a limited infrastructure. I saw the command, control and communications improvements we were able to put in place and realized the significant effect decisions made by product managers and program managers have on the Army. Today, as I look back at the systems that I touched and have been a part of, I appreci- ate the impact I was able to have serving in the Acquisition Corps. Our work is long-term. We build systems that may be used by generations of Soldiers. Sometimes, people don’t realize the long-term nature of our work.


96


Army AL&T Magazine


October–December 2014


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