INNOVATING TO PREPARE ACQUISITION PROFESSIONALS
increase AACoE’s agility and capability in teaching the intricacies of acquisition, logistics, technology and contracting, making training more responsive to the evolving issues faced by Army acquisition professionals.
Classes offered include the Army Acqui- sition Foundation, Intermediate Program Management, Army Basic Contracting, Intermediate Contracting and Pre-Com- mand Contracting (PCC) courses, as well as the FA51 Intermediate Qualification Course (IQC). Prospective students and organizational training managers can find details about these courses through the USAASC webpage at http://asc.
army.mil/web/organization/AACoE/.
A HUB OF INNOVATION Huntsville is a second home to many major defense contractors. It’s also an ideal place for students learning about Army acquisition. Huntsville hosts Red- stone Arsenal, home to Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Command, the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation, and PEO Missiles and Space. According to the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce website, “the Huntsville community is recognized nationally by Inc. magazine, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal as one of America’s leading technology commu- nities.” Te website describes Redstone Arsenal as “a diverse federal campus for more than 60 federal agencies and orga- nizations providing the highest level of technology development for national defense and space exploration. Army com- mands manage key missile and aviation programs while NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for large com- ponents of America’s space program.”
Te AACoE campus locale offers students access to government acquisition leader- ship as well as industry and academic
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leadership. Tese are important connec- tions for students to make. Students make this link with leadership during visits to local academic institutions, contractors or commands, or in the classroom.
Teaching innovations in AACoE’s IQC and PCC courses involves bringing differ- ent viewpoints on acquisition, contracting and business together in a unique setting not easily found anywhere else. Senior Army acquisition leaders speak about cur- rent trends and philosophies as well as their expectations for the newly assigned AAW members. Also, the IQC offers per- spectives from industry leaders and tours of nearby government and contractor facilities, providing students a firsthand look at the products or services they may be managing during their acquisition careers. Tese varying perspectives rein- force the Army’s approach to acquisition that can only be found at AACoE.
Te transition from an operational unit to a largely administrative and civilian acquisition environment often represents a new leadership challenge for officers and NCOs new to the AAW. With that in mind, the AACoE now offers an innovative communication class called
“Crucial Conversations,” a professional development curriculum that emphasizes the need for increased communication effectiveness. Te
course provides
achieving a successful career in acquisi- tion. However, those skills are only the beginning. After the training, students must take that basic knowledge and build upon it every day, because it’s inevitable that they will face the uncharted waters that come with being an acquisition professional. Te good news is that they don’t have to go it alone.
More than just a place to get DAWIA- required training, the AACoE is also a place that acquisition professionals can return to throughout their careers, not only for training but for research and consultation requirements.
Many acquisition professionals encoun- ter situations on the job that seem to be beyond their sphere of knowledge, leaving them wondering where to turn. AACoE provides a ready source of experienced personnel who can point acquisition professionals in the right direction, and where those professionals can do some research on the more difficult questions encountered by the acquisition commu- nity. AAW members also can get help from across the acquisition community by consulting the Acquisitions Lessons Learned portal at
https://allp.amsaa.
army.mil/. Tere, they can
browse stu-
dents with practical skills that they can use to increase their individual and orga- nizational influence in an often fluid and dynamic acquisition environment. Tis two-day course emphasizes effective communication within an organization to bring out the best ideas, make the highest-quality decisions and then apply them with unity and commitment.
LIFETIME LEARNING Te AACoE provides students with solid foundational skills, which are critical to
lessons learned from across the acquisi- tion enterprise and submit their own experiences.
CONCLUSION Innovation cannot be forced; it has to be nurtured and cultivated. Te schoolhouse at AACoE is just one example of how USAASC is creating an environment to do just that. We will continue to evaluate the training needs of the AAW and scan the horizon for new ideas to encourage innovation. In the process, we will keep developing adaptive thinkers and leaders to face the ever-changing requirements to win in a complex world.
Army AL&T Magazine October-December 2015
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