From the Editor-in-Chief I
f you’re an acquisition professional and not a big fan of the television series “How It’s Made,” you should be. Te show is a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacture of every- day things. Something as externally simple as a golf ball
is actually pretty complicated to make, what with the rubber core, injection molding, and the science behind the dimples, not to mention the scientists, engineers and machines behind the production. Again and again, the program shows what everyone in acquisition understands: Simple is hard.
We know this because the U.S. Army Acquisition Workforce is behind the best, most technically sophisticated equipment in the world for the best Army in the world—but also works to make it as simple as possible to use, as the article “Learning on the Go” on Page 19 shows. An essential element of that is the pains- taking scientific research and development, production, testing and logistics that go into it. From inception to fielding and then upgrades, there is an army of acquisition professionals behind everything we make—and we make everything. Creating these products takes a large and highly skilled team of experts. It’s the makeup of that team, and their experience, that is at the core of discussion within Army acquisition leadership today.
Te Army Acquisition Workforce comprises approximately 1,267 military officers and 418 enlisted personnel and approximately 40,000 civilians across 13 career fields—from engineering to contracting—who work side by side with their industry part- ners to create the products Soldiers need. But how do you put together the right team with the right skills to 1) compete with private industry for talent, and 2) have the same competencies as their industry partners, if not higher? When you are sitting across the table from a contractor negotiating a multimillion-dollar deal on behalf of the U.S. government, or when you are producing advanced weaponry, you need to be the A-team.
To build that team, Dr. Bruce D. Jette, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)) and Army acquisition executive, is spearheading a number of initiatives to identify and recruit talent, such as an acquisition- focused recruiting cell; college scholarships with utilization tours after graduation; and pay incentives. It’s worth noting that the Office of the ASA(ALT) is not facing this issue alone: It is linked to the Army Talent Management Strategy as the Army grapples with the same issue across the enterprise. Trough new data-mining tools such as the Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army, we will be able to identify and recruit the talent we need to negotiate the best deal for the taxpayer and ensure that
the work the government receives is up to the stan- dards our Soldiers deserve.
In this issue, Dr. Jette addresses his vision of how to build the workforce of the future. Dr. John P. Kotter, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and world-renowned author of more than 20 books, explores leadership and change in “Change Agent” on Page 70. “Te Making of a Packard” (Page 10) showcases how the Army put together an expert team to plan and execute the rapid acquisition of electronic warfare capabilities, in the process setting an award-winning example for others. And “Te Need for Speed” (Page 33) shows how DOD, with help from Congress, is upending the acquisition status quo.
@
Email Nelson McCouch III
ArmyALT@gmail.com
Starting with this issue, we have a new platform for the digi- tal version of the magazine. It offers a much improved, highly mobile-friendly reading experience. Additionally, on Page 24 you’ll notice a new “ASA(ALT) at Work” feature wherein we profile our program executive offices and other organizations under ASA(ALT) to explain what they do and how that work supports the warfighter. Tose new features, and other changes you’ve raised in our readership surveys and other reviews, are becoming standard operating procedure to make Army AL&T more useful to you, our readers and contributors.
Finally, speaking of the contributions you make to this magazine, I want to shout out to the ALTies award recipients—the winners and runners-up. Te ALTies are annual awards presented to those people across the acquisition enterprise who devoted time and talent to write a commentary, take a photo, write an article or build a graphic—or to write an article that was so engaging, so compelling, that it was viewed the most by our readers. You can see a full list of the awardees on Page 120.
We hope that the work of the 2018 ALTies recipients will inspire you to turn an idea into an article of your own—possibly a future ALTies winner! Drop us a line at
ArmyALT@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you. Ciao.
Nelson McCouch III Editor-in-Chief
https://asc.ar my.mil 5
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