From the Editor-in-Chief
poet of the High Renaissance formally known as Michel- angelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, said that he did not carve the statue. “Te sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
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Now, I know it's a leap, but the same can be said of the acquisition process. Te acquisition battlefield is strewn with obstacles—regulations, laws, policies—that can obscure the goal. All were created with the best of inten- tions, but when viewed in their totality, it’s much like Michelangelo chipping away at the marble: Te right process is there if you can free it from its impediments. Te result is our version of the David, a system that provides the support our Soldiers need on the battlefield.
Tis issue focuses on “Shaping Acquisition” and how our Army Acquisition Workforce members figure out how to use the existing processes and chip away obstacles to deliver world-class products. Take, for example, the new Excalibur (M982A1) 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell (“Precision Success, Page 58). Te team at the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Armaments Center figured out a way to create a round that almost doubles its range, from 40 km (25 miles) to 70 km (43.5 miles). As a former artillery guy, I think that's astounding! And accuracy? With GPS and inertial navigation, there is little doubt that it will strike its target and the enemy will never see it coming.
hen Michelangelo was asked about the creation of his masterpiece of Renais- sance sculpture, David, the great Italian sculptor, painter, architect and
Ever get into a vehicle with all your gear on and realize humans were not considered when the thing was built? Or the system is so complex, again, because a human was not in the equation? Well, that should be a thing of the past with the work on Soldier-centered design, putting Soldiers in the middle of the devel- opment loop to make sure they can actually make the stuff do what it’s supposed to. See the article by Dr. Pam Savage-Knepshield and crew, "Soldier-Centered Agile," Page 23, and find out how the magic is made.
Email Nelson McCouch III @
armyalt@mail.mil
Although we have world-class facilities and person- nel, we haven’t cornered the market on good ideas or processes—yet. To that end, we have articles on how we are partnering with firms to scout for technology and encourage investments in new companies with promising research. At the same time we are working with academia, industry and DOD to develop a best-practices acquisition playbook for program managers to consult and tailor to their needs. Somewhere in all that rubble are the prod- uct and process we were looking for!
Bottom line, there is a little Michelangelo in all of us. We just need to take the time to remove the clutter and our ideas will materialize. If, like Michelangelo, you have ideas, comments or a story you would like to release from the marble of your mind, please contact us at ArmyALT@
mail.mil. Now you can reach any of our authors and editors via the new Army AL&T contact page (https://
asc.army.mil/web/contact-alt/). As always, we look forward to hearing from you.
Nelson McCouch III Editor-in-Chief
https://asc.ar my.mil
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