THE CYBER EXPERIMENT


Due to the speed at which cyber threats evolve, and the fast pace of industry inno- vation in countering them, it is nearly impossible for Army cyber defenders to identify the software tools they will need one to two years in advance. Program managers often have only months or weeks in which to identify specific cyber defense tools for procurement. This short acquisition lead time poses diffi- culties when program managers are forced to either procure a new software system with OPA funds or renew exist- ing licenses with OMA funds. Doing this creates unfunded requirements in the year of execution, and hinders program offices from adequately planning or acquiring appropriate tools and resources for criti- cal software requirements.


Additionally, at any given time, software tools rapidly progress through multi- ple acquisition phases: prototyping, production and sustainment. Because of the highly dynamic and evolving cyber threat environment, programmers and financial managers cannot accurately fore- cast how much of each type of funding will be needed until the required year of execution.


In short, a modern approach is needed to align acquisition pathways with budget processes.


PILOTING A NEW APPROACH As part of the fiscal year 2021 Presiden- tial Budget Request, DOD announced a new multi-year pilot program to assist program managers in their responsiveness to warfighters’ needs. Te Budget Activity 8 (BA-08) Software and Digital Technol- ogy Pilot is a testing solution that realigns existing funds—spanning multiple appro- priations—into a single appropriation budget activity. It is important to note that the BA-08 pilot is not a new funding appropriation; it is housed as an additional


28 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2022


DIGITAL DEFENSE


A Soldier participates in a defensive cyber software testing exercise in September 2020, during Cyber Quest, an annual event at Fort Gordon, Georgia. (Photo by Jennifer Sevier, DCO)


budget activity under RDT&E. This activity is supportive of agile software acquisition and development, and aims to remove budgetary constraints for program managers.


Nine existing and fully funded military efforts were proposed for the fiscal year 2021 pilot program, and in the summer of 2020, DCO officially became the first and only Army organization chosen to participate. By consolidating software programs from all phases of the acquisi- tion life cycle into the BA-08 pilot, DCO set out to improve funding and execution decisions, build more cohesive acqui- sition strategies and optimize program management support in the delivery of critical capabilities to cyber defenders. To track the pilot’s success, DCO and other


pilot program participants are required to collect and report financial measures and performance metrics to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.


DCO is taking advantage of the BA-08 pilot in support of the DOD’s January 2020 modification of the 5000 series of DOD instructions, including the imple- mentation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework. Tis framework centers on rapid and continuous delivery of soft- ware capabilities, supporting DCO in its objective of delivering timely, effec- tive and affordable solutions to the cyber warfighter. Since the current budget process still operates independently and is not timely or flexible for short-notice or rapid software procurement, the BA-08 pilot provides a welcome solution.


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