ACQUISITION BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE
“Te newly published Army Regulation 70-1 represents a significant update for Army acquisition policy. For the first time, it makes permanent in Army regulation a comprehensive suite of policies that will help to accelerate the speed of acquisition and delivery of critical capabilities, encourage and empower our program managers to employ flexible and creative acquisition approaches, and accelerate the Army’s digital transformation. Tis policy change is a critical enabler in achieving positive acquisition outcomes.”
—Margaret Boatner, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for strategy and acquisition reform, January 2024
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n the midst of the Army’s most significant moderniza- tion effort in decades, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (OASA(ALT)) plays a pivotal role in ensuring critical
capabilities are developed and fielded to the warfighter. To be successful, the Army Acquisition Workforce must have clear, consistent guidance that enables that workforce to effectively navigate the complexities of the defense acquisition system.
Te latest revision of Army Regulation (AR) 70-1 “Army Oper- ations of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework,” published on Nov. 28, 2023, is the guidance and critical enabler that allows the OASA(ALT)’s acquisition leaders and practitioners to perform that pivotal role. As the Army’s foundational acquisition regu- lation, AR 70-1 now permanently codifies the latest in defense acquisition policies and innovative thinking, enabling speed, creativity, flexibility and the Army’s digital transformation effort.
ENABLES ACQUISITION SPEED One of the tenets of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework is to simplify acquisition policy. Implementation of the Middle Tier of Acquisition achieves this by bridging a gap in the defense acqui- sition system for mature capabilities that can be prototyped and fielded rapidly, within five years of program start.
Te Honorable Ellen Lord, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, described the Adaptive Acquisi- tion Framework as “the most transformational acquisition policy change we’ve seen in decades.” Te framework, she said, allows for “innovative acquisition approaches that deliver warfight- ing capability at the speed of relevance.” (See “How Relevant Is Speed?” in the Spring 2021 issue of Army AL&T.)
Tat speed of relevance is now codified in AR 70-1, which guides the Army acquisition enterprise with both speed of relevance and speed of service. Tis is evident in Army aviation’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program, which in October 2020 used
12 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2024
the Middle Tier of Acquisition Rapid Prototyping Pathway to develop two prototypes and then down-select to one vendor in December 2022, just two years later.
In contrast, it is estimated that the traditional Major Capability Acquisition pathway would have taken three years. Additionally, the Middle Tier of Acquisition pathway enabled theNext Gener- ation Squad Weapon program to divide into two separate efforts: fire control, and weapons and ammunition. Te new pathway transitioned from rapid prototyping to rapid fielding in less than 3.5 years, a process that traditionally could have taken nearly five years using the Major Capability Acquisition pathway. It is this combination of pathways that encourages and enables flexibil- ity and creativity.
EMPHASIZES TAILORING AR 70-1 now codifies several streamlining initiatives that emphasize tailoring documentation requirements, acquisition approaches and program review requirements to allow for flex- ibility and creativity. Tese qualities are amplified not only by the combination of adaptive acquisition pathways but also by employing creative approaches, such as the use of the Simpli- fied Acquisition Management Plan (SAMP) and the Acquisition Category IV (ACAT IV) program. Tailored reviews and focus on relevant acquisition approaches are necessary to define and execute a program result in a customizable acquisition strategy. Tat is where the SAMP comes into play. Te SAMP helps to streamline and accelerate the acquisition process by consolidating program documentation, previously found in multiple standalone products, into one document.
Adopted from the special operations community, which comprises approximately 3% of the U.S. Army, SAMPs can now be used for the remaining 97% of the Army by the Army acquisition commu- nity. It is a fully tailorable and adaptable document that provides a venue for integrating plans and approaches for engineering, cost, sustainment, test and the overall acquisition approach in
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