LEAD GRADS


From left, William “Cody” Swinford, Cassandra Reilly, Megan Henline, Kelly Sowell, LEAD program manager Kelly L. Terry and Thomas LaFontaine stand together following the Year Group 2021 and 2022 LEAD graduation ceremony on June 29, 2023, in Springfield, Virginia. (Photo by Jeremy Carlin, U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center)


OLD DOG, NEW TRICK?


An Army civilian pursues a change in career path at age 55. by Thomas LaFontaine T 100


hey say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Tis idiom has been used more often than most people over the age of 40 care to hear. Is it true? How many times have you seen an older or more senior person struggle with their phone only to hand it to their kids to fix the issue? My goal is to break this idiom wide open and change my Army civilian track while being north


of 55 years old. I feel that if the Army can change from counterinsurgency operations to multidomain operations, why can’t I, and others, effectively execute a career path change? It is time I moved from work- ing as a program manager in international programs to a domestic program manager or product director.


How do I make a change while ensuring I learn all I can to be an effective leader? Te Army Director of Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office has a program that provided me with the relevant classes and on-the-job training, allowing me to transition from international programs to domestic. I applied for the Leadership Excellence and Acquisition Development (LEAD) program to jumpstart my transition. In


Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2024


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