WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BENCH BUILDING THE OF ACQUISITION TALENT


DOD summer internship program of fers college students hands-on experience and a leg up to start their federal civilian career.


by Holly DeCarlo-White I


n support of the National Defense Strategy, developing programs with which DOD aims to “build the bench,” or gain fresh talent, has become an important focus to maintain critical acquisition positions supporting our warfighters and the nation. Since 2020, the DOD College Acquisition Internship Program (DCAIP)


has been recruiting undergraduates, from any degree discipline, in universities across the U.S. to participate in paid summer internships within DOD offices, with a hiring opportunity upon graduation. Te 10- to 12-week internship is one program of many centrally funded by the Human Capital Initiatives (HCI) Office.


“An internship with the Department of Defense isn’t your typical summer job,” said Kristine Faria, DCAIP program manager for the Army and acquisition education and training manager for the Army Director of Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office. “DCAIP interns work for the United States, supporting the nation’s defense— they support America’s Soldiers and they also support the DOD acquisition mission. Tey have opportunities to participate in activities such as designing, testing and procur- ing weapon, transportation and [information technology] systems.”


Tough all majors are eligible to apply for DCAIP, Faria said science, technology, engi- neering and mathematics (STEM) students and those studying digital areas are especially in demand and highly sought after. Last year, more than half of the Army DCAIP interns were studying digital fields focused on subjects such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer science, engineering, information technology, network architecture, crypto, cybersecurity, data science and analytics, robotics and more.


https://asc.ar my.mil 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112