EFFICIENT WORKFORCE, EFFICIENT ARMY
Second, we have flexible requirements that are very well thought through, technically achievable and informed by experimenta- tion and real threats. Tat has enabled us in acquisition to work with the requirements in an iterative basis so nothing gets thrown over the fence. Everything is an ongoing conversation. Trough the years, the Army has been challenged with getting require- ments right to make acquisition success possible. We have a much better system in place now.
A third reason is flexibilities from Congress. Congress passes a lot of laws each year, and back in the 2016 and 2017 period, several flexibilities were established that we are using aggres- sively. We wouldn’t be where we are without them. Middle Tier of Acquisition authority allows us to start programs in a rapid prototyping environment and with rapid fielding, which hope- fully follows after a successful prototyping effort; as a result, we are slashing the time needed to field advanced capabilities from seven to 10 years down to four to six years. Currently, we have 23 programs in rapid prototyping and nine in rapid fielding. We also have the software acquisition pathway to enable faster, more agile software development and acquisition. We have 19 software pathway programs, 11 in the planning phase and eight in the execution phase.
So, those factors all coming together, along with the great work being done across the Army, are reasons we are doing so well in acquisition. Tere are risks in all programs especially those that are trying to do very technically challenging things. We will hit bumps along the road, but the issue is how does the Army
deal with the bumps, and so far, I’ve seen great work getting over them.
One other factor I want to highlight is the importance of team- work. I served in the Army, and the Army’s culture and values don’t change that dramatically. A core value of the Army is putting yourself behind the greater good—working together as a team, working together to accomplish something more impor- tant than your personal goals. Tat happens all the way to the top, I assure you, and it’s absolutely essential.
I am enormously proud of our success. Let me highlight just a few achievements:
• We have invested more than $4 billion in our organic industrial base to facilitate 155 mm artillery ramp-up through a combination of new, commercial production facilities and modernization projects at existing Army ammunition plants.
• We achieved more than $42 billion in new Foreign Mil- itary Sales business in FY24, a vast increase over prior years.
• Our FY24 contract actions totaled more than 163,000 for contract awards that surpassed $118 billion, includ- ing more than 2,100 in Other Transaction Authority valued at more than $6 billion.
• Our Operation and Maintenance, Army execution rate for FY24 was 99.9%.
We in acquisition have an important job to do. We can develop technologies and work to create new capabilities for the Army, but that’s not enough to produce real capability in the field. It’s not just the platforms. Everything else is just as important. It’s about the integration and synchronization of all those DOTMLPF-P— or doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy—domains, which must be brought together, of which materiel is only a part, to
HYBRID AVIATION
A 25th Infantry Division Soldier steps off a mockup of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) to test and provide feedback for improvements on Sept. 9, 2024. The FLRAA program is scheduled to begin building prototypes in 2025 and will have the hybrid capabilities of both planes and helicopters. (Photo by Spc. Charles Clark, 25th Infantry Division)
6 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2025
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