IN SELECT COMPANY
used by Soldiers and civilians in theater. And they’ll do it only for a specified period of time, generally three or four years, depend- ing on the position. As a result, Roper notes, “you have to get in, you have to learn fast, you have to implement something fast, and then you have to prepare your mind to leave and move to the next assignment.”
Polite agreed: “Te operational tempo for a CSL position is very high so it’s a demanding assignment, which means it’s going to take a lot of mental focus and effort and energy. But if you’re truly serious about moving up the career ladder, especially if you want to become a member of the Senior Executive Service or a general officer in acquisition, then you should at least consider taking a CSL assignment at both the product and project manager level.”
CSL jobs are prestigious because they are limited. In the most recent cycle, for example, there were just 72 CSL positions slated for O5/GS-14 personnel, according to Polite, and 14 of those jobs are specific to military.
Tere are three phases to the CSL process. First, applicants submit their packages and then the CSL board reviews and determines if the applicants meet CSL qualifications, provides a performance score and ranks them on what’s known as the Order of Merit List (OML). Based on those scores and the number of Army Acquisition Corps CSL positions, applicants are invited to attend ALAP.
During the second phase, all candidates who are deemed fully qualified for CSL consideration and receive an invite must then attend ALAP. Tis required assessment is focused solely on determining the applicants’ readiness for command based on the attributes and competencies articulated in the Army Leader- ship Requirements Model. Tis is accomplished by putting them through a series of psychometric, cognitive and non-cognitive assessments, including a psychological interview, a timed writ- ing assessment and observed behavior exercise.
WELCOME TO ALAP
Col. Fred J. Toti, officer-in-charge of the Strategic Leader Exercise, part of the Colonels Command Assessment Program, prepares a group of ALAP candidates before they participate in the exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky, October 2022. (Photo by Lt. Col. Twygena Cotton, Army Talent Task Force)
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Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2025
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