Starting with an ending by Col. J. Ward Roberts On April 22, the Army kicked off a major joint operational exercise for future force development. Six separate three-star headquarters and more than 6,500 participants from 10 partner nations came together on foreign soil to execute realistic training scenarios against a near-peer adversary. This view of future warfare, where joint and multinational interoperability is the norm—combined with a modernization effort focused on emerging capabilities and experimentation—is driving an adjustment in how the Army conducts two major operational exercises: the Joint Warfighting Assessment (JWA) and the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE). Originally designed as complementary exercises, the JWA and NIE used Soldier feedback to evaluate, integrate and improve hundreds of government and industry technologies. Now, after serving the Army well, the NIE will end in November, while the JWA will continue as an annual event led by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and its subordinate U.S. Joint Modernization Command (JMC). Moving forward, the Army will use the JWA as one element in assessing experimental capabilities to help evolve mission command capabilities and network strategy, and to shape requirements. Likewise, the JWA will continue to improve interoperability among joint and coalition partners, while informing tactics, techniques and procedures. Together with a series of smaller events, the JWAs will support the new Army Futures Command and cross-functional teams to facilitate faster development of future capabilities. Now, after executing the JWA in Europe for the first time, the Army will use lessons learned from the event as it moves the exercise to Joint Base Lewis-McChord next year with a focus on the Pacific theater of operations, and as it continues to shift acquisition processes to support modernization. U.S. Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company “Legion”, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), conduct an airborne training operation, Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, April 17, 2018. The Joint Warfighting Assessment (JWA) helps the Army evaluate emerging concepts, integrate new technologies, and promote interoperability within the Army, with other services, U.S. allies, and other coalition partners. JWA is the only exercise venue assessing 27 concepts and capabilities while aligning with U.S. Army Europe Readiness and other component exercises such as Combined Resolve X and Blue Flag 18 with a focus on a ready, interoperable Joint Force capable of accomplishing the mission and overmatching current and future enemies across the range of military operations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Tadow McDonald) NIE MISSION ENDS When the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division (3/82) arrives at Fort Bliss, Texas, this November, it will close out the last NIE. While there, it’ll evaluate three systems under test: the Distributed Common Ground System – Army; the Mission Command Information System, part of the Command Post Computing Environment; and the Mounted Mission Command System, part of the Mounted Computing Environment. It will also conduct demonstrations of air-ground integration and tactical radios, including items that the Network Cross-Functional Team has recommended for assessment. After running through operational scenarios with the new equipment, the 3/82 will provide feedback to help inform procurement and fielding decisions. In the 3/82, the Army will look to a rotational unit, in this case a light infantry unit, to provide feedback on how its Soldiers will use the tactical network, mission command capabilities and communications for their unique missions. The 82nd Airborne Division has requested that scenarios at the NIE focus on joint forcible entry operations, to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the 82nd Airborne, which serves as the Army’s rapid deployment force and must be able to respond to any threat worldwide with very little notice, flying from home station in order to seize key terrain inside a contested battlespace. And because two of the three systems under test are found in the command post, modeling and simulation will play heavily into the scenario, replicating maneuver companies so Soldiers can run multiple drills in the command post. All of this will take place in a heavily contested cyber and electronic warfare environment to fully stress the systems against replicate threats. The NIEs, begun in 2011, made significant strides for the Army as a forcing function for integration. Up until that point, the Army developed and delivered individual components of its tactical communications network separately, leaving integration for the end. The NIE served to reverse that, bringing together numerous digital tactical communication systems at one large operational assessment, held twice a year at Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. For several NIE cycles, Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division were the dedicated test unit, trying out the gear in operational scenarios and providing operational feedback to inform procurement and fielding decisions. And it worked. Over the past seven years, the NIEs helped the Army integrate and fully test several major network capabilities under development, while shedding light on next-generation warfighting technologies. In all, more than 300 capabilities went through the NIE construct, leading to important advances in expeditionary networking and mission command. The NIE identified gaps across capability portfolios, assessed technologies for filling gaps, and aligned programs of record to address shortfalls with interoperability. However, as the Army steadily embraces rapid prototyping, experimentation and the “fail early” mentality of trying a capability out before making it a program of record, the NIE is no longer the best model for network modernization. In 2015, the Army decided to make the NIE an annual event, sharing time with a complementary new assessment, known as the JWA (originally named the Army Warfighting Assessment), which focused on experimentation, prototyping and joint and multinational interoperability. This year, the Army decided to move forward solely with the JWA, starting in FY19 and beyond. Network Integration Evaluation 14.2, featured more than 900 Marines, a British mechanized brigade headquarters, and 3,800 Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, who fought side-by-side in a combination of live, virtual and constructive battles. (Photo Credit: Nancy JonesBonbrest, PEO C3T) JWA MOVES FORWARD This spring, for the first time, the JWA took place outside the United States. Units from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division; the 1st Infantry Division headquarters; the 173rd Airborne Brigade and others gathered in Germany from April 22 to May 9 to assess new concepts and capabilities alongside joint and coalition partners that included brigade headquarters from the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany, a battalion headquarters from Denmark, and participants from Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Spain. The JWA leveraged two other existing exercises taking place in Europe at that time, the U.S. Air Force’s Blue Flag and the U.S. Army’s Combined Resolve X. The JWA 18 segment of the event required units to operate in a mission partner environment, meaning U.S. mission command systems shared a common operating picture across U.S. forces and coalition partners. Shared services included email, chat, chatrooms, order disseminations and SharePoint. The exercise assessed the integration of a three-star Army headquarters and three-star Air Force headquarters, which were required to pass information not only between commands, but also across the many participating countries. The execution of the JWA in Europe—at Grafenwoehr Training Area and Hohenfels Training Area in Germany—brought new challenges for the acquisition team that supports the events. Up until last year, all NIEs and JWAs were planned and executed at Fort Bliss. This time, some planning and coordination happened at Fort Bliss, but the brunt of activities, from integrating vehicles to validating the networks needed for the exercise, occurred overseas. M2 Bradley fighting vehicles are lined up in Grafenwoehr, Germany to be fitted with Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) gear on April 11, 2018, in preparation for a field exercise during Combined Resolve X. Exercise Combined Resolve X is an U.S. Army Europe exercise series held twice a year in the major training areas of southeastern Germany, with this iteration scheduled to take place in April 2018. The Joint Warfighting Assessment leveraged Combined Resolve X, along with the Air Force’s Blue Flag, that were also occurring in Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven / 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) One of the biggest challenges came in the form of network planning. Although there are some common international standards for sharing data, no two countries use exactly the same mission command systems. The Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) brought deliberate network and configuration, through the use of detailed architecture products, to the JWA to ensure that the different systems could communicate and populate execute vital messaging as seamlessly as possible. Two key pieces of early technology—Automated Communications Information Software and the Mission Command Information System—helped support this interoperability. As part of JWA 18, the Capability Package Directorate (CPD), as the lead for the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)), supported the JMC and several other partners in preparing and assessing solutions to the Army Warfighting Challenges. The concepts and capabilities were assessed through the lens of 18 of the 20 Army Warfighting Challenges, such as to “Ensure Interoperability and Operate in Joint, Inter-organizational, Multination Environment” and to “Employ Cross Domain Fires.” These are key areas the Army has deemed as either needing new capabilities or needing a better way of using what the Army has today. CPD, with support from PEO C3T Technology Management Division, Project Manager Electronic Warfare and Cyber (PM EW&C), Project Manager Mission Command (PM MC) and Project Manager Tactical Networks, had to incorporate and validate almost 30 concepts and capabilities into the operational network for JWA 18. Three of the most mature systems included the Army Rapid Capabilities Office and PM EW&C Electronic Warfare Phase 1 systems, PM MC’s Army Coalition Interoperability System and its early release of the Mission Command Information System, which will be under test in November 2018. Soldiers assessed additional concepts that included the tactical power management concept, ground mobility vehicle, mobile protected firepower, and the robotic complex breach. Capabilities included division and below short-range air defense capability and Stryker-directed energy at the forward edge. The team also integrated systems on vehicles, including capabilities for counter-unmanned aircraft systems, radars, navigation and coalition interoperability. Taking the exercise overseas for the first time required ASA(ALT) to coordinate these integration efforts with a variety of multinational players, and to teach new partners how NATO operates its technology and intelligence systems. These experiences and the lessons learned will benefit the execution of future JWA events, as well as real-world operations with allied nations. The NIEs helped the Army integrate and fully test several major network capabilities under development, while shedding light on next generation warfighting technologies. During NIE 14.2, new radios are unpacked and programmed for Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division to use during the exercise, which took place in May 2014. (U.S. Army photo) CONCLUSION Moving forward, the yearly JWA, with its focus on emerging capabilities, experimentation and operational concepts, fits the Army’s modernization strategy with alternating annual orientations in either the European or Pacific theater. JWAs will support three primary objectives: enhance training readiness; inform future force development; and enable joint, inter-organizational and multination warfighting. Program managers can take advantage, inside those objectives, to get operational feedback on products before operational test events. Additionally, the Army will use a range of test and evaluation events from various other venues, including labs, warfighters, formations outside the continental U.S. and other events from company to corps size to support traditional operational testing. ASA(ALT) will continue to support these events with network planning, network integration, vehicle integration, management of field support representatives, new equipment training, and other needs in support of TRADOC and JMC. As the Army’s rapid assessment model continues to evolve, with JWA as the main mission complemented by a series of small and medium opportunities, ASA(ALT) is poised to apply expertise gained through the NIE and JWA to enable integrated and efficient evaluations of emerging concepts and capabilities. CPD will continue to be a focal point to integrate PM support into these missions. And as the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command drives the future planning requirements for large program-of-record tests that would have taken place at NIE, an ASA(ALT) team will continue to assist in integrating network and mission command elements. With JWA 18, the Army demonstrated the ability to execute a future force development exercise in the most realistic conditions possible. NIE 18.2 will close the book on seven years of informative tests and meaningful system of systems integration test events. Now, with Soldier feedback still at the core of the mission, the Army is ready to take the next step in evolving its evaluation events to enable modernization. For more information go to https://www.bliss.army.mil/JMC/. COL. J. WARD ROBERTS is director of the CPD. He holds an MBA from Columbia Southern University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, as well as a B.A. in political science from the University of South Florida, where he received a commission of second lieutenant in the infantry. Roberts is Level III certified in program management and Level II certified in contracting, and is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps. RELATED LINKS: AL&T Magazine article, 18 June 2017, “Center of the Storm” by Nancy Jones-Bonbrest CPD home website This article will be published in the July – September 2018 issue of Army AL&T magazine. Subscribe to Army AL&T News, the premier online news source for the Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (AL&T) Workforce. Related posts: On The Right GTRAC The importance of keeping track Harnessing the sun Listen closely

by Susan L. Follett FORT BELVOIR, Va. (May 21, 2018)—Nominations for the 2018 Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) Acquisition Awards are now being accepted, providing the Army acquisition community with an opportunity to showcase some of its most noteworthy accomplishments. “These awards are more than just a great way to promote the organizations and individuals who have made important contributions to defense acquisition,” said Craig Spisak, director of the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC). “Nominating people for awards is about talent management—about finding a way to keep the right person in the right job at the right time.” The 2018 USD(A&S) awards program has four categories: The Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Innovation Award recognizes organizations for exceptional outside-the-box thinking and progress in tackling workforce development challenges. The Defense Acquisition Workforce Individual Achievement Award recognizes individuals in each of the 17 acquisition functional disciplines. The David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award recognizes civilian and military teams that demonstrate innovation and technical excellence in acquisition to achieve more cost-effective outcomes for the warfighter and the taxpayer. The Flexibility in Contracting Award recognizes DOD civilian and military professionals who have, in their approach to program management and contracting, demonstrated innovation and local adaptation by using the flexibilities and authorities granted by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and DOD Instruction 5000.02, Operation of the Defense Acquisition System, to increase the efficiency of programs. All nominations must be submitted online at http://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/ by the close of business on June 15. As the official collection point for Army nominations, USAASC will compile the nominations and submit them to senior leadership, which will then submit the strongest applications to USD(A&S) for consideration. The Secretary of Defense Product Support Manager (PSM) Award is also accepting nominations. This award recognizes the PSM accomplishments and contributions in two categories: Major Defense Acquisition Programs/Major Acquisition Information Systems, Acquisition Category (ACAT) I PSMs; and Major Weapon System/Other Weapon Systems, ACAT II and below PSMs. The deadline for submitting nominations for this award is midnight EDT on June 22. Winners will be announced later this year or early next year. Detailed information on each award and instructions on submitting nominations can be found at https://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/. “A little bit of recognition is one of our best tools for garnering great performance from the talent of our workforce,” Spisak said. “Recognizing people by nominating them for an award is probably the strongest message that you can send to advocate for those people and to motivate them.” Read through all of the instructions before you begin and make sure you understand all of the deadlines, page limits and information requirements. As you’re writing up the nomination, be specific and concise: What was the challenge? How was it overcome, and what puts that solution head and shoulders above the other nominees? Before you hit send, proofread. Then proofread again. Extra time invested in writing your nomination pays dividends once the winners are announced. Subscribe to Army AL&T News, the premier online news source for the Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (AL&T) Workforce. Related posts: DACM Corner: Growing the Acquisition Workforce New CREW Maintenance University Eliminates Need for Additional Training February 2016 Hot Topics DAU Senior Service College Fellows complete Program Manager’s Course

COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Director for Joint Services, Program Executive Office for Ammunition TITLE: Project management officer YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 18 DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in program management and engineering EDUCATION: M.S. in engineering management and B.S. in mechanical engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology AWARDS: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2015 and 2017); Achievement Medal for Civilian Service Planning for success? Be prepared for change. Ms. Susan l. Follett Natasha Owens is a planner: “If it is a trip, a dinner or a surprise party, I want to plan out all the details, develop the budget and list all the tasks needed for completion.” Fortunately, that dovetails perfectly with her work as a project management (PM) officer for the Project Director for Joint Services within the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Ammunition at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. “In PM shops, we manage program cost, schedule and performance. Planning things is what I enjoy doing. It’s a strange and challenging puzzle to me, because just when you think have all the pieces in order, something happens—budget cuts shift program activities or unforeseen issues [arise] during testing that may require additional testing—and the puzzle is never as easy as it seems.” The Project Director for Joint Services oversees the industrial base facilities and installations that develop, produce, store, distribute and demilitarize munitions for DOD. “When I describe my work to others, they are always amazed at the opportunity I have to work with and provide weapon systems, weapon accessories or ammunition to our Soldiers,” Owens said. “They are also equally amazed at some of the opportunities for career development that I have been given.” It’s a long list. In 2011, she was accepted into the Excellence in Government Fellows Program, a yearlong leadership development opportunity provided to federal government employees by the Partnership for Public Service. The following year, she served as a DA system coordinator in support of the Product Manager for Crew Served Weapons, working on a full-rate production decision for the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station. The product office comes under the PM for Soldier Weapons, assigned to the PEO for Soldier and co-located with PEO Ammunition at Picatinny Arsenal. In 2014, Owens was selected for a six-month developmental assignment as the staff action officer for the Executive Operations Group in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (OASA(ALT)). As staff action officer, Owens attended meetings for ASA(ALT) leadership, which at the time was the Hon. Heidi Shyu, ASA(ALT); Lt. Gen. Michael E. Williamson, principal military deputy to the ASA(ALT); and Gabriel Camarillo, principal deputy to the ASA(ALT). “We were tasked with taking notes and identifying action items, and then tracking action items to completion,” Owens said. “We also handled special projects: I worked with Mr. Camarillo on an arsenal workload realignment project and with Ms. Shyu on coordinating and planning the senior leader discussion on the Joint Acquisition and Sustainment Review and Force 2025 and Beyond,” she said. “A lot of folks thought I was crazy when they heard I applied to the [Executive Operations Group] program because they considered it grunt work,” Owens said. “But I saw it as an opportunity to see strategic-level leadership firsthand. What better opportunity for someone who desires to be a member of the Senior Executive Service than to be a fly on the wall in a room of strategic leaders?” The Executive Operations Group assignment also broadened her understanding of the acquisition process. “Sometimes at the PM level, we do not understand what is going on at the ASA(ALT) level. But my time in [the Executive Operations Group] helped to open my eyes and change my perspective.” Owens’ acquisition career started at the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center in June 2000, just two weeks after she graduated from college. She was hired as a mechanical engineer for the Light Armored Vehicle – Assault Gun program and supported engineering development of fire control systems. She moved to PM Soldier Weapons in 2003 and worked on several weapon system programs through 2015. That year, she joined the ranks of PEO Ammunition, working for its PM for Maneuver Ammunition Systems as an assistant product manager for lightweight ammunition, overseeing the early-stage development of 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm ammunition and working with the U.S. Marine Corps on its .50-caliber ammunition development. In 2017, she began working as the DA systems coordinator for the Gator Landmine Replacement Program under the PM for Close Combat Systems, then completed a brief assignment as the special assistant to the PEO for Ammunition before his retirement. “Each assignment brought a different level of challenge and excitement and further helped to build my skill set.” For the past three years, she also took part in the Competitive Development Group, a three-year developmental program that provides members of the Army Acquisition Workforce with expanded training through a series of educational, leader development and broadening assignments. “I came into the program expecting so many things but quickly realized the program expected so many things from me,” Owens said. “It’s not that the people leading the program don’t help—they definitely do. But the expectation is for you to have ownership of your career and your goals, and to know the things you need to do in order to accomplish those goals.” She has passed on that lesson to nearly a dozen co-workers at Picatinny Arsenal who are interested in the program. “The very first thing I explain to them is that this program is not for the weary. You really have to be focused and determined to do the work necessary to move toward your goals.” She also suggests thinking big and taking risks. “If I could do it again, I would take more of a ‘it doesn’t hurt to ask’ approach. My mentor was from Fort Belvoir, [Virginia,] and I probably should have asked for some assignments at PM shops there. I didn’t, figuring it would be hard to find an organization that would fund my travel. Looking back, I should have at least asked the question: You really never know until you ask.” The Competitive Development Group “was a catalyst for taking me out of my comfort zone. Before I started, I worked in PM Soldier Weapons for over 12 years, and I admit I became comfortable; I neglected pursuing my career goals, and the work became somewhat routine. But routine is not something I want. Instead, I want to ensure that whatever the assignment, I am giving 100 percent toward providing the best product or service to our Soldiers.” “Faces of the Force” is an online series highlighting members of the Army Acquisition Workforce through the power of individual stories. Profiles are produced by the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center Communication and Support Branch, working closely with public affairs officers to feature Soldiers and civilians serving in various AL&T disciplines. For more information, or to nominate someone, please contact 703-664-5635. Subscribe to Army AL&T News, the premier online news source for the Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (AL&T) Workforce. Related posts: Innovation to win in a complex world The Army’s big business of small business Instilling Excellence Army AL&T ready to read