A WARM WELCOME TO MR. RONALD (ROB) RICHARDSON JR., THE NEW DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITION CAREER MANAGEMENT
The Army welcomes its new Director of Acquisition Career Management (DACM), Mr. Ronald (Rob) Richardson Jr., who comes to us from the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Soldier, where he served as the director of acquisition and operations. Richardson has over 30 years of experience in medical, information and weapon system acquisition as a DOD civilian and a U.S. Army officer. On Aug. 31, Mr. Douglas Bush, the Army’s acquisition executive, signed a memo titled “Appointment as the Director, Acquisition Career Management,” appointing Richardson as the DACM. The memo outlines the roles and responsibilities of managing the execution and oversight of the Army Acquisition Workforce’s education, training and career development programs. For more about Richardson’s professional journey, read the article “A Profession and a Practice” here.
ACQUISITION EDUCATION, TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS TO THE FY22 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
The Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is designed to repay federally insured student loans as a retention incentive for civilian Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) members with critical acquisition skills. The DACM Office will accept new applications for the fiscal year 2022 SLRP open announcement from Oct. 4 until Nov. 18. Please go to the SLRP website, https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/student-loan-repayment-program/, for additional program details and the application process.
PROPONENCY CORNER
ARMY ACQUISITION RECRUITMENT AT WEST POINT
(Photo by the author)
by Lt. Col. Shadrika Witherspoon
The DACM Office’s Proponency and Analysis Division, along with the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments & Ammunition (JPEO A&A) and PEO Soldier, supported the 2021 United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point’s Branch Week, Sept. 7–11. This annual event provided an opportunity for representatives from the basic branches, specialty branches and functional areas to inform and educate cadets and cadre on opportunities in the AAW through symposiums, static displays and engagements. For plebes (freshmen or 4th class) and yearlings (sophomores or 3rd class), the week is geared toward educating them on what their options are in the future. Cows (juniors or 2nd class), on the other hand, are expected to spend the week talking to branches that interest them and start narrowing down their preferences. Branch Week marks the final opportunity for firsties (seniors or 1st class) to finalize the rankings that will be used to place them into branches.
The 2021 USMA Branch Week provided access to the 17 basic branches and three functional areas, including FA 51 Acquisition Corps. At the FA 51 Acquisition Corps booth, approximately 850 cadets were able to engage with Army acquisition professionals and view examples of how the Army Acquisition Corps supports modernization priorities at the Soldier level.
The FA 51 presentations emphasized the vast amount of opportunities in the AAW, as well as the opportunities for continued service after the initial active-duty service obligation and post-captain key development assignment. The static displays, specifically the Next Generation Squad Weapon’s introductory chart, generated dialogue with the cadets who were most keenly interested in the M4A1’s replacement and are closely following the timeline for this critical Army modernization effort supporting the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team and the Army’s Close Combat Forces. These examples and engagements provided great context to the cadets as a future career choice in the Army.
CAREER MANAGEMENT
SENIOR RATER POTENTIAL EVALUATION
As a civilian AAW member, rater or senior rater of an AAW member, you must ensure a Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE) is completed. The SRPE was released on Oct.1. The SRPE is a talent management tool used to evaluate the potential of every civilian acquisition professional (at the GS-12 through GS-15 or broadband equivalent level). The intent is to evaluate an employee’s potential for positions of greater responsibility or centrally selected professional development opportunities. Army DACM policy requires an annual SRPE. Access to all related tools, policies and guidance for the SRPE is at: https://asc.army.mil/web/senior-rater-potential-evaluation/. Senior Raters must complete the SRPE for fiscal year 2021 in CAPPMIS no later than Dec. 31. For guidance on the completion of the SRPE, including helpful hints and system guides, go to the dedicated SRPE website. If you have any questions related to the SRPE process, please contact your organization’s acquisition point of contact or acquisition career management advocate.
FY21 DAWIA CERTIFICATION STANDARDS EXTENSION
Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) members will be permitted to request certification under the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) DAWIA certification standards until January 31, 2022 at midnight eastern standard time.
ACQUISITION IN ACTION – PEO C3T’S TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(Excerpt from this original article by Kathryn Bailey, PEO for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical)
Why are the Army DACM’s acquisition training, education and experiential career opportunities so important? Because they eventually lead to supporting our hard-working Soldiers in the field, who are deploying, fighting and winning our nation’s wars. Providing acquisition services and products to the field doesn’t happen overnight. An outstanding example of acquisition in action can be seen with the Indo-Pacific area tactical communications capabilities, led by the U.S. Army PEO for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical. Read more at: https://www.army.mil/article/250279.
