As DOD faces a Sept. 30 deadline to be ready for its first-ever independent financial review, ACC zeroes in on contractors’ government-furnished property to improve accountability. by Chief Warrant Officer…
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A new class of DAU Senior Service College Fellowship graduates in May, fresh from an intense, 10-month look at the whole Army and what’s at stake for acquisition leaders. by…
PEO Ammunition and ARDEC have a patent-pending and cost-effective way to LFT the 155 mm high-explosive round for increased anti-materiel performance by Mr. Paul Manz In an attempt to partially…
1971, 1988, 2017: Nearly 50 years ago, Army began tinkering with driverless vehicles. By Mr. Robert E. Coultas Almost every day we hear or read about advances in transportation technology—from…
Writing in plain language saves time and money while earning trust from taxpayers, Soldiers and businesses. Plus, it’s the law. by Ms. Mary Kate Aylward Writing in plain language is:…
Autonomous control of routine, time-consuming tasks could free up commanders to concentrate on more difficult decisions. by Mr. James Hennig, Dr. Peter Schwartz and Ms. Kathryn Bailey When the fight…
SREHD SCANNING: SREHD’s onboard stereo camera helps it maneuver through urban or rough terrain with minimal input from the human operator. The robotic system provides Soldiers the freedom…
A first for ARDEC: Researchers fire 3-D printed ammo out of a 3-D printed grenade launcher. by Mr. Seung kook “Sunny” Burns and Mr. James Zunino Researchers at the U.S….
Imagine trying to create a picture of the internet. Even if you could, it’d be out of date in seconds. Trying to visualize the cyber battlefield is roughly like that—and…
OSD Logistics Fellows take on staff assignments and training in a collaborative learning program that allows participants to view the DOD enterprise logistics community from the highest level. by Mr….
When reality strikes in contract administration for Army helicopters, DCMA Sikorsky Aircraft – Stratford fills in the gaps with real-time information and critical multifunctional expertise. by Maj. Rob Massey and…
Avoiding pitfalls when acquiring systems for unmanned and cyber warfare. by Ms. Jill Iracki Today’s ever-changing battlefield and rapid advances in technology call for systems that are more intelligent, independent…
Does DOD set PMs up for failure with impossibly complex mega-programs built on immature technology? After a career in uniform supporting Army acquisition followed by a second career teaching acquisition,…
The Ottawa Treaty banning ‘dumb’ landmines caused a major capability gap in terrain shaping, area access and area denial, but it also created a massive possibility for innovation—and teamwork between…
by Ms. Margaret C. Roth Time was, not long ago, that the only vision for a new Army combat vehicle was the Army’s. The service would develop a requirement detailing,…
by Mr. Steve Stark and Ms. Margaret C. Roth With the establishment of the Forum for Innovative Novel Discovery (FIND) and the Capabilities Information Exchange (CIE), TRADOC has broken new…
With the help of groundbreaking efforts by professional combat developers, requirements writers and program managers, ARCIC is looking to thaw the glacial pace of acquisition and speed capabilities to the…
New initiative leverages the standard Army supply system to support COTS IT within the C4ISR domain. by Mr. Dan J. Quinn, Mr. Allen J. Hardison and Chief Warrant Officer 5…
The first principle of any defense acquisition must be the welfare of the warfighter, more than the program’s future, although it isn’t always so. by John T. Dillard, Col., USA…
Strengthening ties with the intelligence community From the Director, U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center How well do the acquisition and intelligence communities synchronize their efforts, coordinate their activities and communicate…
Rosie the robot learns about the world, with help from a plethora of ARL-designed sensors by Dr. Joseph Conroy and Mr. Earl Jared Shamwell If you ever watched “The Jetsons,”…
By Mr. Robert E. Coultas and Ms. Susan L. Follett The seeds of the now-ubiquitous integrated product team took root some 20 years ago, producing a major shift in mindset…
Central management of medical materiel keeps four fully stocked combat support hospitals at the ready. by Maj. Nikki L. Davis More than a dozen years of combat have offered many…
The namesake of the Major General Harold J. “Harry” Greene Awards for Acquisition Writing cherished the talent, creativity and expertise of the defense acquisition workforce. by Lt. Gen. Michael E….
None of what the Army Rapid Capabilities Office does can be found in a requirements document, so the office’s director of operations, Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, provides an overview…
Fifteen years of irregular warfare took a toll on the capabilities needed to defeat a peer competitor. So, when a recent RAND Corp. study prompted stunning headlines, it was nothing…
Army acquisition is advancing from reform to strategic thinking From the Army Acquisition Executive Ms. Steffanie B. Easter The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote that the “only constant is change,”…
By Michael Bold FORT BELVOIR, Va. (Jan. 4, 2016)—Just what is strategic acquisition? It’s a holistic, cradle-to-grave view of acquisition, from design to procurement to testing to deployment to sustainment…
USASAC’s FMS efforts around the world benefit warfighters, industry and the defense acquisition community closer to home. Ms. Adriane Elliot, USASAC Public Affairs Like its embattled cousin acquisition reform, strategic…
From the Director, Acquisition Career Management Lt. Gen. Michael E. Williamson Achieving dominance starts early, at weapon system design, and continues to procurement, testing and deployment all the way to…
The Joint Tactical Networking Center shares lessons learned in providing software-defined radio products to enable strategic acquisition. by Lt. Col. Matthew A. “Matt” Jury It is much easier to define…
Started at Stanford and soon to be nationwide, this class turns college students loose on national security problems, and expects results. by Mr. William Treseder and Mr. Darren Halford Team…
A suite of changes to the acquisition lessons learned portal makes it easier to learn from others who’ve fought similar battles. by Mr. Steve Stark and Mr. Robert E. Coultas…
With a startup mindset, military know-how and a wide-ranging network of technology partners, Peter Newell, the former head of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, and Jackie Space, a former Air…
Being a good steward of taxpayer dollars means thinking and acting decisively. That’s just what CCAS and ECC-A did—examining and consolidating the contracts under its purview to make it easier…
ARL releases its first open source software and explores the options, benefits and challenges of making similar releases in the future by Mr. Joshua Edwards Army computer science innovators have…
