By Michael Bold FORT BELVOIR, Va. (Oct. 3, 2016)—From our country’s earliest days, dissatisfaction with the defense acquisition system has been a recurring theme. Commission after commission and study after...
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One-size-fits-all spending rules don’t always serve the unpredictable needs of contingency contracting. Here’s one simple fix. by Lt. Col. William C. Latham Jr. (USA, Ret.) “You may ask me for…
For the Hon. Frank Kendall, there is no magic called ‘acquisition reform.’ His objective is ‘acquisition improvement,’ and it starts with hard work and critical thinking about Better Buying Power….
Ordered to attend the yearlong resident course at CGSC, an acquisition officer thought his career advancement was totally derailed. Instead, the course was life-altering, providing unexpected insight—and a determination to…
Integration, both a process and a mindset, holds the key to addressing a range of threats to the U.S., from the near-peer to the low-tech. by Dr. Richard Nabors and…
Vendors share prototypes for weapon sights in a new mix-and-match approach to building interoperability into integrated Soldier systems for the best overall performance at the best overall price. by Maj….
An Army acquisition officer assigned to a stint with Amazon sees firsthand where the consumer giant’s corporate values and those of the military merge and diverge. by Lt. Col. Steven…
Construction contracting in Qatar provides a user-level view of acquisition reform, its possibilities and its challenges. by Maj. Michael J. Carroll and Capt. Sarah Lark Acquisition reform generally happens at…
Piggybacks and workarounds: The Acquisition Lessons Learned Portal contains a wealth of information on new ways to use existing processes to get weapons to warfighters in less time. by Ms….
Acquisition is a slow process by nature; always has been, always will be. Or is it? Could the remedy be as simple as getting out of our own way? In…
The Army and General Dynamics collaborate to help sustain the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant against market and fiscal pressures. by Ms. Melissa Markos Much has changed since the 15-acre Scranton…
From the Carlucci initiatives of the 1980s to BBP 3.0 today, reform is a central theme of acquisition by Michael Bold Thirty-five years ago, defense acquisition reform dominated the cover…
Providing strong, clear direction in the face of ambiguity is vital to an acquisition program’s success. by Col. Luke Cropsey and Mr. Peter Burke There is an old adage about…
The 413th CSB works to strengthen teamwork between CCOs and attorneys—a relationship that’s becoming more important as the military’s operational focus shifts to the Pacific. by Capt. James S. Kim…
Army AL&T News On Wednesday, the Colombian government and the country’s largest rebel group announced an agreement to end their 52-year civil war. What’s not making today’s headlines is the…
Army PNT program uses open systems architecture, competitive prototyping to spur continuous innovation. by Mr. Kevin Coggins While acquisition reformers debate changes intended to put programs on the path to…
Army acquisition reform starts with inspiring the workforce. A deep dive into a handful of surveys sheds light on how to do that. by Mr. Nicholaus Saacks As dialogue intensifies…
USAMMA finds efficiencies in medical materiel procurement, fielding and sustainment to reduce the logistical footprint and optimize readiness with limited resources. by Col. David R. Gibson In the Army, we…
CSTC-A’s Capabilities Development Directorate helps Afghan officers learn how to build, employ and resource units. by Col. Garrett D. Heath and Lt. Stephen E. Webber On Camp Resolute Support in…
The path to enlightenment is not a straightforward one, for people or for data. That’s why flexibility is key when reaching for answers, and why it’s necessary to stretch data…
The U.S. military is at a historic crossroads, as DOD acknowledges that indisputable U.S. military dominance is a thing of the past. As DOD and the Army seek to marshal…
An atomic engine that has all of the power but none of the moving parts by Dr. Brendan Hanrahan What if atomic crystals could send pulse power to light up…
With all due respect, you don’t know jack: A former program manager offers his idea for effective acquisition reform – giving MDA to PEOs by Dr. Robert F. Mortlock, Col.,…
Partnering with industry early in a program life cycle can highlight new and unexpected ways to act on Better Buying Power principles. One industry-academia consortium offers research and development, facilitates…
Handed new responsibilities, Army Sustainment Command builds services contract management from the ground up. by Mr. Jerome Jastrab Government contracting is indeed a complicated and, at times, perplexing business. It’s…
Harvard and Walter Reed scientists collaborate in an effort to protect humans from a mosquito-borne virus. by Col. Nelson L. Michael and Col. Stephen J. Thomas Researchers at Walter Reed…
‘America’s cannon factory’ used a public-private partnership to save its skilled workforce from a postwar dip in demand and preserve a critical manufacturing capability in the Army’s organic industrial base….
Tasked with delivering ammunition for weapons ranging from handguns to tanks, PM MAS customizes strategies and partnerships with the private sector to develop the best solutions for the warfighter. by…
When GPS goes out, the chip-scale atomic clock may be coming to the rescue. by Mr. John Delcolliano and Mr. Paul Olson Accurate time is crucial to our military. It…
PEO EIS and ARCYBER found something interesting in analyzing the government’s off-the-shelf big data systems: Nearly all are built using high-quality, open-source software. With a similar, government-owned platform, DOD would…
PEO C3T keeps up with rapid technological changes by taking a competitive approach to buying the latest commercial products so that it can get the best to Soldiers faster. by…
Strong partnerships with industry are more important than ever as R&D funding declines and need for innovation grows From the Honorable Katrina McFarland In recent years, Army AL&T magazine has…
By Michael Bold FORT BELVOIR, Va. (July 5, 2016) -- Government and industry working together to ensure that warfighters have the equipment they need is the theme of the July-...
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Six Army programs arrived at a single enterprise resource planning solution independently, then turned better buying power into best buying power by working together to bring the licensing costs down…
An urgent need leads to a quick off-the-shelf acquisition—a common story. PEO EIS adds two footnotes: Buy the data rights upfront, and get the original manufacturer to write the technical…
With the changing coalition mission in Afghanistan, contingency contracting has also changed markedly, requiring a broader array of skills and training for a wider range of responsibilities. by Mr. Gordon…
