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…
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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…
As ubiquitous as ‘the cloud’ is in the commercial world, that is not the case with the Army because of security requirements. But an Army cloud is not far away…
Winning in a complex world means that the Army must prepare for combined arms maneuver and wide area security, and that means area denial. However, systems like FASCAM have significant…
Pseudolites help pave the Army’s path to assured positioning, navigation and timing, providing a ‘protective bubble’ for Soldiers when satellite signals are degraded or denied. by Maj. Troy Houston If…
DAWDF helps commands support the Army Acquisition Workforce From the Director, U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center The Army Director for Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office in the U.S. Army Acquisition…
A technique called ‘clean-sheeting’ lets project managers work from the ground up to hunt for cost savings when dealing with a sole-sourced product with proprietary technical data. by Maj. Kenneth…
Leaders of PEO C3T and CECOM discuss how, by synchronizing efforts across differing missions, Army partnerships can make sustainment more effective and support the best possible solutions for the warfighter….
Official corruption has been likened more than once to cancer—it’s a disease that destroys systems from the inside out, betraying everyone—and Afghanistan has one of the worst reputations in the…
Sustain internally, outsource the whole job—or recognize that, as complex as artillery systems are these days, few organizations have all of the expertise needed to sustain them. So two Army…
When the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to take command of training, advising and assisting Iraqi security forces, its partnership with the 900th Contracting Battalion was already solid. by Maj. Timothy…
The CSTC-A has made considerable strides to establish processes to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and effectively to create a strong, capable ANDSF. by Maj. Gen. Daniel P….
AAE committed to Better Buying Power, funding R&D and supporting the workforce From the Army Acquisition Executive The Honorable Katrina McFarland Since its inception, the United States Army has answered…
