by Ashley Tolbert
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (July 20, 2016) – The call for nominations for the 2016 Army Acquisition Executive’s (AAE) Excellence in Leadership Awards is now open, and will end at midnight ET on Sept. 2. Featuring a few tweaks from last year, the program provides an opportunity to recognize the very best of the Army Acquisition Workforce, and to highlight how their efforts help their organizations and the acquisition community as a whole.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology revamped the 2016 awards so that they’re more closely aligned with the functions of today’s Army Acquisition Workforce. To better centralize contracting awards across Army acquisition, contracting award categories that were included in the 2015 AAE Excellence in Leadership awards program have been aligned under the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement (ODASA-P). The ODASA-P will provide information about this year’s Secretary of the Army Excellence in Contracting Awards in the next few weeks.
AAE Excellence in Leadership awards will be given in eight individual categories and two team categories, for contributions made between Sept.1, 2015 and Aug. 31, 2016. A strong nominee for an individual award will demonstrate outstanding mission accomplishment, selfless service, extraordinary and uncompromising professionalism and a commitment to the personal and professional growth of others within the command. Nominees will be evaluated in several areas, including achievements, support for ASA(ALT) priorities, demonstration of leadership and criteria specific to each award category.
The team awards focus on efforts, innovations and best practices to develop and improve the qualifications and professionalism of the acquisition workforce. Team submissions will be evaluated for demonstration of talent management, leadership and knowledge transfer, and supporting ASA(ALT) priorities, as well as category-specific criteria.
The Award categories are:
Individual:
- Acquisition Support Professional of the Year
- Business Operations Professional of the Year
- Defense Exportability and Cooperation Professional of the Year
- Engineer and System Integrator of the Year
- Logistician of the Year
- Product Management/Product Director Professional of the Year (O5 Level)
- Project Management/Product Director Professional of the Year (O6 Level)
- Science and Technology Professional of the Year
Team:
- Product Management/Product Director Office Team of the Year (O5 Level)
- Project Management/Product Director Office Team of the Year (O6 Level)
Individual AAE Excellence in Leadership Award nominees must occupy an acquisition workforce designated position and be current in their Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification and continuous learning points. However, all Army employees supporting the Acquisition Workforce are eligible for the Defense Exportability and Cooperation Professional of the Year and the Acquisition Support Professional of the Year categories. Contractors and members of the U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard are not eligible for any awards.
Organizations can submit one nomination per award category, and each must be endorsed by the head of the nominating organization.. Be sure the nomination packets are sent through the proper command channels and reach the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center by midnight ET on Sept. 2.
Complete nomination information and submission instructions, including sample award write-ups, can be found at https://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/. If you have any questions, contact Vicky DeGuzman at 703-805-1245 or victoria.l.deguzman.civ@mail.mil.
