By Linda Hanus
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (April 28, 2016) – Thirty-one of the Army’s best and brightest new acquisition leaders gathered in Arlington, Virginia, April 17-22 for the third Army Acquisition Leader Preparation Course (AALPC).
This intensive four-day course is designed to prepare centrally selected program managers, contracting commanders and product directors to take on new leadership responsibilities and equip them with the knowledge, information and skills necessary to effectively address leadership challenges they are likely to encounter in their new roles.
Key leaders from government, industry and academia briefed students and answered questions on topics including leadership, talent and organizational management, risk identification and management, understanding budgets, and effective communication. Students also participated in small group sessions facilitated by subject-matter experts to delve deeper into the topics.
Lt. Gen. Michael E. Williamson, Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM), who created the course in 2015, delivered the keynote address. “The program you are leading … the systems you are building will be in the Army for a long time. You are shaping not only the current, but the future of the Army. What you are doing is really, really important. Your job is to deliver capability to soldiers,” he said.
The Hon. Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, spoke about the challenge of too much technology, explaining that “autonomy doesn’t mean we have robots; it should just mean that we can take the problem off of the Soldier’s back.”
The Hon. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, emphasized the importance of putting people first and understanding requirements. “People matter most,” he said, and “our ability to do our work is what drives outcomes.”
Ben Kotwica, the Washington Redskins special teams coordinator and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, spent eight years on active duty, including operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea and Iraq. In a session on effective communication, Kotwica highlighted the importance of making connections. “You have to have connectivity with the higher chain of command. Those relationships are important.”
Scott Greene, chief of the Leader Development Branch for the Army DACM Office, noted that the course has evolved over its three iterations. “We have added new elements to each course and improved upon topics and format based on feedback from the students and facilitators,” he explained. “For this course, we brought in the Army Acquisition Center of Excellence as we work to sustain the AALPC as an Army pre-command course.”
“The AALPC provided a phenomenal opportunity to meet with my peers to start the dialogue about leadership challenges we will likely face at strategic as well as tactical levels,” explained student Gina Bublitz, who currently serves as the Department of the Army systems coordinator for soldier protection and individual equipment. “We heard first-hand perspectives from our senior leaders and had an opportunity to work in small groups to discuss practical, hands-on approaches to various issues. This course and the relationships I established will prove invaluable as I transition to my new position.” In July 2016, Bublitz will start her new position as product director for the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter.
The Army DACM Office conducts two courses each year, in the spring and fall, to train centrally selected managers before they assume their new positions. The next session is scheduled for November 2016 in the Washington, D.C., area.
