April 2019 Hot Topics

By April 2, 2019May 24th, 2024DACM Office Hot Topics

Army DACM Office Updates:

  • It’s time to turn those innovative broadening and training ideas into a reality! The FY20 Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (DAWDF) data call for funding requirements is OPEN. But you must move fast because the application window closes April 29. DAWDF allows organizations to design quality initiatives to recruit, hire, train, develop, recognize and retain the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW). In alignment with the AAW Human Capital Strategic Plan, organizations are encouraged to submit quality requirements focused on the five strategic goals: AAW shaping and planning; professional development; leader development; engagement; and communications.
  • There is a particular focus in FY20 on developing broadening assignments that provide future acquisition leaders with experience in science and technology, test and evaluation, materiel development, and sustainment. For more information and to submit a DAWDF funding request, speak with your command’s DAWDF POCs. Check out program details on the Army DACM Office website at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/dawdf-program/.
  • “Why don’t we try something different?” suggests Craig A. Spisak, Army DACM. While meeting with participants of the Defense Acquisition University Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SCCF) program March 6-7 at the Pentagon, Spisak encouraged the group to consider creative solutions in their acquisition work. Discussions also included acquisition personnel recruitment, development and retention, and highlighting training, education and experience. Other notable guest speakers included Hon. Ellen M. Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; and Brig. Gen. Omar Jones IV, Army chief of public affairs. Read more about at the DAU-SSCF program at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/defense-acquisition-university-senior-service-college/.
  • News flash! Congratulations to 14 Army acquisition teams and individuals who were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in Army contracting. Winners were announced for the 2018 Secretary of the Army Awards for Excellence in Contracting, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Army Contracting Command receiving multiple awards. An award ceremony hosted by Dr. Bruce D. Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)) and the Army acquisition executive, will take place on April 4 in Arlington, Virginia. The complete list of award winners can be viewed at https://asc.army.mil/web/news-army-honors-excellence-in-contracting/.
  • The Army DACM Office is shaping the way we do functional acquisition business by appointing Army acquisition functional leaders (AAFLs). This new AAFL initiative establishes the role of a functional leader to provide senior-level strategic vision, advice and support necessary to develop and sustain a highly capable, professional, agile, adaptive and qualified AAW from the perspective of the acquisition career field. The DACM Office will be introducing you to your AAFL in the near future. More details can be found in the Sept. 4 memorandum at https://asc.army.mil/web/aafl-and-aafa-policy-4-sep-2018/.
  • Fresh training quotas coming your way! Make a note on your calendar for April 10 as the upcoming FY20 Defense Acquisition University (DAU) training schedule is set to be released. This date is especially important if you are planning on taking a class where resident-based course offerings and quota availabilities are limited. Applying early and often is highly recommended. And for those pursuing required Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certifications within the mandatory 24-month timeframe, obtaining your resident-based course reservations early in the game is key. In the meantime, browse through the online DAU Catalog at http://icatalog.dau.mil/.
  • A special note to all Army Reserve and National Guard acquisition officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs): Beginning in the third quarter of FY19, the Army DACM Office will begin integration of an automated data exchange that will eliminate the Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB) and replace it with the Officer Record Brief (ORB) and the Enlisted Record Brief (ERB).
  • This move to eliminate the ACRB for Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers is a result of the Army DACM Office’s effort to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency. These changes will be included in a policy update that will be published in the near future. Once this transition occurs in the Career Acquisition Management Portal, the ORB will be the document of record for active component, Army National Guard and Army Reserve officers, and the ERB will be the document of record for active component, Army National Guard and Army Reserve NCOs. The ACRB will remain the document of record for AAW civilians.
    • The Army DACM Office soon will issue additional information to prepare you for this change. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact Lt. Col. Ryan Leonard, U.S. Army Reserve, at ryan.d.leonard.mil@mail.mil or 703-664-5719; or Lt. Col. Teresa Childs, Army Reserve and National Guard, at teresa.e.childs.mil@mail.mil or 703-664-5722.
  • Effective Jan. 31, the Army Acquisition Procedures for Implementing the Department of Defense Acquisition Career Management Mandatory Course Fulfillment Program were updated. The DOD Fulfillment Program enables AAW professionals to receive credit for DAU training courses for which they can demonstrate competency through previous work experience, education or training. The course fulfillment memorandum can be accessed on our policy page at https://asc.army.mil/web/army-dacm-office-course-fulfillment-policy-final-31jan19/.
  • Kudos! The latest results are in, and the most recent AAW project and product director and Centralized Selection List (CSL) project and product manager slatings have been announced.
  • On Feb. 21, a Talent Management Board of Directors convened to assign positions for the newly selected AAW civilian product and project directors. The 10 FY19 product director and FY19/20 project director slates can be found on the Army DACM Office webpage at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/prod-dir/.
  • Twenty-five AAW professionals (21 officers and four civilians) were slated as FY20 COL/GS-15 CSL project managers. The FY20 COL/GS-15 CSL slates can also be found on the Army’s Human Resource Command (HRC) Management Division page at https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/CSL%20Results.
  • The Army slated 50 AAW officers and five AAW civilians as FY20 LTC/GS-14 CSL Project Managers. The FY20 LTC/GS-14 selectees can be found on HRC’s page at https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/CSL%20Results.
  • Are you an 1102 or a 51C Contracting professional pursuing DAWIA Level II Contracting certification? If so, you’ll need to know that effective Oct. 1, CON 270, “Intermediate Cost and Price Analysis” is no longer a mandatory training requirement. A recent re-evaluation of the CON 270 course content determined that students should focus on a more relevant and applicable mission-focused effort, hence the elimination from the curriculum. The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense issued a memorandum on March 26 stating CON 270 is no longer required; however, there are certain stipulations, which include personnel assigned to major defense acquisition programs and contracting officers who regularly award or negotiate contracts in excess of the threshold for certification of cost or pricing data. The memo also mandates a new training requirement: completion of CLC 056, “Analyzing Contract Costs,” for those pursuing Level I Contracting certification. Full details on DAU course requirements can be found at http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/courses.aspx?crs_id=1838.

Acquisition Training, Education and Leader Development Opportunities:

  • Your best acquisition career manager is you. So why not kick your career up a notch with either the Senior Enterprise Talent Management (SETM) program or the Enterprise Talent Management (ETM) program? The SETM and ETM are Army talent management programs geared toward candidates with excellent potential and aim to produce senior civilian leaders with an enterprise perspective who could serve in positions of increasing levels of responsibility.
  • Key elements of the SETM include:
    • Defense Senior Leader Development Program, which is open to GS-14/15s and their equivalents.
    • Senior Service College (resident and distance education), which is open to GS-14/15s and their equivalents.
    • Project-based temporary duty assignments (SETM-TDY), which are open to GS-14/15s and their equivalents.
  • Key elements of the ETM include:
    • Command and General Staff Officers Course, which is open to GS-13s and their equivalents.
    • Executive Leader Development Program, which is open to GS-12/13s and their equivalents.
    • Project-based temporary duty assignments, which are open to GS-13s and their equivalents.
    • Shadowing Experience Program, which is open to GS-13s and their equivalents.
  • SETM and ETM applications are currently being accepted through May 15, and selected participants will be notified in January 2020. To find out how to boost your career, please visit the Civilian Senior Leader Development Office webpage at https://www.csldo.army.mil//index.aspx.
  • If you are in a program executive office (PEO) or at ASA(ALT) HQs, your POC for more information within the Army DACM Office is Joyce Junior at joyce.b.junior.civ@mail.mil or 703-664-5684. Participating command POCs are listed on the SETM website at https://www.csldo.army.mil//9_howto/cpocs.aspx.
  • Opening soon! Starting May 6, applications can be submitted for the Acquisition Tuition Assistance Program (ATAP). This is a wonderful opportunity for AAW civilians who are pursuing:
    • Army Acquisition Corps membership.
    • Bachelor’s degree in a business or acquisition discipline.
    • Formal education required for DAWIA certification in specific Army Acquisition career fields.
    • Master’s degree in a business or acquisition discipline
  • The ATAP is also open for Military Occupational Specialty 51 Contracting (51C) NCOs who require DAWIA certification education requirements in the contracting acquisition career field. Detailed information about ATAP can be viewed at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-tuition-assistance-program/.
  • Are you ready for a challenge? From May 1 through May 31, the Acquisition Leadership Challenge Program (ALCP) application window will be open for nominations for fourth quarter FY19. As an AAW member, you will submit your ALCP application through your Organizational Acquisition Point of Contact (OAP). Among the critical professional skills this leadership program instills are self-awareness, diversity, communications, critical thinking, resiliency, influence, decision-making, interpersonal relations, goal-setting and innovation. The Army DACM Office centrally funds tuition for all course offerings and temporary duty expenses for the Atlanta course offerings. Please visit the ALCP webpage for additional program details at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program/.
  • Thank you to all who applied for the FY19 Student Loan Repayment Program! Notifications of the results will begin this month. See the program specifics here: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/student-loan-repayment-program/.
  • DAU recently updated some of its predecessor criteria. To learn more about the predecessors, go to http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/AllPredecessor.aspx.
    To view the online DAU course catalog and register for DAU courses, go to http://icatalog.dau.mil/onlinecatalog/tabnav.aspx.

Closing soon! April 16 is the last day that applications are being accepted for these Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) programs:

  • NPS Systems and Program Management Non-Resident Master’s Degree Program: This interdisciplinary program offers a non-resident option for qualified GS-11/15 (and equivalent) AAW professionals to broaden their technical capabilities in order to successfully lead initiatives in support of the defense acquisition system. Find more information at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/naval-postgraduate-school-master-of-science-in-program-management/.
  • NPS Systems Engineering Non-Resident Master’s Degree Program with a System of Systems Focus: This program is designed for GS-11/15 (and equivalent) AAW professionals with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related science or technical acquisition career field. NPS educates and trains students with tools and technologies relevant to their work, resulting in acquisition professionals with greater knowledge and expertise to better meet the needs of their customers. Find more details here: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/naval-postgrad-ms-sys-eng/.

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