By Ashley Tolbert
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (June 28, 2016) – Applications for the Competitive Development Group/Army Acquisition Fellowship (CDG/AAF) program, a three-year developmental program offering expanded training through a series of education, leader development and broadening assignments for members of the Army acquisition workforce (AAW), are now being accepted through September 28.
AAW professionals at GS-12/13 (or bandwidth equivalent) who apply must compete for a slot in the program and be selected by a board of senior acquisition professionals. The results of the board are scheduled to be announced late December.
And while this program does not guarantee a promotion, it does strengthen desired skills, providing a competitive edge for those who compete for senior acquisition leader positions. Since the first class in 1997, 225 AAW professionals have participated in the program, of which, three have been selected for the Senior Executive Service, 98 have been promoted to GS-15 and 51 have been promoted to GS-14— roughly a 68 percent promotion rate.
In addition, 14 fellows have been selected as program managers, with two currently serving in those positions. These positions are centrally-selected, or selected by a board of acquisition professionals to ensure that the best qualified officers and civilans are chosen to serve in key acquisition roles, including directors and product or project managers. This very competitive process results in a selection rate just under 10 percent.
CDG/AAF Fellow Lauren Johnsky started her rotations in 2014, and has held several positions, including acquisition management specialist, contracting specialist and technical planner. “The ability to rotate through positions with the CDG/AAF program has given me the chance to fill in gaps in my resume while preparing for positions of increasing leadership through amazing training opportunities,” she said.
Those selected for CDG/AAF have their choice of two distinct tracks: program management or acquisition leader.
Participants who pursued the acquisition leader track came from the fields of systems engineering, contracting and logistics. The acquisition leader track offers largely broadening assignments within their acquisition career fields (ACF) and opportunities to gain experience in other ACFs. The program management track offers an opportunity for developmental assignments as well as posts as an assistant product manager, Department of the Army systems coordinator and other developmental program management positions.
“I now have a strategic perspective of not only the Army, but the Department of Defense as a whole, that I did not even have a hint of prior to the program,” said Stephen Roberts, a 2015 CDG/AAF graduate. Roberts recently took over as the new product director for Field Artillery Launchers in Redstone, Alabama.
The program incorporates developmental aquisition assignments in program executive offices, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, the U.S. Army Materiel Command Headquarters and other functional organizations.
Additional program information can be found on the CDG/AAF page.
