COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS)
TITLE: Acquisition manager
ACQUISITION CAREER FIELD: Contracting
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 18
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Contracting professional
EDUCATION: M.S. in management, Florida Institute of Technology; B.S. in communications, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
AWARDS: Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2024); PM CAS Leader of the Year Award (2022); PM CAS Excellence in Contracting (2021, 2016); Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2014)

Albert “Al” Klobchar

by Holly DeCarlo-White

Albert “Al” Klobchar is the acquisition manager for Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) within Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A). He is responsible for overseeing Acquisition Category (ACAT) I-IV program acquisition planning and contract execution for conventional and precision 155 mm artillery ammunition, propellants, mortar ammunition and weapon systems, as well as associated equipment. He provides strategic leadership in his role through managing a portfolio, he explained, that contains approximately 300 active contracts for more than 100 programs.

In fiscal year 2023, he led a branch of 12 acquisition professionals who successfully completed procurement planning activities for more than seven million artillery and mortar end-items comprising of many component contract actions for a total value of more than $4.5 billion. “The PM CAS teams are leaders in conventional artillery and mortars for the U.S. Army. It’s very satisfying to be a part of this process that enables the Army and allies to provide overmatching capability and ultimately save lives,” Klobchar said.

Like many young college graduates, Klobchar said he had no idea what he wanted to do for a living. He “desperately” needed an internship to finish his degree and he applied to be a summer hire at Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ) as a contract specialist.

“My goal was to put in my time for three months, graduate and head south for warmer weather and beaches. But, when I arrived, I found the ammunition products to be very interesting; how they are developed, procured, manufactured and perform,” he said. “I also quickly found mentors and saw a direct path for growth, so I decided to “extend my internship” for another 18 years and counting.”

Much of Klobchar’s early contracting and acquisition experience was in precision munitions, to include initial variants of the Precision Guidance Kit and the 155 mm Excalibur projectile. “When I explain how these products utilize GPS at extended ranges to guide projectiles to precise targets, my family and friends are genuinely shocked,” he said. “It’s a great testament to the brilliant engineers at PM CAS and I’m proud I get to continue to oversee the acquisition process for these munitions and other important products.”

“Throughout the duration of my career, I’ve been very lucky to work with senior leaders that empower me and provide me with the opportunity to perform to my fullest potential,” he said. For instance, when the Army Acquisition Executive, the Honorable Douglas R. Bush, challenged PM CAS with awarding the first multiyear procurements for 155 mm munitions, he said his senior leaders trusted him to lead, manage and execute these complex acquisition efforts and, he said, they only intervened when he elevated resource constraints or the need to adjust priorities.

“After collaborating with the outstanding and talented teammates from ACC-NJ, the outcome was that five multiyear contracts were awarded, providing stable production and cost savings over $60 million,” Klobchar said. “Being trusted and empowered to plan and execute projects is the most important thing to me as an acquisition professional.”

In his role, Klobchar leads a branch of “awesome acquisition professionals” and he said he is so proud of their dedication to the mission and their accomplishments. As he mentors, coaches and works with junior acquisition personnel, his advice to them is “just to focus on the next step and what can be done today to make a project better.”

“The DOD acquisition process can be long and complicated, especially for complex artillery programs, and looking at the process as a whole is frankly overwhelming,” he said. “However, if we can always do our best to get to the next step in the process, we’re going to find success often. The small wins are just as important as the major accomplishments.”

Over time, Klobchar said he has also learned to better accept things when they don’t go as well as he wanted them to. “I used to beat myself up when things did not go perfectly,” he said. “Acquisition management to procure and deliver complex ammunition and weapon systems is a challenging job. If it was easy, it would not require hundreds of team members and stakeholders across multiple organizations working towards a common goal. I’ve learned that getting overly stressed out when you don’t meet perfection is just a distraction and does not help efficiency or progress on a collective goal.”

Klobchar is currently taking the Civilian Education System Advanced course, which is a required leadership development program for all supervisors. “I found value in the areas of building strong teams, trust and decision-making approaches,” he said, adding that “it is always good to pause for a moment and be able to assess yourself as a leader, acknowledge any areas to improve, and grow both personally and professionally.”

For those who know him outside of work, he has been told that some find humor in the spontaneity of what he is doing next. While he said he makes a point to be involved with his two sons’ activities, for example, coaching their travel soccer team last fall where he said he “may have had the best time of his life,” he also enjoys trying new things as much as he can. “I was able to take a week off from work recently, so I woke up one morning and spontaneously decided to go indoor rock climbing. Now I’m hooked,” he said, adding he brings that same energy into his work when he gets the chance.

“I often look for new ways to be innovative or streamline the acquisition process, whether it be multiyear procurements, new statutes or using temporary authorities. If there is a new approach that can be used to procure and deliver faster, I try to be one of the first ones to use it in an attempt to shape its implementation.”