ACQUISITION TRAINING, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
SWITCHING LANES: APPLY NOW TO THE DAU SENIOR SERVICE COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (DAU-SSCF)
Put on the turn signal and move your acquisition career into the lane of advanced senior leadership with DAU-SSCF. DAU-SSCF is a 10-month educational senior leadership development opportunity sponsored by the Office of the Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM). The virtual seminar is an excellent SSC/SSCF option for any interested and eligible acquisition workforce member located outside of Huntsville and Picatinny. DAU-SSCF provides leadership and acquisition training to prepare senior level civilians for leadership roles such as product and project manager, program executive officer, and other key acquisition leadership positions to include contracting. The DAU-SSCF program is also approved as a Military Education Level-1 (MEL-1) Senior Service College equivalent. For the O6 and GS-15 centralized selection list (CSL), an MEL-1 is required before assumption of command. DAU-SSCF is the only civilian fellowship approved by the Army.
Applications are being accepted now through Jan. 24, for details go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/defense-acquisition-university-senior-service-college
TAKE YOUR CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH THE ACQUISITION LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE PROGRAM (ALCP)
Applications are being accepted now through Jan. 31 for the ALCP. Through various, custom-targeted iterations, ALCP is available to top-performing civilian and military Army Acquisition Workforce professionals at the GS-7 through GS-15 levels, Functional Area 51 captains and majors, 51C staff sergeants and sergeants first class, and those term employees within the Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories. ALCP ensures communication through common language and helps develop leaders who value individual styles and behaviors by creating a leadership corps more capable of critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork management, collaboration and creative innovation.
ALCP uses self-awareness as the key to both leadership and diversity development to create an innovative culture by helping to understand each individual’s personal preferences and behaviors and how each not only interacts with their co-workers, but how they are viewed by others. This approach includes addressing an individual’s unconscious biases to help them discover new approaches to doing things and emphasizes the strength and power in accepting individual differences to produce a stronger “whole.”
Nominations are submitted through your lead Organizational Acquisition Point of Contact (OAP). All ALCP program details, including application and nomination processes, policy and how to find your OAP can be found on the ALCP website at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program.
FY24 PROGRAM TIMELINE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fiscal year 2024 DACM Office programs timeline and announcements are now available on our website at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/program-timeline .
SAVE THE DATE
CENTRALIZED SELECTION LIST (CSL)
The fiscal year 2026 Project Management and Product Manager announcements are scheduled to open Feb. 19 and will close on April 19. For more information, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/centralized-selection-list.
THE ACQUISITION TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ATAP) OPENS FOR APPLICATIONS ON FEB. 1
Exciting news! Feb. 1 marks the first day of the ATAP application window. Get ahead of the game and prepare your application packet early. ATAP provides tuition assistance, including laboratory and technology fees, to eligible Army Acquisition Workforce professionals taking individual acquisition/business-related college courses OR pursuing an acquisition/business-related bachelor’s or master’s degree. Eligible applicants who already have a master’s degree can now apply for a second master’s degree in a business, technical or acquisition-related discipline. For complete details, visit https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-tuition-assistance-program.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
90-DAY BROADENING OPPORTUNITY WITH THE U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND ARMY GHOST PROGRAM
Broaden your horizons and apply for the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Army Ghost Program. This opportunity includes a fully funded (no cost to your assigned organization) 90-day temporary duty assignment where you’ll have the ability to immerse yourself into active Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (SOF AT&L) organizations. This unique broadening opportunity will give you exposure and insight into SOF acquisitions and enhance your ability to apply lessons learned at your current and future assignments.
As a USSOCOM Army Ghost you will:
- Lead agile acquisition sprints to provide rapid capabilities to SOF operators.
- Deliver rapid prototypes/evaluate innovative technologies.
- Practice tailored acquisitions, other transactional agreements, middle tier of acquisitions and other innovative strategies.
- Travel in support of assigned operations.
- Engage with SOF operators, capability developers and industry partners.
- Directly support and enable the most elite fighting force in the world!
Projected start dates include March–June 2024. The application form is available on MilSuite at https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-1298036. For more information, email Maj. Trey Bishop at harold.j.bishop.mil@socom.mil.
DID YOU KNOW?
PUBLICATION OF ARMY REGULATION 70-1 (ARMY OPERATION OF THE ADAPTIVE ACQUISITION FRAMEWORK)
The updated Army Regulation (AR) 70-1 (Army Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF)—the Army’s foundational acquisition regulation—was published, Nov. 28, 2023. This regulation establishes policy, assigns responsibilities and implements the Adaptive Acquisition Framework for Army-managed acquisition programs as described in Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5000.01, Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 5000.02 and the various DoDDs, DoDIs, and other DOD policy publications associated with each AAF pathway.
This update also includes several other significant updates since the last revision in 2018, including: statutory changes from National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2016 and after (e.g., the establishment of the middle tier and software acquisition pathways; delegation of program oversight from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to the services), changes from Army directives and general orders (e.g., the establishment of the Army Futures Command; codification of the Army’s Intellectual Property policy) and changes resulting from ASA(ALT) policy memorandums or direction (e.g., creation of simplified management plans; designation of Acquisition Category IV programs; program initiation and program review requirements). The new AR 70-1 can be found at https://armypubs.army.mil.
DAU NEWS
CASH PRIZES FOR WINNERS OF THE 2024 DEFENSE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE WRITING AWARDS COMPETITION
Now through Feb. 1, entries are being accepted for the inaugural Defense Acquisition Workforce Writing Awards, established in 2023 to encourage curiosity and persistence in overcoming obstacles and to promote innovation in defense acquisition. Participants can compete in two categories:
- Innovation in Overcoming Obstacles.
- Innovation in Implementing Acquisition Flexibilities.
Papers should document approaches to program management that emphasize innovation and local adaptation. These would include the use of simplified acquisition procedures, inherent flexibilities within the Federal Acquisition Regulation, commercial contracting approaches, public-private partnership agreements and practices, cost-sharing arrangements, innovative contractor incentive practices and other innovative implementations of acquisition flexibilities and authorities.
Five award recipients may be selected in the Innovation in Overcoming Obstacles category and one recipient in the Innovation and Implementing Acquisition Flexibilities category. Recipients will receive a $5,000 cash prize. All military and civilian members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce are eligible to compete. Contractors and DAU employees are not eligible. Essays should be 1,000 to 1,500 words and must be submitted by email to writing.award@dau.edu by Feb. 1. For additional submission requirements and information, go to https://www.dau.edu/writing-awards.
COMING SOON: 3RD QUARTER SCHEDULE RELEASE IS PLANNED FOR JAN. 9
For information, go to https://www.atrrs.army.mil/Aitas.
