WHAT’S NEW?

FY25 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM – NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

The Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office is now accepting applications to the FY25 Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). The SLRP application window runs from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15. This program is offered as a retention incentive to civilians of the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) and is designed to repay up to $10,000 annually toward federally insured student loans.

Christa Radford, a contract specialist in the Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions Division with Program Executive Office Missiles & Space at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, had this to say about participating in the SLRP:

For details and how to apply, visit the SLRP webpage at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/student-loan-repayment-program/.

2ND QUARTER OF FY 2025 ACQUISITION LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE PROGRAM (ALCP)

The second quarter FY 2025 ALCP application window is October 1-31, 2024. Offered in targeted iterations, ALCP is available to top-performing civilian and military AAW professionals at GS-7 through GS-15, Functional Area 51 captains and majors, 51C staff sergeants and sergeants first class and term employees within the Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories. The program 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 leadership and diversity development. Additionally, participants learn the role of self-awareness in creating an innovative culture by helping to understand each individual’s preferences and behaviors, how each interacts with their co-workers and how they are viewed by others. This approach includes addressing an individual’s unconscious biases and emphasizes the benefits of 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 and policies, can be found on the ALCP website at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program.

TWO-YEAR CONTINUOUS LEARNING POINT (CLP) CYCLE HAS BEGUN – FY25 AAW POSITION STANDARDS

A new, two-year continuous learning cycle has begun. What is this two-year continuous learning cycle, you may ask? It is an allotment of time in which it is required for members of the AAW to achieve 80 CLPs between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2026. Actively taking part in continuous learning within your acquisition functional area is a required standard and ensures AAW professionals remain current in their functional area, cross-functional proficiencies, leadership and management skills. This continuous learning policy applies to all military and civilian AAW professionals and can be accessed here. The DACM Policy Library has the latest acquisition position standards here. The Army DACM recommends achieving 40 CLPs in the first year of the CLP cycle and earning the remaining 40 CLPs during the cycle’s second year. Refer to the recommended glidepath below for CLP milestones.

NEW SIGNED MEMO: FY25-26 RECOMMENDED CREDENTIALING AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING POINTS FOR THE LIFE CYCLE LOGISTICS (LCL) ACQUISITION FUNCTIONAL AREA (AFA)

As the Army Acquisition Functional Leader to the Life Cycle Logistics functional area, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Sustainment (DASA(S)), has signed a Sept. 3 memo recommending credentialing and CLP guidance for the upcoming two-year cycle. The memo outlines targeted continuous learning areas, recommended courses focusing on Software, Serialized Item Management, Supply Chain Risk Management, Data Management, Reliability and Corrosion. To access and download a copy of the memo, select the Download icon located on this page: https://asc.army.mil/web/document/fy25-fy26-recommended-continuous-learning-points-and-credentialing-for-the-life-cycle-logistics-functional-area/.

OPPORTUNITIES AND REMINDERS

OCT. 31 – CONTRACTING CERTIFICATION COURSES UPDATE AND CONTRACTING LIVE EVENT SPECIAL EDITION 2nd EPISODE

Plug in and get the latest scoop from Defense Acquisition University (DAU) on Contracting certification course updates. Registration is not required. Held on Oct. 31 at 11:30am (Eastern Time), this live event will feature Contracting course managers explaining the new, shorter Contracting course constructs. For more information, go to https://www.dau.edu/events/connect-live-139.

NEW HIRES – AAW ONBOARDING COURSE IS AVAILABLE

If you were recently hired into the AAW, you’ll want to sign up for the “Welcome to the Army Acquisition Workforce” course. This course should be completed within the first few months of joining the acquisition workforce as it offers a dynamic overview of:

• The Army Acquisition Workforce.
• Training and certification standards.
• Tools and resources.
• Career models.
• Development and leadership opportunities.
• Staying connected.

To access and begin taking the course, navigate to the Army Training Information System (ATIS) Learning home page at https://learn.atis.army.mil/moodle. (Chrome or Edge browsers are recommended.)

• Login to EAMS-A-Single Sign-On (CAC login).
• Click the CATALOG tab.
• Locate the Welcome to the Army Acquisition Workforce course in the list of Published courses, or enter the course name in the Search field, and click the search icon.
• Select the Register & Launch button, which will take you directly where you can launch the Learning Assignment(s) required for the course.

There is a downloadable resources guide included with the course. You are highly encouraged to download and save a copy of this resources guide for your records. Once you have closed the course topic, your completion will show up on your ATIS LEARNING MY CERTIFICATES page. Click the certificate File icon to view and download the course certificate of completion.

PM CERTIFICATION POLICY CHANGE REMINDER

For those in the Program Management (PM) acquisition functional area, the PM functional area requires successful completion of an exam before being able to apply for DAWIA certification. An exam prep course is available for those applying for either the Practitioner level or Advanced level. It is strongly encouraged that you participate in the relevant exam prep course prior to attempting the exam. As outlined in this policy, AAW professionals who fail the required PM Certification Exam and have not already taken the PM Exam Prep Course will be required to successfully complete the appropriate PM exam prep course before being able to apply to take the PM exam again. Individuals who fail the PM exam will have the opportunity to re-take the exam no earlier than 30 days after the preceding attempt, with no more than three attempts in a 12-month period.

• For those pursuing PM certification at the Practitioner level, available exam prep courses are:
  PMT 4800V or PMT 4810.
• For those pursuing PM certification at the Advanced level, available exam prep courses are:
  PMT 4900V or PMT4910.

For questions regarding the implementation of this policy, please contact the Army DACM Office by submitting a Workforce Management Inquiry (WMI) Help Desk ticket at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/index.cfm?fuseaction=support.helpRequest.

MOREIN’24 – ARMY MODERNIZATION AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The Army DACM Office is leveraging Udemy to make digital transformation upskilling available to all professionals within the AAW. Udemy is the AAW’s online training platform that delivers upskilling in support of the Army Modernization Strategy’s digital transformation initiative. Digital foundations training is intended to develop a common understanding and lexicon of the topics: Digital transformation, agile software development, DevSecOps, cloud foundations, data science, machine learning, human centered design, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in order to practically apply those tools as we lead, develop, test, field and sustain Army modernization programs.

If you are a new acquisition-coded professional assigned to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology (ASA(ALT)), the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, or an Army program executive office, you are required to take the first three prioritized courses in the Digital Foundations learning pathway via Udemy’s Army civilian portal. These three courses are accessed through the specialized Army Civilian Career Management Activity (ACCMA) portal at https://armyciv.udemy.com.

The three Digital Foundations courses are:

1)  Digital Transformation Masterclass.
2)  Agile Samurai Bootcamp.
3)  Product Management in AI and Data Science.

To activate your license, go to the specialized ACCMA section of Udemy and fill-in the requested information. The email address/username that you utilize must be your army.mil address.

•    Complete the email verification and fill out the required registration information.
•    IMPORTANT: Click “Learning Path” (top, left) and then click “Digital Foundations” (left side) to access the curated courses.

If you have questions on how to activate your account, please contact Maj. Mary Lord at mary.k.lord.mil@army.mil. You may also find helpful FAQs by visiting the Army Acquisition Workforce milSuite site or our Digital Transformation webpage.

COMING SOON

DAU-SSCF APPLICATION WINDOW WILL OPEN NOV. 4

The application window for the Defense Acquisition University Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF) program will be open Nov. 4, 2024 through Jan. 24, 2025. The DAU-SSCF program is a 10-month educational senior leadership development opportunity sponsored by the DACM. DAU-SSCF is conducted under the auspices of the DAU through Huntsville, Alabama; Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; and virtual seminars. 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. To learn more, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/defense-acquisition-university-senior-service-college.

LEAD – APPLICATION WINDOW WILL BE NOV. 4 THROUGH DEC. 20

The Leadership Excellence and Acquisition Development (LEAD) program application window will be open Nov. 4 through Dec. 20, 2024. This premier 24–30-month leadership development program offers training through a series of education, leader development and broadening assignments to build skills required for positions of greater responsibility. LEAD is designed to enhance the leadership acumen of the Army’s civilian acquisition workforce. Participants are provided centrally-funded leadership training and developmental assignments within the acquisition community. For more details, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/lead/.