March-April 2005 A PUBLICATION OF THE Some photos appearing in this publication may be digitally enhanced.
Vol XXXIV, No.2, DAU 183
2 18 National Geospatial- Team Osprey Intelligence Agency Redefines Training Director John Walsh, Louise A. Defense AT&L interview Kratz NGA is a complex, The V-22 Osprey tilt- multi-faceted agency. rotor aircraft program Director Lt. Gen. James office broke new R. Clapper Jr. explains ground by making its his forward-looking training program the strategy to help NGA first priority for meet the increased program funding and need for geo-spatial by including warfighter intelligence to defend input at every critical the homeland and decision point during support the warfighter development. today and tomorrow. 10 22 Requirements Manage- Knock, Knock, ment: A Template for Knocking On Success Newton’s Door Wayne Turk Maj. Dan Ward, USAF Requirements manage- Two, four, six, or more ment is key to the minds are better than successful develop- one. Informal coopera- ment of any product. tive networks that The author describes a include people who requirements manage- aren’t among the usual ment process hailed by suspects, can open the GAO as a government door to innovative best practice in 2003. problem solving.
14 26 Revitalization of Weblog Technology Systems Engineering for Acquisition in DoD Program Management Michael W. Wynne with David Brown, Tammi Mark D. Schaeffer McVay Analysis of major Private industry has acquisition programs embraced blogging to showed that ineffective improve communica- application of systems tion and information engineering led to sharing. A U.S. Navy- escalating costs. DoD managed collaborative emphasizes systems team tested weblog engineering as a key technology and found management planning it to have significant and oversight tool. applicability to defense acquisition programs. D EFENSE A CQUISITION U NIVERSITY
Published by the Letters to the Editor and other correspondence DEFENSE are welcome and may be mailed to the address ACQUISITION UNIVERSITY shown below or sent by e-mail to defenseatl@ vehicle for transmitting information on policies, Acting Under Secretary of Defense dau.mil. Article preparation/submission (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) guidelines are located on inside back cover of trends, events, and current thinking affecting Michael Wynne this issue or may be downloaded from our Web program management and defense acquisition, technology, and logistics. Statements of fact or Director, Defense Procurement and site at
30 A Risky Fable Alvin Ware ALSO The monarch of a land with a strangely Using Military Standards in familiar-sounding Acquisition Programs______34 name learns that new concepts and processes neither sell Accrediting DoD Technical Representatives themselves nor in Italy______36 magically heal what’s wrong. If a leader Welcome Ceremony for Secretary of the doesn’t show the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey ______42 way, the rank and file can’t be ex- Surfing the Net ______87 pected to stumble upon it on their own. 32 Acquiring All You DEPARTMENTS Need to Maintain Your Software In the News ______46 Al Kaniss Just because you paid for software develop- Career Development ______63 ment doesn’t mean you own the rights. Policy & Legislation ______67 Avoid costly trouble down the road by ensuring that all the Conferences, Workshops & Symposia ______74 data rights you’ll need to maintain the Acquisition & Logistics Excellence ______79 software in the future are written into the initial contract.
1 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 DEFENSE AT&L INTERVIEW The “Now,” the “Next,” and the “After Next” of Geospatial Intelligence Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr., USAF (ret.) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Director
ormed from several defense and intelligence or- of combat commanders, Clapper became the first civil- ganizations, the National Geospatial-Intelligence ian director of NGA on Sept. 13, 2001. Agency merges imagery, maps, charts, and envi- ronmental data to produce geospatial intelligence— Late in 2004, from his office in Bethesda, Md., Clapper the analysis and visual representation of security- spoke with James P. McNulty, Defense Acquisition Uni- Frelated activities across the globe. Using state-of-the-art versity professor of systems acquisition management. software and hardware, NGA can create animated rendi- Clapper explained how he has seen the demand for tions of imagery and geospatial data, allowing users to geospatial intelligence skyrocket during his tenure, and visualize inaccessible terrain. he described some of NGA’s key contributions and ac- complishments in meeting this demand, as well the chal- NGA has contributed to homeland defense efforts, helped lenges that lie ahead for the agency. resolve international disputes, aided disaster re- lief efforts, helped the armed forces over- Q: seas, developed safer airways charts, On Nov. 24, 2003, the president signed and remapped the world. the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill, a provision of which authorized Serving as director of this com- NIMA [National Imagery and plex organization is retired Mapping Agency] to change Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. its name to the National Clapper Jr. Chosen for his Geospatial-Intelligence extensive experience in in- Agency. What is the signif- telligence matters and icance of this change? knowledge of the needs
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 2 Photographs by Sgt. Mason Lowery, USA A: A: Well, I think the major significance is that it’s a visible af- Organizationally, we have directorates that are quintes- firmation that this is not two separate organizations or sentially committed to each one of those dimensions. two separate cultures or two separate endeavors, which That’s not to say that the rest of the agency doesn’t have was the case when the Defense Mapping Agency was to think in terms of now, next, and after next, but our combined with some other organizations to form what analysis and production organization—which is by far was called the National Imagery and Mapping Agency. the largest, and the basic reason we exist—is essentially That name itself essentially perpetuated the separateness: the now organization. We have an acquisition directorate imagery and mapping. What the new name symbolizes that attends to the next. And for after next, there is what or connotes is the synthesis of mapping, charting, and we call “Innovision,” a term we use for our futurists and geodesy on one hand, and imagery analysis and imagery our research and development activities. Institutionally intelligence on the other, into the concept of geospatial or structurally or organizationally, those three directorates intelligence, which is really what this agency is about. represent the three dimensions. That represents, in a word, our vision of where we need to go to support our customers. Now that’s not to say that each directorate has a singu- lar focus. For example, enterprise operations, which runs Q: our information technology and what we call source op- You began your tenure as NGA director by introducing an erations and management, and which operates our col- organization principle that focused on three elements: the lection task, must think in those three terms as well. So “now,” the “next,” and the “after next.” The current chal- it’s not a one-on-one binary relationship between a tem- lenge facing NGA is dealing with the now mission—the war poral dimension and an organization. There is some or- on terrorism—while continuing to attend to the next, as well ganizational congruence, but it’s also a mindset or a way as planning for the after next and the future. In the face of of organizing how we approach things in terms of run- the accelerated work flow triggered by our current situation, ning the business and transforming. how do you encourage personnel to allocate time and re- sources to keep a focus on the future? Q: It’s not an easy task trying to strike that balance is it? A: I served previously as director of DIA [Defense Intelligence A: Agency], and for four years on the NSA [National Security No! Agency] Advisory Board after I retired. So I came to this position with the recognition of how difficult it is to do Q: 24/7 response to the daily crisis kind of missions all op- In a memorandum that was sent to the entire agency, you erational intelligence agencies confront and focus on trans- strongly outlined the NGA plan as “not government busi- forming in the future. ness as usual.” You described a typical government budget as burning through as much money as possible per fiscal I decided that given that difficulty, I wanted to introduce year, guided by the philosophy that the more you spend, the an organizing principle revolving around the temporal di- more you get and the more successful you can be. NGA, you mension of time so that there is a conscious, overt iden- declared, is doing business differently. How is NGA ap- tification in the minds of the employees that we have to proaching the budget process? keep straight these three dimensions. The “now,” which is our here, today, 24/7—essentially our operational A: warfighting mission. The “next,” which is the acquisition. The elusive holy grail, I suppose, is the extent to which Approximately a third of our program each year is tied you can possibly inject commercial or business processes up in acquisition, which is a lot for an operational intelli- into what we do in government. And having spent six gence agency. And the “after next,” which is keeping a years in industry, I know that’s not exactly possible, since view of the more distant future, what’s out there in terms what we do is essentially produce free goods and ser- of technology, new software, and new processes that we vices. People don’t have to pay for what we do. Never- can introduce to continue to transform the business. You theless, there are many practices we can inject into our have to keep—in my mind at least—those three dimen- “business,” if you will—the enterprise—and how we man- sions reasonably separate, and we try to do that both age it that are commercial-like. functionally and organizationally so that there is clarity for the employees. So this year, we radically changed the process that we use to build our program objective memorandum and did Q: more rigorous analysis independent of the rest of the What structures exist within the current system to help shape agency. We essentially set up our own mini-program analy- the next and the after next? sis and evaluation organization to weigh the proposals
3 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr., USAF (ret.) A: Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Exactly. It’s maximizing the utility of the funding that we do have. ir Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) James R. Clapper Jr., has Q: Amore than 37 years’ ex- The war on terrorism has greatly increased the operations perience in intelligence, work- tempo at NGA. Faced with an urgent demand for intelligence ing at all levels and phases of on a region of the world not fully covered in its databases, the field. He retired from the the agency turned to private industry for products and ser- Air Force in September 1995 vices. You’ve noticed the importance of your industry part- as a lieutenant general after a ners in meeting the increased tempo and need for informa- four-year tour as the director tion. Can you comment on the role of industry in your of the Defense Intelligence organization? Agency. Since his retirement, he has served successively as A: executive vice president of Vredenburg, a systems ac- It’s quite prominent. We depend very heavily on our con- quisition services company headquartered in Reston, tract workforce in two dimensions: one, those who are Va.; executive director, military intelligence, for Booz, embedded in the organization as full-time equivalents, Allen & Hamilton, McLean, Va.; and most recently, as and two, products and services that we derive from our vice president, director of intelligence programs for SRA industry colleagues. The trend has been to rely even more International, Fairfax, Va. He was a senior member of on our industry partners, and it’s one that’s projected to the Downing Assessment Task Force, which investigated continue. the terrorist bombing of Khobar Towers in June 1996. What that does, though, is to reinforce the importance of Clapper began his service with a brief period of enlisted our overseeing what the contractors do for us and to en- service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, followed by sure that we carry out our contractual and fiduciary over- a transfer to the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps sight responsibilities. Even though our government work- program and a commission as a distinguished military force is growing as a proportion of the total workforce, it graduate from the University of Maryland. He com- is actually smaller proportionally than the totality of our manded a signals intelligence detachment in Thailand workforce when you include the contractors. (where he flew 73 combat-support missions in EC-47s); a signals intelligence wing at Fort George G. Meade, Md.; Q: and the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick With your surveillance activity, have you changed anything Air Force Base, Fla. The general served as director of in- about the way you monitor your contracting activities? telligence for three of the unified commands: U.S. Forces Korea, U.S. Pacific Command, and Strategic Air Com- A: mand. He also served as senior intelligence officer for No, we use the traditional methods. I think we’ve done the Air Force. what we can to expand our contracting office and to pro- fessionalize it as much as we can. It’s under superb lead- ership right now. We do have an extensive internal edu- given by various constituencies within the agency, as well cation process. You have to be on guard constantly for as by our larger community, the National System for conflict-of-interest violations and that sort of thing when Geospatial-Intelligence, which involves military depart- you’re working elbow to elbow and side by side with the ments, the commands, and a variety of civil customers contractors, as we are. and constituents. Invariably, you’re faced with 30 pounds of requirements and probably no more than 20 pounds We try to instill a philosophy of teamwork between gov- of money. So this year we tried a new process for being ernment and contractor as much as we possibly can, but as rigorous as we can on evaluating programming alter- even so, we still have to be sensitive to and mindful of natives that would pay the most cost-benefit for as many our obligations to oversee what they do. of our users and constituents as possible. The process an- alyzes, as though we were a profit-making enterprise— Q: which, of course, we’re not—what would derive the great- The cooperation aspect of it is much more productive than est “profit” in terms of utility for our users. a head banging.
Q: A: So it’s not really a matter of just cutting out anything; it’s a Absolutely. Certainly my own personal attitude about con- matter of getting the best value for your money. tractors and contracting changed after I retired from ac-
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 4 A: As one example, I think a major thing is automating products and ser- vices. I was the chief of Air Force In- telligence during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and we have pro- gressed a long way, I believe, in con- veying intelligence in general to users. Our ability to move it has in- creased exponentially. So that’s one factor. There will always be a need for hard-copy products, but to the extent that we can automate, con- vey this electronically, we’re always going to be fighting laptop wars.
As increased communications band- width has been made available to us, we’ve attempted to maximize the technology, and we’re able to move ever-greater amounts of data and imagery. In our case in particu- lar, imagery has traditionally been a voracious bandwidth eater, and our ability to distribute it has increased tremendously.
Another change for this agency has been having representatives present in the forward area, working side- by-side with the customers we serve. We mounted up a substantial de- ployment for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This, I think, also pays big dividends: you have your representatives at the pointy end of the stick who are in the same time zone, enduring the same privation and same hazards, and who understand first-hand the requirements of the customer. They can and do reach back into the larger agency capabilities to provide that kind of support. So those are two tive duty and spent six years as a contractor working for things I think I’d cite. The technology improvements and three different companies that serviced the intelligence what we do with respect to people representation. community. So that obviously has colored my attitude and philosophy about what contractors can and should do. Q: That feedback gives you some real-time methods of being Q: able to change your products and services, too. To meet the needs of decision makers and warfighters in an accelerated timeframe, NGA has introduced advanced meth- A: ods and products of its own such as the introduction of It makes the requirements process a lot more dynamic geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT. Can you tell us about when you have specific needs for a specific product for some of the new initiatives that have taken place during your a specific mission, let’s say, which are invariably time- tenure, and any new capabilities you are delivering to the sensitive. When you have the capability to reach back and warfighter? get it, that does improve things for the user.
5 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Q: The primary daily focus is analyzing information, both As the military’s need for situational awareness grows, de- classified and unclassified, to support customer requests mand for NGA’s products increases exponentially. For ex- for geospatial intelligence relative to such topics as criti- ample, the Army’s Future Combat System is expected to re- cal infrastructure protection, vulnerabilities, security events, quire substantial amounts of detailed geospatial intelligence. exercises, and disaster response. How are you collaborating with the Services to develop re- quirements for systems that NGA can support and sustain? One way NGA is reducing workload for domestic re- quirements is by funding the purchase of federal-wide li- A: censes of critical infrastructure datasets. This helps us NGA is working across a broad front to ensure collabora- leverage our funds and provide information to as many tion among the various agencies that exist in the Intelli- people as possible at the same time. We are also collect- gence Community. This is especially true in our interac- ing imagery and elevation data for the United States Ge- tion with the military services. ological Survey national map and customer data archives; providing mobile equipment at the Federal Emergency We have NGA support teams, called NSTs, embedded with Management Agency and NORTHCOM to improve de- each of the Services. Our goal is to work closely with them ployment capabilities; replicating data holdings at multi- so intelligence requirements are identified early in a ple NGA, DHS, and NORTHCOM sites for contingency op- weapon’s development cycle. It does no one any good to erations; and funding contract support to data integration spend years developing a deep strike weapon only to dis- and Web-based access. cover at the last minute that an intelligence capability doesn’t exist to find and fix targets. Q: The Future Intelligence Requirements Environment or FIRE These efforts are changing the way people work. When system developed by NGA and currently still in early proto- analysts from different tradecrafts and Service back- type stage, offers the ability to store and use data across grounds work together, they gain new perspectives through multiple disciplines and agencies in an integrated fashion. the insights provided by their disparate disciplines. This Can you give us any insights into the system and its poten- collaboration helps them to shorten and streamline the tial application for U.S. intelligence agencies? product development process, and it results in more com- plete and accurate information. A: One of my goals as the director of NGA and as the func- Q: tional manager of the national system for geospatial-in- A significant change since September 11 is that NGA’s tra- telligence is to champion multi-intelligence collaboration. ditionally foreign-oriented products, services, and capabili- ties are now being applied to homeland security. Examples FIRE will enable the intelligence community to work in include assisting in surveying the World Trade Center site this collaborative environment by providing the data and to determine the extent of the destruction, and providing tools necessary to analyze our future ISR—intelligence, geospatial assistance to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah. surveillance, and reconnaissance—processes and systems How is NGA responding to this additional strain on resources? across the diverse intelligence disciplines. We need to be What new skill sets and policies are necessary to turn NGA’s smarter in our design, acquisition, and operation of ISR efforts to domestic issues? systems in meeting the intelligence needs of the users; FIRE will help get us there. A: All NGA domestic activities are in response to specific and The vision for FIRE is as a multi-intelligence database and formal customer requests for support, and they undergo simulator that will assess the effectiveness and synergy an intelligence oversight review by our policy and legal of current and postulated multi-INT concept of operations, offices. The workforce skills and techniques that have collection strategies, systems, and architectures. FIRE will served us so well in an overseas context for many years be different from previous ISR modeling tools in that it are the same ones we put to use supporting our domes- will consider multi-INT capabilities versus single-INT ca- tic customers, who are always defined as a “lead federal pability, using “knowledge gained” as the final measure agency.” of merit.
NGA has an established and highly capable workforce of FIRE will allow us to break the paradigm of system uti- analysts and liaison personnel. Workload is distributed lization as a success measure and actually consider what on a daily basis to cover the priority overseas and do- information can be gleaned from multi-INT operations. mestic issues, especially those in support of DHS—the It will help analyze the design and operation of integrated Department of Homeland Security—the Defense De- ISR architectures and answer age-old questions like “How partment, and NORTHCOM [U.S. Northern Command]. should imagery, signals, and advanced geospatial intelli-
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 6 gence be employed as a whole rather than in parts?”
Q: Technology has enabled the collection of an unprecedented amount of informa- tion. Information overload affects peo- ple both inside and outside the intelli- gence community. A concern at NGA is the longstanding end balance between data collection and the ability to process, exploit, and disseminate intelligence. How does your agency cope with such large volumes of data, and what dissemina- tion methods do you use to ferret out what’s important?
A: This has been kind of a traditional chal- lenge for us as a community: balanc- ing the front-end collection with the back-end processing, exploitation, dis- semination, posting, and all that.
What we are attempting to do comes under the general rubric of what we call convergence, meaning that we’re striving for a universal, sensor-agnos- tic keypad architecture, tasking, pro- cessing, posting, exploitation, dissem- ination, all of that. As new collection capabilities come online, be they from space, be they governmental or com- mercial, be they airborne or any other sources, we want—with not so much trauma—to ingest and use the data and make them available to users elec- tronically, much in the same way as you would do business on the Internet. That’s the objective here, and it requires a robust keypad capability in order to do that. Let them extract what they need, rather than our mail- So the dissemination mechanisms, to the maximum ex- ing it or shipping it to them. tent possible, will emphasize electronic availability of our data whereby customers can come into our portal and Q: sort of click to their hearts’ content and extract the data Is that part of what you’ve described as NGA’s being the that they need to build their own products. This is apart “populator of the grand knowledge map?” from classical hard copy—and believe me, there will al- ways be a requirement for hard-copy mapping, charting, A: geodesy imagery products, particularly in the combat The geospatial-intelligence knowledge base is the formal arms. So this is in addition to that, and it’s up to us to reference. populate those data to ensure they’re as rich as possible. Q: Our approach is to build a geospatial-intelligence knowl- Transformation plays a key role in defining the future of edge base, or GKB as we call it, populate it, and make it your organization. You’ve predicted that one result of trans- available to users at whatever security level they need it. formation at NGA will be a “self-service” environment. Is
7 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 The self-service, one-stop access portal will make available to our customers the data, information, and tools they need to do what they want, anytime, anywhere.
As we deploy this information service, users will have browser-based Web ac- cess to all relevant NGA holdings and will be able to use the data in their en- vironments without having to under- stand how we are organized, how we produce the geospatial-intelligence prod- uct, or where it is physically stored.
Implementing this service delivery concept will also free up our analysts to serve bet- ter those customers with unique analytical needs and enable us to devote more re- sources to deep, long-term analyses of our nation’s most challenging problems.
Q: Are there any other initiatives or programs you’d like to share with Defense AT&L read- ers?
A: I think the major one that we’re focusing on today is the issue of convergence. In- stead of separate stovepiping keypad ca- pabilities tied to a specific collection capa- bility is the marriage or synthesis of all of that. In this day of automation, it’s kind of all zeros and ones anyway. It’s our view that the extent to which we can build a robust keypad and add new sensor capabilities as they come online to that infrastructure, ei- ther for volumetrics or additional function- ality, will facilitate the provision and rapid dissemination of geospatial intelligence and do it a lot faster and more efficiently than we’re able to do it today.
Q: And how can Defense Acquisition University this part of the convergence you described? Can you give us better support the people and mission of NGA? an overview of what that might mean for your customers? A: A: We put a lot of emphasis on having a competent, trained The self-service environment is a component of NGA’s acquisition cadre within the agency. We’ve emphasized strategy for providing our geospatial intelligence products their getting training at Defense Acquisition University and services to our customers. What does all that mean? and at civilian institutions to get advanced degrees in ac- Think about how we use the Internet these days. We’re quisition. I don’t really have any suggestions for you specif- all used to getting the information we need, when we ically, other than to keep doing what you’re doing. need it, anytime and anywhere. We demand the ability to pull what we are interested in when we want it. For more information on the National Geospatial-Intelli- gence Agency, go to
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 8 Defense Acquisition Regulations System Directorate Launches Online Resource for AT&L Workforce
he Defense Acquisition Regulations System • requirements of law (DARS) Directorate launched the first phase • DoD-wide policies Tof Procedures, Guidance and Information • delegations of Federal Acquisition Regulation (PGI), enabling the Department of Defense to more (FAR) authorities rapidly communicate internal administrative and • deviations from FAR requirements and policies procedural information to the acquisition work- • procedures having a significant effect beyond force. As an online resource, PGI serves as a com- the internal operation of DoD panion to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regu- • procedures having a significant impact on the lation Supplement (DFARS) to help acquisition public. professionals more effectively and efficiently do their jobs. Further, PGI will rapidly assist the ac- PGI Released in Two Phases quisition community by providing DoD internal PGI will be fully implemented in two phases. The procedures and other information not requiring first phase primarily encompasses the non-regu- implementation in the formal regulation. latory coverage removed from the DFARS. In the future, DARS plans to rewrite PGI in non-regula- “The PGI site was actually born out of an initia- tory language and to create additional content on tive to redefine and better focus the content of specific topics of interest to users. The second DFARS,” says Ron Poussard, deputy director of phase adds: DARS. “However, it has really evolved into a so- • training resources lution for rapidly communicating DoD policy and • supplemental background guidance.” • reference information to the Web site.
Historically, DFARS contained both mandatory The initial installment of the site is now available and non-mandatory acquisition procedures, guide- on the Web at
9 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 BEST PRACTICES Requirements Management A Template For Success Wayne Turk
hat do you do when you have a process identified as a government best practice by the Govern- ment Accountability Of- Wfice (GAO)? Why, revamp it of course. At least in the DoD Health Affairs TRI- CARE Management Activity (TMA) In- formation Management Division (IMD) you do because even a good process can be made better. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The Information Management Challenge Let’s look at a little background infor- mation. DoD has to capture patient in- formation for its 9 million beneficia- ries. Data must be available for sharing 24/7 worldwide on a very mobile pop- ulation that receives care in 75 hospi- tals, 461 medical clinics, 417 dental clinics, as well as forward-deployed medical units overseas. Information has to be timely and accurate for pa- tient safety. And there are logistics data, pharmacy data, and insurance infor- mation that must be tracked—not to mention the myriad of other systems that must warehouse data, assist in de- cision making, provide back-office sup- port, or help medical providers in other ways. This is a significant challenge.
To meet the challenge, IMD, using SRA International and other contractors, developed a world- lous system that no one will use because it doesn’t do class requirements management process in 2001—at what is needed by the users. There is much more to a re- least the GAO thought so and declared it a government quirements management process than just identifying best practice in 2003. The requirements management requirements. They must be refined, coordinated, vali- process is a critical part of the IT development process. dated, checked for feasibility, bundled, justified, funded, The first step in the design and development of any IT built to, tested to, and deployed in a usable system. The system is requirements identification and definition. If IMD process takes requirements up to and then overlaps you don’t get off to the right start, you can build a fabu- the “build to” step. It only stops there because of the split between IM and IT in TMA. Turk is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a project manager with SRA International, supporting a National Guard Bureau information technology project. He has supported projects for DoD, the military Under James Reardon, the chief information officer, TMA services, other federal agencies, and non-profit organizations. initiated a bold experiment. The IM function was split off
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 10 FIGURE 1. Content of Capabilities To end up with a system that is usable and will be used, Packages end users have to be involved from the beginning. In CHCS II, it was healthcare providers who were involved. • Information manager lead • Information assurance For the resource or back-office systems, it is hospital ad- • Process owner • Architecture and data ministrators. And so on and so on. The requirements are • Program office lead standards developed in integrated product teams. The IPTs consist • Functional sponsor • Specific referenced of functional experts from the field and IMD, and SRA • Project manager policies/guidance and other contractor support personnel, providing a mix of functional and technical experts who ensure that the • Objective* • Infrastructure impacts requirements are right, comprehensive, meet the stan- • Functional requirements • Project Life Cycle dards of good requirements, and can be translated into (prioritized) • Life cycle issues systems by developers. The IPTs identify what they feel • Preliminary data stan- • Projected schedule are all of the requirements. Admittedly some of these dards analysis • Fiscal year XX to YY don’t make it into the final systems because of financial • Strategic alignment program office memoran- or technical constraints, but any requirements not in- cluded are maintained and may be developed later or • Regulatory drivers* dum budget profile added as enhancements as they become technically or • President’s management • Risk assessment* fiscally feasible. agenda* • Federal enterprise • Benefits architecture* A Key Element: • Business process • Business process The Portfolio Process reengineering efforts* activities One large and important subprocess of the overall re- quirements management process is the portfolio process • Business value * • Operational architecture created by SRA to support IMD. Various related require- • Operational impacts summary ments are bundled together in packages. These capabil- * Denotes sections also used in the OMB 3000 ities packages are the basis of modules for systems or, in some cases, complete systems. The packages contain a significant amount of information, much of which is also used in other documents, primarily the OMB 300. The from the IT or program office function of acquisition and package is updated annually and is used for, among other development. IM was made responsible for everything things, the basis for determining funding priorities. Pack- up to the point where requirements are turned over to age input comes from both IMD and the program office the program offices to build or buy software to meet those that will be in charge of development or the purchase of requirements. IM personnel also stay involved in the de- commercial-off-the shelf software to meet the identified velopment, testing, and deployment, but to only a minor requirements. The contents of each package can be seen degree. SRA International provided many of the primary in Figure 1. functional analysts for support. This model has proven to be successful for TMA. But an IM versus IT model is not Sections vary from a single name, to check boxes, to ta- the point of this article. bles, to text, to referenced documents that are not nor- mally included. The program office memorandum en- A Model for Success tries and schedule, for example, are tables; the functional An excellent example of the success of the requirements requirements are bulleted text entries. A few sections, process is the Composite Health Care System II. CHCS II such as information assurance and architecture and data is a second-generation clinical system that serves as a com- standards, are the same for all packages and reference plete electronic medical record. With CHCS II, DoD has a documents available in other places. If new sections are platform that supports worldwide access to centrally stored, identified, they are added as needed. computable data that extend medical providers’ capacity to take better care of their patients. CHCS II is an enter- The Requirements Management Process prise-wide medical and dental clinical information system From a very simplistic viewpoint, requirements man- that provides secure online access to comprehensive health agement is a four-step process Each step varies in the records. It also facilitates trend analysis activities and med- time and effort required, as well as who actually accom- ical surveillance at the patient or population level. When plishes the work. CHCS II is demonstrated outside of DoD, those who see it—doctors, administrators, and others in the healthcare Step 1: Identification and clarification community—inevitably ask how they can get such a sys- Submissions containing new requirements or change re- tem for their own use. It is seen as far better than anything quests come from users, the Services, functional organi- on the commercial market. zations, or internal sources.
11 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Step 2: Feasibility assess- FIGURE 2. Operational View of the Requirements Management ment Process Submissions are reviewed and 1. Identification & Classification validated by subject matter experts, a life cycle cost esti- Help Desk mate is requested, and they 2. Feasibility Assessment Dev, DT&E IM are added to the portfolio. IM IM OT&E •Classify •Assign Prepare & JROC Step 3: Capabilities ap- IM Web Site •Review proval •Coordinate Validate Approval ORD Process The requirements are priori- Services/TMA Doctrine tized and reviewed by the SSubmissionsubmissions ORD Req'd • NewNew group that determines fund- SCRs Training/ IM IM IT RReq'tseq'ts Education ing priorities and funding ap- • SSCRsCRs ORD Not Initial LCCE & MHS • SSIRsIRs Validate & Req'd Assemble Infrastructure proval. After further review by Optimization Materiel Research a resources management Portfolio Impact Plan Submissions Analysis group, high-level requirements Organization are expanded into detailed re- JHSS 2010 quirements suitable for de- Strategic Operational Tactical Leader velopment/acquisition. Legislation Customer Service Feedback Other Member Step 4: Requirements definition, development, 3. Capabilities Approval 4. Requirements Definition, Development & Testing and testing. FIWG IMPC IM/IT IT/IM IM/IT Detailed requirements are Functional then moved into the spiral de- Yes Acquire/ Draft Portfolio Approve/ Requirements Develop/ Deployment, velopment or acquisition • Ranked Fund • Define Spiral Training, & Implemented Develop Test AIS AIS Product process. Feedback is coordi- Capabilities Portfolio • Integrate Solution Support nated throughout the process • Analyze to ensure that what’s going to No MajorMajor CChangeshanges be provided to the user is Customer fromfrom Development,Development, DT&EDT&E & OOT&ET&E what’s really needed. Feedback
The real-life process is significantly more complex, as The Tracking Tool demonstrated by Figure 2, which shows the full process Not to be confused with Windows®, DOORS—Dynamic and who is responsible for each step. Object Oriented Requirements System—is a tool for track- ing requirements from the initial identification through This was the process deemed a government best prac- deployment. There are many other tools out there that tice by the GAO. It continues to be used because it works, can serve this function, but DOORS was selected because but it is constantly being tweaked to improve it. The pri- it met the needs of the IM and the military health system. mary results of the process can be summed up as pro- Your organization may want to look at what tool is the viding: best to meet your needs. While DOORS is not the most • Good, understandable requirements user-friendly system in the world, it has significant ca- • Buildable, usable systems pabilities. It allows identification and tracking throughout • Lower costs and shorter schedules to field systems the process and can provide an audit trail of all changes, • User satisfaction who made them, and when they were made. It provides • A better military health system for the beneficiaries. the capability to sort in a number of ways and print out what is needed. It can be integrated with Microsoft® Word As seen in Figure 2, the process can became fairly or Excel to provide documents and reports. A tool is complex and bureaucratic. IM has managed to keep needed for tracking the requirements. Excel would prob- it reasonably simple in practice. This article cannot ably work for a small project, but for a large and complex present all of the detailed steps and procedures as- program with hundreds or thousands of requirements, a sociated with the project, since each project would tool custom designed for requirements tracking is needed. need to change the procedures to meet the organi- zational structure, culture, and needs. This is pre- Some Lessons Learned sented just to show how it is done successfully in As I mentioned in the beginning, the process is constantly one organization. being changed—or rather, it is being tweaked to make it
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 12 even better and to correct some minor problems. The fol- Cost/benefit analyses can be critical in determining lowing are a few of the lessons learned that might bene- which requirements are met when. In fact, moving the fit another organization or program. I have omitted a costing up in the process flow is one of the recent number of lessons particular to the DoD healthcare en- changes in progress. vironment that might not translate well to other organi- • Keep both current and historical records of all of the re- zations. quirements. Many times “old” requirements resurface. • The division of IM and IT makes communication criti- If they are tracked, managers know what has been con- cal. If information is not shared, especially the changes sidered before. to requirements in the development stage, the process • Give someone or some group the responsibility for re- can fall apart. The final product might not meet the viewing requirements for overlap. If the same or very original requirements and no one knows why. similar requirements are submitted for two systems or • There cannot be an “us/them” mentality. Everyone is different modules of a system, determine if one can in the process together; that goes for users, require- meet the requirement and share the data with the other. ments people, developers, people who assign/monitor • Use a requirements management tool, and try to set it the funds, those deploying the system, and the senior up to give you the information that you need from the decision makers. beginning. Keep it current. • Priorities and status of requirements should be moni- • When requirements are presented for funding, they tored and updated regularly. must be graded/prioritized objectively. That is some- • Costing must be done early and as accurately as pos- times extremely difficult. To accomplish this in TMA, sible. This can change the priority of a requirement. standard briefing templates are used. Also, scoring cri- teria are determined in ad- vance and shared with those responsible for briefing. Finally, the group doing the scoring is made up of representatives from all of the Services and or- ganizations affected. • Be willing to adjust the process as the environment changes. If some part of the process doesn’t work, modify it, and keep trying until the process works for you.
A Starting Point Requirements management is a critical part of the development process, not only for software, but for all products. The template presented here is constantly changing, being tweaked for im- provement. However, since it would have to be adjusted for any project or program, it can, nonetheless, be considered a good starting point; and using it as the basis on which to mold your own is one proven way of achieving success.
The author welcomes ques- tions and comments. He can be contacted at wayne.turk @sra.com.
13 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE Revitalization of Systems Engineering in DoD Implications to Product Cost Control Michael W. Wynne with Mark D. Schaeffer any systems approach- ing an acquisition mile- stone review come be- fore the Defense Acqui- sition Board (DAB) with- Mout demonstrating sound manage- ment practices firmly based in sys- tems engineering. Our analyses of a sampling of major acquisition pro- grams show a definite linkage be- tween escalating costs and the inef- fective application of systems engineering. It is clear to me that our budgets are only going to become tighter, public scrutiny is only going to become stronger, and demands for our services are only going to come faster.
Making Revitalization a Priority Consequently, we’ve made the revi- talization of systems engineering a priority within the U.S. Department of Defense. We have taken the first steps to reinvigorate policy, guidance, education, and training, as well as to develop program support and outreach. We expect to see ate attention. In my Feb. 20, 2004, policy memorandum, a reduction in acquisition risk, which ultimately translates I directed that: to improved product cost control over the entire life cycle. All programs responding to a capabilities or require- Our primary goal is to re-establish DoD’s systems engi- ments document, regardless of acquisition category, neering prowess and to let that expertise flow down to shall apply a robust systems engineering approach our industry. We will accomplish this through systemic, that balances total system performance and total own- effective use of systems engineering as a key acqui- ership costs within the family-of-systems, systems-of- sition management planning and oversight tool. In ad- systems context. Programs shall develop a Systems dition, we will promote systems engineering training and Engineering Plan (SEP) for Milestone Decision Au- best practices among our acquisition professionals. thority (MDA) approval in conjunction with each Mile- stone review, and integrated with the Acquisition Strat- Policy Shows Way egy. This plan shall describe the program’s overall In our review of existing systems engineering policy, we technical approach, including processes, resources, identified specific gaps in policy that required immedi- metrics, and applicable performance incentives.
Wynne is the acting under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Schaeffer serves in a dual capacity as the principal deputy, defense systems, and as the director, systems engineering in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 14 With this policy, we have es- • How will that process be tablished the SEP as the cor- managed and controlled? nerstone of the systems engi- • How is that technical effort neering revitalization effort. linked to the overall man- “Early and persistent systems agement of the program? engineering” is a theme now emphasized by policy; and the Guidance documents recently SEP, mandated at a program’s released include the DS in- earliest milestone decision, terim guidance memoran- does just that. For systems dum (March 30, 2004); a sys- coming before the Office of tems engineering chapter in Secretary of Defense (OSD) the new Defense Acquisition DAB review, the OSD staff is Guidebook
15 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 of traceable allocations, and incomplete or weak veri- fications.
Our studies show that in cases where programs were started with requirements that exceeded resources, costs increased from 55 percent to nearly 200 percent, and schedule delays jumped an estimated 25 percent. Early application of systems engineering will give DoD’s top decision makers the necessary confidence in a pro- gram’s ability to define and match technical require- ments with resources—in other words, to stay on bud- get and on schedule—and to define, understand, and manage program risk.
In addition, several programs we reviewed had com- pleted less than 26 percent of their engineering draw- ings prior to their critical design reviews. These pro- grams experienced cost overruns from 23 to 182 percent and schedule delays of 18 months to more than three years. Contrast this with commercial firms that typically have more than 90 percent of engineer- ing drawings available prior to a critical design review.
These facts clearly show that our renewed emphasis on systems engineering and the concomitant techni- cal review planning and conduct are way overdue. Tech- nical reviews, particularly with peer participation from outside a program office, are more likely to identify im- mature technologies and proscribe intensive risk mit- igation and technology maturation efforts before a “fragile” technology becomes disruptive. We have found programs that were at low maturity levels, and yet the acquisition program was launched despite a significant gap between technology maturity and weapon system requirements. For example, in one program this gap was not closed until well into the development, and problems with technologies were a main contributor to the program’s 88 percent cost overrun and 62 per- cent jump in schedule.
Education and Training Updated and Expanded Policy and guidance need reinforcement throughout the extended acquisition workforce. We are introduc- ing a number of changes that will re-emphasize the teaching of sound technical program management. The formal training available for our acquisition work- force will soon include a new introductory course in systems engineering, and the intermediate and ad- vanced systems engineering courses are getting sub- stantial revision.
Defense Systems, along with the Defense Acquisition University, is designing this new introductory course to address basic systems engineering processes and their relationship to other acquisition and program management processes. Intermediate and advanced
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 16 systems engineering courses are undergoing revision to spread use of systems engineering in the DoD acquisi- reflect the new policy and guidance. In addition, they are tion process in order to achieve affordable and support- refocusing on application of systems engineering processes able weapon systems that meet the needs of the military by life cycle phase, as well as on systems engineering users, and to provide a forum for the open exchange be- leadership and technical program management. tween government and industry to trade ideas and con- cepts, and develop a new understanding of a streamlined These formal courses are enhanced by a number of new process.” online continuous learning modular courses. This year, we introduced two new ones: Reliability and Maintain- Members come from across the full range of the defense ability and Technical Reviews, both accessible from contractor community, from largest systems integrators
17 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 BEST PRACTICES Team Osprey Redefines Training John Walsh • Louis A. Kratz
mproving the way that training development is inte- for aircrew ground training, aircraft simulators, and up- grated into the life cycle of a weapons platform is a grades to training devices. much needed acquisition reform. Training is, unfor- tunately, often the first subprogram to be suggested The V-22 program office accepted this and other recom- when program managers look to reduce costs. From mendations, conducted a rigorous analysis in training Ian organizational perspective, training managers are rarely and other missions, and recast the way it operates, cre- at a level of parity with systems engineering and other ating a new program—unique in many ways, including subprogram offices. the transformational redesign of the complete Osprey training system. The V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, whose variants will enter service with the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force With strong leadership, tragic events can become the im- Special Operations community later this decade, is being petus for success. This seems to have been the case for supported by a transformational program that has ele- the V-22. A fleet of nine test aircraft logged more than vated training to a level of equity within the organizational 1,300 flight hours to complete developmental testing and structure and made other reforms to increase the effec- begin the follow-on operational evaluation phase in Jan- tiveness and visibility of training within the program. uary 2005.
From Tragedy to Transformation The transformation was achieved not through some ex- The V-22 program has faced difficult challenges. In De- otic technology, but through a rigorous application of long- cember 2000, just as the program approached the deci- known but sometimes-forgotten training and acquisition sion to enter full-rate production, one of the test aircraft principles. Strict adherence to instructional system de- experienced a fatal and very public accident during a rou- sign has allowed training tasks to be allocated to the class- tine training mission. The fleet was grounded and two in- room, the simulator, and the live-fly aircraft in a way that dependent assessments were char- tered—the Panel to Review the V-22 “In the simulator…the level of training can Program (DoD Blue Ribbon Panel) become very complex,” Marine Corps Maj. and a NASA Ames Research Center Review. Vince Martinez says.
Although each assessment recom- mended, independently, that the program move forward, specific en- gineering changes and improve- ments were needed. Indeed, while the Blue Ribbon Panel concluded that pilot training was adequate, it also opined that “historical prece- dent suggests that funding may not remain stable throughout upcoming budget cycles” and recommended that adequate funding be provided
Walsh is deputy director, readiness and training, policy and programs, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Readi- ness). Kratz is the assistant deputy under secretary of defense (logistics, plans and programs) in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness).
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 18 Photography courtesy Flight Safety International will save over $1 billion in training air- prey program analyst Robert Cox craft costs. A real partnership be- says. “In the V-22 training model, tween business and government, there is only one person who de- combined with an open mind to fines success—the user. If the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) training system change does products and other technology not meet the user’s need, innovations, has enabled all another change will be sub- training products to be deliv- mitted and will be passed ered on time, on cost, and be- through the requirements fore the primary system, so the process.” initial crew training is on the training system, not in the fac- Reducing Training Costs tory. The V-22’s training systems ap- proach is expected to yield divi- Focus on the Warfighter dends for Marine Corps aviation. The “By making the training system the first Osprey team projects that by optimiz- priority for program funding, we are doing ing simulators to complete up to 75 percent something that no other major acquisition pro- of 100-level training at the Fleet Replacement grams are doing that I am aware of,” says retired Marine Squadron (FRS), the number of MV-22 aircraft marked Corps Lt. Col. Ken Fancher, the former V-22 training sys- for training can be reduced from 40 to 20. “This is about tems manager. $1.2 billion in cost avoidance from not buying 20 addi- tional training aircraft—not a small sum,” Cox points out. State-of-the-art glass cockpit technology permits the pro- gram to make the leap from early 1960 era to latest tech- Cox reiterates that for any other Corps aviation program nology. Higher-fidelity visuals, motion and other flight sim- to reduce flight hours and realize similar efficiencies, it ulator subsystems, and other innovations also help. Osprey would need a V-22-like training system that would include accession pilots accomplish more than 50 percent of their not only high-fidelity simulators, but also effective course- training in a ground-based environment. This compares ware and other components. with a 5 percent ground-based training percentage for the venerable CH-46 helicopter. “This is a transformation of The program is looking to obtain similar savings through Marine Corps aviation,” Fancher says. Other transforma- the increased use of simulation at 200- and 300-level FRS tional aspects are evident throughout the program. training, with plans that include the use of simulators for 50 percent of that training. In legacy acquisition programs, the warfighter defines training requirements and passes them to the Service ac- Other data are also impressive. The program’s effort to quisition team and the contractor to build trainers and deliver its training products better, faster, and cheaper en- other products. The Osprey team relies on regular ables it, in part, to train a 100-level FRS student for warfighter participation throughout the development $450,000. Comparable per-student training costs for other process to build the training system. “What this means programs are CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter ($980,000) is that at this and every other critical decision point, the and F-18C Hornet ($1.8 million). warfighter is part of the decision. For every trade-off we discuss, the warfighter weighs in with a perspective,” Ward Delivering Increased Effectiveness Carroll, V-22 spokesman, says. In addition to cutting training costs, the Osprey team is looking to achieve other measures of effectiveness to help This focus on warfighter participation allowed the up-front shape tomorrow’s aviation community. analysis to be completed as envisioned. Early user inputs in the curriculum process included: Legacy weapon platform programs have a track record • Defining every pilot and aircrew training task of belatedly incorporating their latest hardware and soft- • Determining the level of proficiency at which each task ware system changes into training devices. As a result, must be conducted changes to tactics, lessons learned, and engineering plans • Specifying how often each task must be trained. are seldom integrated into training devices in a timely manner. “Training systems lag grossly behind the air- It is the V-22’s end user who defines success (i.e., ef- craft—by an average of two years. As a result, you often fectiveness of a training device) for the training con- have training devices that are not relevant,” Cox says. tinuum. “In previous acquisition models, all of the groups—the training device managers, classroom in- The V-22 program is determined to integrate platform structors and others—defined success separately,” Os- changes more efficiently into program devices. “If we are
19 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 The End-User Connection The training concurrency integrated product team, a V-22 curriculum working group, and other program teams include the users, the acqui- sition community, and industry team members. The end users are objec- tively asked whether to incorporate change inputs, including those that originate from aircraft modifications, the curriculum, the users themselves, and other sources.
The program uses its instructional systems design to produce the mas- ter task list, which represents “train- ing objectives, all of the tasks, learn- ing objectives, and everything else that has to do with training,” Paris The Osprey team projects that by optimizing says, adding that this part of the simulators to complete up to 75 percent of 100- process allows the team “to run a level training at the Fleet Replacement Squadron, change through the master task list the number of MV-22 marked for training can be and get an objective point of view.” The training concurrency integration reduced from 40 to 20. process evaluates where in the train- ing system a change needs to be in- spending $25 million for a simulator, it will become a serted, whether in a simulator, a training device, or an- door stop in a few years if it’s not kept current,” accord- other component. One envisioned outcome is to help the ing to Deborah Paris, Osprey training concurrency man- program to establish all training and associated costs at ager, whose team monitors platform changes after the the front part of the budget planning cycle. training device is delivered. Paris summarizes her integrated product team’s efforts: One acquisition strategy that helps to correct this dis- “That’s what we are doing at this time—going through connect is to optimize COTS technology in training de- the policy and procedures to prove the concept of whether vices. For example, with the exception of the cockpit, 100 we can incorporate all of the program’s changes into our percent of the MV-22 full flight mission simulator hard- training concurrency model.” To successfully meet this ware is COTS. This plan also enabled the program’s sev- goal, her team maintains a close working relationship enth training device to be delivered under budget with Marine Corps Training and Education Com- and ahead of schedule. mand, Quantico, Va., and other Service of- fices. Since 2000, Team Osprey has also in- volved the aircraft configuration Another projected outcome of the management team in the concur- IPT’s efforts will be to reduce the rency process. V-22 maintenance time to integrate a change sub- and flight training devices are mitted by the user into a train- Block A-concurrent—matching ing system. Through focused the huge change that has been efforts, the V-22 program of- made to the aircraft since the fice wants any change rou- December 2000 pause in the tinely made in 48 hours. “We testing program. As a result, air- want to get to the point where, crews have trained in Block-A- if we wanted to submit a type simulators since June change, we would know how 2003—before the actual aircraft many pages of interactive multi- were delivered in November of that media instruction are affected,” year! This outcome was made possi- Paris says. And it follows, she adds, ble thanks to the of the program’s pri- that if training devices are concurrent ority to fund training systems. and have commonality with the supported
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 20 aircraft, the pilots will want to train Fancher also notes, “Things are going with those systems. to go wrong. The manager doesn’t own that information. He or she Marine Corps Maj. Vince Mar- has to be at peace with that in- tinez, assigned to VMX-22 at Ma- evitability.” Accordingly, PMs rine Corps Air Station New need to organize a system that River, N.C., summarizes the will allow them “to effectively fidelity of a V-22 Full-Flight Sim- communicate any problems ulator and the benefits of train- with the warfighters and the ing in a state-of-the-art envi- acquisition chain of command ronment: “While it is very hard before the leadership reads to make any simulator absolutely about them in the morning realistic, with the high fidelity FFSs paper.” that we currently have, it is possi- ble to generate tactical scenarios with In an effort to obtain the best-of-breed networked devices that provide very re- practices throughout the military and alistic training. If I network a training mis- civilian training community, the Osprey sion with two devices and two sets of pilots, and training team maintains an open dialogue with the second aircraft is flying off a lead aircraft in virtual the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and other weapon platform space, or if the lead aircrew turns early or misses a check- programs, and visits commercial airline and training sys- point on a route, they are forced to react to the mistake tem company offices. the same way they would in the actual aircraft.” Addressing the significance of the team’s gaining train- Martinez continues, “In the simulator we can add night ing insights from the commercial airline industry, Carroll vision goggles or forward looking infra-red devices, re- observes that despite the breathtaking advances in digi- duce light levels, or add the weather to obscure the visual tal architectures, other technologies, and their applica- cues, and then introduce threat that can ‘shoot’ them out tions during the 1980s and 1990s, “naval aviation—and of the sky. The level of training can become very com- I include Marine Corps aviation—really didn’t believe that plex.” He adds that the realism is not just a product of there was a lot of value in simulators. In order to repli- the simulator itself, “but rather, it’s in the fact that I can cate mission training, you had to be in the airplane. So tax the pilot’s decision cycle and keep him reacting to this is the element that is not minor about learning from things external to his aircraft. This is a significant shift the airline industry: When you use their approach—for a from the cockpit procedures trainer mentality that has simulator to be the real training—and provide the ‘check- typically been associated with aircraft simulators.” in-the-block,’ it changes everything.”
Lessons Learned The program’s collaboration among warfighter, industry, Fancher says that DoD Directive 5000.1 (The Defense Ac- and Service program office has fostered a level of com- quisition System) and DoD Instruction 5000.2 (Opera- munication and cooperation in an acquisition program tion of the Defense Acquisition System) “give me, as a that is refreshing. This is the way that we should conduct program manager, a lot more guidance in terms of my business with respect to integrating training into our responsibility for the entire life cycle of this training sys- weapons platform and system programs, particularly for tem.” This is a monumental change in how the Defense major defense acquisition programs. Department’s training systems have been managed. “In the past, program managers concentrated on putting their As our office continues to work with the Services to en- hardware on the concrete on cost and on schedule, and sure that training systems are efficiently integrated then leaving it—they were done and left the follow-on throughout a weapon platform’s life cycle, we look for- work for the type commander,” Fancher reflects. Now the ward to assisting other programs to collaborate with the entire life cycle, including keeping the device current with Osprey office and gain insight into and use the best prac- the supported aircraft, is important, he adds. tices that helped it achieve its recent successes.
Asked what lessons learned from his V-22 program ex- perience he would provide to a Defense Acquisition Uni- versity PM course, Fancher replies that teamwork is at the top of his list. “A lot of people in other DoD acquisi- The authors welcome comments and questions. tion programs say that they function as a joint IPT, but Contact Walsh at [email protected] and Kratz at they really don’t. Without teamwork, that concept won’t [email protected]. succeed,” he points out.
21 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Knock, Knock, Knocking On Newton’s Door Building Collaborative Networks for Innovative Problem Solving Maj. Dan Ward, USAF
n 1684, astronomer Edmund Halley and architect Sir Christopher Wren were wrestling with a math- ematical proof for explaining planetary orbits. They asked the esteemed natural philosopher and inventor Robert Hooke for assistance, but IHooke was unable to provide the requested so- lution. Halley then visited Isaac Newton, who claimed to have solved the problem years ear- lier. Unfortunately, the disorganized genius could- n’t immediately find the papers, so Halley left empty-handed.
Some three months later, Newton sent Halley a nine-page treatise containing the elusive proof. At Halley’s request, Newton revised and expanded the short paper, and after another 18 months, it filled the three volumes we now know as Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The Principia firmly established Newton as one of his- tory’s greatest scientists, but it is not clear whether Newton would have produced this magnificent opus without Halley’s urging. It makes one wonder how many other scientific and technological breakthroughs throughout history were delayed or undiscovered be- cause there was no Halley to knock on Newton’s door.
Desperately Seeking Newton Similar situations exist today, in academia as well as the defense acquisition, technology, and logistics community. Program managers, engineers, and logisticians wrestle with many challenges, technical and programmatic, that have The challenge is to locate and already been solved by others who would be willing to share their solutions—if asked. Some of those “hidden Newtons” live and work in commercial or scholastic are- engage experts with relevant— nas, while others are government and military personnel. And some, undoubtedly, are still in high school. The chal- often non-obvious—skills, lenge, therefore, is to locate and engage experts with rele- experiences, and knowledge
Ward, now assigned to the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, N.Y. , once that could help us solve the shared an office with Capt. Chris Quaid, USAF, who is a cousin of actor Dennis Quaid, who was in The Day After Tomorrow with Jose Ramon problems at hand. Rosario, who was in Mystic River with Kevin Bacon. Small world indeed!
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 22 Illustration by Jim Elmore vant—often non-obvious—skills, experiences, and knowl- Curiosity Nourishes the Cat edge that could help us solve the problems at hand. As we will soon see, most of them are quite close by. As well as the books and Web sites mentioned in the arti- This centuries-old challenge merits a close look today for cle, curious readers may be interested in the following: at least three reasons. First, despite our best efforts, no • The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Eric Raymonds: Explores one has really solved it yet. Even denizens of cyberspace two software development approaches, one of which (the often find it challenging to identify and connect with po- “bazaar”) is strongly network-centric tential collaborators. Second, academia is finally begin- ning to seriously study the structures and functions of • The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson: Shows how inno- networks. Understanding how networks work is key to vation often results from cross-pollination between intel- figuring out how to establish the connections we seek, so lectual and experiential domains this new realm of academic investigation is likely to pro- duce useful insights and answers. The third, most obvi- • Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell: Explains impacts of so- ous, reason is the increasing ubiquity of the Internet and cial networks, from fashion trends to epidemics other network-establishing technologies. • The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki: Explains why “the many are smarter than the few,” and how group in- Hungry Physicists and Lots of Bacon telligence can be greater than the sum of the parts Social psychologist Stanley Milgram performed his fa- mous “small world” experiment in 1967, concluding that everyone on earth is connected to everyone else by no more than six people (if I may oversimplify his results a the value of collaboration—hence his entreaties to Hooke bit). This led to the party game “Six Degrees of Kevin and Newton. Echoing Halley’s experience, Watts offers Bacon,” where players try to establish connections to the an assessment—and a warning—for modern organiza- esteemed actor in the least number of jumps. (Check out tions in terms Halley would certainly agree with: “Firms the University of Virginia’s
In this highly readable book, Watts explains how sociol- The DoD is currently in a time of great uncertainty and ogists, mathematicians, physicists, and experts from other change, not only in terms of the global war on terror, but disciplines converged to explore the new field of networks also because of the continuing information technology and “small-world” models. He gives physicists much of revolution. Rapid innovation and an accelerated “cycle of the credit, explaining: “The arrival of physicists into a pre- ideas” are clearly called for. Six Degrees offers insightful viously non-physics area of research often presages a pe- guidance to help smooth the path forward. riod of great discovery and excitement. … No one de- scends with such fury and in so great a number as a pack Along with explaining how networks function and con- of hungry physicists.” tribute to innovative problem solving, Watts offers some specific advice. He writes: “A good strategy for building or- The story of how this academically diverse group of peo- ganizations that are capable of solving complex problems ple came together is itself an enlightening example of is to train individuals to react to ambiguity by searching how networks function, but the group’s actual output is through their social networks, rather than forcing them to where the money’s at. Watts’ list of further reading ex- build and contribute to centrally designed problem-solv- ceeds 30 pages, to which the bibliography adds another ing tools and databases.” Such informal networks are able 12, an impressive output indeed for such a new field of to bring to bear intellectual resources that would otherwise study. be excluded, creating a somewhat paradoxical situation I call Large Tent/Small World. An LT/SW approach is both Large Tents and Small Worlds widely inclusive (LT) and well-connected (SW). Unfortu- Why does this matter? Let’s return to Halley and Newton nately, many DoD enterprises tend towards centrally de- and the persistent challenge of establishing connections signed and controlled structures, not the more flexible, re- between people to facilitate problem solving. That is the sponsive approach advocated by Watts. An exclusive, point, after all. Centuries before Linus Torvalds (creator isolated (Small Tent/Large World) framework makes dis- of the Linux operating system) opined that “given enough tributed communication difficult and is less than optimal eyeballs, all bugs are shallow,” Edmund Halley understood for innovative problem solving.
23 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In his book Smart Mobs, Howard Rheingold makes a re- recting this innate human attribute towards the team’s lated point, observing: “The Web spread by infection, not particular challenges. fiat.” Here again, the DoD—like many other bureaucra- cies—has a tendency to inoculate against such “infec- Further, curiosity and creativity tend to be linked. This tions,” rather than allowing them to spread and grow as means not only are curious people usually well connected the Web has. There are some legitimate reasons for doing to a diversely populated network, but they also tend to so—security and accountability, to name just two. But have a greater aptitude for creative thinking and problem perhaps flexibility and security are not mutually exclu- solving … but that’s a topic for another day. sive. The continued growth of the Web will make it diffi- cult, if not impossible, to insist on centrally designed, fiat- Area C: Facilitate connections driven approaches. Whether we are ready or not, the tent This is the most formal, organizational dimension. Men- is growing and the world is shrinking, and while that cre- torship programs are one official way to facilitate con- ates some new challenges, it is ultimately a good thing. nections that may not develop otherwise. Similarly, unit fitness programs, professional conferences, and other in- Our Mission, Should We Choose to Accept it formal environments can bring people together in inter- The task of establishing fruitful connections between peo- esting ways. In the commercial world, the Web site ple and groups is not an easy one, but time spent ad-
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 24 Few of us have the ability or authority to hire new peo- edge to begin breaking down organizational stovepipes ple onto our teams, but that is the beauty of informal net- and geographic/academic/professional barriers. works. They function best when the connections are loose. A person need not be an official member of the team to The optimal solution would be a whole network of New- contribute significantly. As Watts explains, it is often the tons, each highly competent in a particular field, each case that “important innovations originate not in the core firmly dedicated to collaborative, innovative problem solv- of a network but in its peripheries.” The trick is to pur- ing, and each connected to everyone else by no more sue and engage those peripheral than six degrees. The IT revolu- connections. Networking is working. tion has provided a host of new technologies that make it easier The Newton Network Capt. Chris Quaid, USAF to establish these networks, from The challenge of building collabo- chat rooms and blogs to cell rative communities is as old as humanity itself, and it is phones and BlackBerry® devices. Duncan Watts’ book unlikely to be solved in a magazine article. There is no (and others) provide much of the necessary foundation. quick fix here, and following these recommendations will It is up to us to do our homework and start knocking on undoubtedly lead to new challenges. Some people will some doors. not want to help. Some will give wrong answers. Some will try to eat your lunch. And some will probably be spies. The author would like to thank Air Force Col. Ted Cope in People are funny that way, and no one said this would be California, Air Force Maj. Phil Garrant in Virginia, and Mark easy. But the beauty of a Large Tent is it likely includes Linderman in New York for their assistance on this article. some people who are willing and able to help… and a Small World makes it easier to connect with them. The essential first step in pursuing a LT/SW approach is to un- The author welcomes comments and questions. Con- derstand how networks function and then use that knowl- tact him at [email protected].
25 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Weblog Technology for Acquisition Program Management David P. Brown • Tammi McVay
irst developed in 1992, weblogs are “logs” of ma- article in the Wall Street Journal, managers are increas- terial distributed across a Web or network—a col- ingly turning off or ignoring their e-mail in order to get laborative tool that facilitates the chronological or- work done. But while managers may get the work done, ganization and archiving of material on a specific they may also miss critical communications. subject. Links to multiple related topics can be lo- Fcated on a single page, and the primary advantage is to Weblogs overcome many of the problems associated with allow the creation of Web content without the need to conventional e-mail. Messages and discussions are orga- manually construct Web pages. The growth of weblog use has been exponential; millions are currently in op- eration.
The power of weblogs and “bloggers” (those who con- tribute to weblogs) was demon- strated in 2004 when docu- ments used in a CBS 60 Minutes segment on President Bush’s National Guard service were exposed as forgeries. Weblogs allowed a number of individuals to communicate rapidly and share their knowl- edge about the state of type- writer technology at the time the documents were suppos- edly written.
Streamlining Business Communication Private industry is increas- ingly using weblog technol- ogy to improve business op- erations. According to a 2004
Brown is a professor of systems engineering in the Technical and Engineering Department at the Defense Acquisition University. McVay is a program analyst at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, where she currently supports strategy and planning for Newport Division with an emphasis on knowledge management. Liberty Project Weblog
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 26 nized by specific topics that are custom tailored to the needs Navy Undertakes Study of Weblog of each organization. There is no need to search through Technology hundreds of messages to find the one of interest. Only au- The Department of Defense Rapid Acquisition Incentives- thorized participants may post material, which eliminates Net Centricity (RAI-NC) Pilot program office recently com- the problem of spam and other unwanted communica- pleted an opportunity analysis for implementation of tions. And because all material and discussions are saved, weblog technology to accelerate test and evaluation pro- weblogs provide an enabling method of knowledge man- grams. Managed by the Department of the Navy e-busi- agement and an archival record of important documents, ness Operations Office and the Naval Undersea Warfare decisions, and the discussions that led to those decisions. Center, the process was designed to assess weblog tech- Because of these advantages, industry has found that nology’s ability to provide DoD/first responders with a weblogs can be used as a collaborative project tool. low-cost alternative for a secure “communications hub.” This was accomplished by providing a prescriptive frame- In today’s acquisition environment, rapid sharing of for- work for structured collaboration and a net-centric method mal project documents and project-related material is to share program/project data. Sharing was done through necessary, but the bulk of the project life cycle commu- user authentication on a centralized Internet/intranet while nication currently relies on nothing more than e-mail, employing commercial standards and a variety of soft- corporate or capital knowledge of the project, and an ex- ware applications. Additionally, the project specifically ceptional memory of the progressive information shared evaluated the applicability of weblog technology as a tool at any given time period. This common practice makes for program managers to disseminate information, con- it very difficult to bring new team members and project trol information access, and capture knowledge gener- participants up to speed efficiently when they join the ated during product development. project in progress. Critical working information is lost in e-mails, deleted, or stored as intellectual capital in the Weblogs have the potential to support two of the top five minds of the original project team members. When spon- DoD transformation initiatives: sors or other stakeholders request information not in the • Change the force and its culture from the bottom up form of a formal document, the working information in through the use of experimentation, transformational play must be located or recreated and summarized in re- articles (operational prototyping), and the creation and sponse to each request. sharing of new knowledge and experiences
27 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 • Implement network-centric warfare as the theory of plosives to attack financial centers. One of the tactical ca- war for the information age and the organizing princi- pabilities discovered during testing was the ability of the ple for national military planning and joint concepts, system to see through tinted glass windows. Test data capabilities, and systems. along with film footage of this capability were immedi- ately made available to those who might have use of them. Weblogs can also assist in moving DoD acquisition pro- Operational assessment reports done in the field by first grams closer to an integrated digital environment. The responders and military personnel were available to as- IDE initiative is intended to establish data management sist in determining whether the technology would be of systems and appropriate digital environments that allow use in mitigating the threat. This example also demon- every activity involved within a program to exchange data strated the value of the weblog in moving from require- digitally throughout its total life cycle. An IDE has been ments-based to capabilities-based systems. As a result of required of all acquisition programs since 1997, but pro- this information dissemination capability, three illumi- grams have implemented this directive with varying de- nators were delivered to the Technical Assistance Re- grees of success. sponse Unit of the New York Police Department for use during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Proof: The Liberty Project An active night vision technology was chosen for the Team communication was also demonstrated during demonstration project of the weblog software. To execute the project. Prior to an evaluation, users were able to the project, a collaborative team was formed that included review results from previous efforts and use the infor- the Office of Naval Research; Naval Undersea Warfare mation to formulate their own tests. Test results were Center (NUWC); Ford Motor Company; San Diego Sher- available to stakeholders immediately after the test was iff’s Department; the New York Fire Department; the New- conducted. The old adage of one picture being worth a port, R.I., Police Department; San Diego First Respon- thousand words holds true. Movie footage of surveil- ders; and the Georgia and Rhode Island National Guard. lance operations by the Georgia National Guard pro- Traction software was selected to adapt commercial viding security for the G-8 summit was available dur- weblog software to support the night vision system test ing the summit. One user of the weblog commented, and demonstration. (Traction was funded in 2000 with “I wish I’d had this available all through those PMRs investment from In-Q-Tel, a Central Intelligence Agency- [program management reviews] I sat through during my funded nonprofit company that supports technologies ten years as a tester.” that may benefit the U.S. government.) Epsilon Systems Inc. provided the systems engineering support for inte- Communication, Security, and Cost Saving gration of the night vision system for the various test sce- Keeping people informed is always a challenge for any narios. Dr. David Brown and Dale Shrader of the Defense organization. In addition to archiving program informa- Acquisition University Capital/Northeast Region provided tion, one of the strongest capabilities demonstrated dur- fee-for-service consulting support on the acquisition as- ing the project was the information dissemination capa- pects of the project. Tammi McVay of NUWC was the pro- bility of the weblog technology. Traction software provided gram analyst project leader for the government. a news reader function and real time chat capability. Using the newsreader function, a program manager can get The active night vision system demonstration, named real-time updates to activity within the weblog. Author the Liberty Project, provided a realistic scenario for demon- Brown entered the project while it was under way and strating the weblog technology in test and evaluation found it easy to come up to speed by reviewing the chrono- (graphic on page 26). Developed by the Ford Motor Com- logical discussions, test plans, and test results. He also pany and provided without license fee for DoD testing, found it easy to monitor progress even though he was on the project had many stakeholders located at a variety of temporary duty at multiple locations teaching DAU courses locations, and field tests were also conducted by multi- through the conclusion. ple geographically dispersed organizations. The Liberty Project provided a realistic test case to validate the per- Another strong feature of this technology is individual ceived benefits of weblog technology. Although limited control of the amount and timing of information a user to the test and evaluation segment of program manage- receives. A program manager, for example, may want ment, the project demonstrated benefits for any phase real-time updates of activity as it occurs in the program, of a program. but that volume of information might overwhelm some- one like a program executive officer who could be over- A specific success of the weblog during the project was seeing several programs. Update options range from the the ability to rapidly disseminate technology availability real-time updates using the news reader to hourly, daily, by the Department of Homeland Security during a terror or weekly executive updates; they may include complete alert. During this alert, intelligence indicated that terror- text or just the headline or title of the material. The weblog ists might be planning to use limousines packed with ex- technology provides a “smart pull” capability as opposed
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 28 dividuals may create separate folders to store project-spe- to current methods that push information—which can cific e-mail traffic, movement of mail into these folders lead to information overload. is mostly a manual process. One study showed that a typ- ical e-mail user will spend 78 hours per year managing Protecting program information is another major feature his or her mailbox. of weblogs. Although the Liberty Project used a secure site connected to the Internet, weblogs can also operate Next Steps across secure networks. This feature enhances informa- The next phase of the program, if funded, will look at ex- tion assurance and security. Access to information can panding the use of the weblog from test and evaluation also be controlled by a program manager. Information is to all aspects of an acquisition program. One approach generally divided into a number of area folders, and ac- might involve implementation of weblog technology on cess to these folders, as well as read/write privileges, can an acquisition program as part of the plan to achieve an be set for individual users or user groups. This enables a integrated digital environment. This will demonstrate the government program manager to allow access to rele- scalability of the technology to handle a larger number vant program documents such as draft requests for pro- of activities and users across the life cycle and will fur- posal to contractors, while keeping source selections data ther validate the predicted savings in time and cost. It in government-restricted folders that the contractors would can also be used to validate the knowledge capture po- not be able to see. tential for use on other programs. Later efforts would focus on expanding the technology across the DoD enterprise Another area of the study looked at quantifying potential to achieve bandwidth, storage, and cost saving. cost saving for the use of weblog technology as opposed to a traditional method of e-mail communication. The comparison found an approximate 8:1 saving on band- width and 100:1 saving on storage requirements. This was primarily the result of posting data once in a central The authors welcome comments and questions. location (rather than sending large e-mail attachments to Brown can be reached at [email protected] and multiple people) and the separation of project-specific McVay at [email protected]. communications from general e-mail traffic. Although in-
29 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 RISK MANAGEMENT A Risky Fable Alvin Ware Distraught with despair, the King thought to call upon his neighbor, the good King of the land of Commercia for ad- vice because it was well known that the successes of Com- mercia were always so profitable as to far outweigh the failures.
“Oh noble King of Commercia, I beseech you to di- vulge the secret of making successes outweigh fail- ures,” appealed the King of Dod.
The Expert Speaks The King of Commercia said, “Surely there is a fair price to perform an independent study. A study on the way work is done in the land of Dod. I am confident I can help to bring back happiness to your gentle land.”
The King of Dod said, “Name the price. Compare our ways with yours, and devise a transformation process so we may properly succeed—even though there is no structure or need for profit in our land.”
And so it came to pass that agreements were ne- gotiated and signed, and dates of delivery were de- clared. The King of Commercia collected his fair fee and assigned his excellent experts and superior sages to the task of studying Dod.
Some few years later, he called upon the King of Dod with the results. “You are in great luck, your majesty. I have in my hand the salvation of your land,” said the Commer- cia monarch. “We will soon deliver to your librarian the considerable tomes containing the validations behind our nce upon a time, long ago and far away in the findings. This single page I hand you now—the royal country of Dod, there was a muttering and overview— has the essence of the study. If you follow the grumbling. The workers were sorely vexed. They guidance of this list of ten best business practices, you were tired of the success or failure of their ef- will find your country replete with happiness once again.” forts being based upon the inconsistent skills of Otheir foremen, and they craved a process, a means to en- Sage Advice sure more successes than failures—or at the very least, The King of Dod fairly hopped with glee and grabbed the less severe failures. manuscript. His lips rapidly moved as he silently read the list, but a frown furrowed his brow as he reached the end. There came a day when the King of Dod could no longer “What is this, oh marvelous monarch?” asked the King ignore the muttering and grumbling. He called in the royal of Dod. “Your caveat at the end says the glue that binds advisors for a conference, but their opposing opinions soon these ten elements is of more value than each of the sep- rose to a cacophony. Finally, in rueful royal confusion, the arate parts—the glue being some mysterious process you King placed his palms to his ears and shouted, “Enough!” call ‘management of risks.’”
Ware is senior risk manager for the SPAWAR Systems Center Charleston, S.C., Risk Management Advisory Group.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 30 Illustration by Jim Elmore “It is so,” answered the King of Commercia. “First you idents of Dod should adopt the management of risk must conquer your fear of planning for risk and embed process because it would bring wealth and happiness to the management of risk in your very way of life. If you them and to the land of Dod. do that, then all manner of successes will fall at your noble feet.” The King of Dod promptly delegated to the Minister of Processing the task of ensuring that the decree was faith- The King of Dod replied, “Well, I have favored you with fully followed. Now the paperwork resulting from the is- a fair fee, and your perfect process seems so ... well, per- suance of royal decrees is massive, and the Minister of fect. All across my land shall embrace it.” Processing felt strained to finish it and monitor the risk process—so he promptly delegated the latter task to the “You must not perceive this purported process as per- Officer-in-charge of Implementing New Knowledge. fect,” the King of Commercia said quickly. “Remember, I said the glue that binds the whole is the management of A Short-lived Fad? risk. At your imperilment will you neglect its implemen- Not long after, the King issued another royal decree, this tation,” he warned. time about the Critical Strategies for Dod to Function. Alas, there was not a single mention of the risk manage- Hastening on his way to hand down salvation to his work- ment process. All in the kingdom read the latest decree. ers, the good King of Dod distractedly shouted, “What- Finding no mention of risk management, they assumed ever!” it must have been a short-lived fad, and they returned to their old ways. Imperiled Implementation Anxious to get back to his neglected kingly duties, the Years passed, and one day the King of Dod realized that King delegated the dissemination of the list to his Minis- he was again hearing mutterings and grumblings from ter of Processing. The Minister of Processing read the list, the workers. “Egad!” he said to himself. “Are these peo- harrumphed in haughty concurrence, and efficiently ple never satisfied?” passed the action down to the Officer-in-charge of Im- plementing New Knowledge, who asked where the tomes He hurried back to the King of Commercia and began to of validation were. complain about a wasted (though fair) fee paid for a process that wasn’t working. Before he could finish, the “Trust me,” said the Minister of Processing, “and speed- King of Commercia said, “You didn’t heed my warning ily make these ten best business practices our process about the glue that binds the ten best practices! Risk man- across the land. They are simplicity itself, so no training agement won’t work unless everyone does it all the time will be required. The workers will know a good thing when and the leader of the land shows the way. Your kingdom they see one. And when you say that it’s the King’s will, merely followed your example, your highness.” it will certainly be done.” Embracing the Concept So the Officer-in-charge of Implementing New Knowl- The weary monarch finally realized the error of his ways. edge made haste and passed the ten best practices to the “You speak truth,” he said sadly. “I delegated without masses. Soon the workers were busily buzzing the buzz monitoring. I didn’t set the example for how to embed words. Risk management process acronyms were flying the process into our whole way of life. I didn’t provide about like startled quail from a meadow. my people with training for the process. And I failed to establish the proper infrastructure for them to embrace But after a few months, some workers found the process your sage advice. I failed to push down from the top.” was not designed to easily fit all tasks. Some of them were too busy fighting fires to try it. Others were chasing off After a brief moment of introspection, the King of Dod wolves or polishing away rust and were far too preoccu- smartly snapped his fingers and began running back to pied to bother with a process that—as it turned out—was his kingdom, shouting over his shoulder to the King of not simple or intuitive. Still others feared that reporting Commercia, “I shall set up a Risk Central of specially risks would be tantamount to declaring that they didn’t trained risk managers and they shall guide my people in know how to do their jobs. embracing the process!”
A great cry arose for training and managerial guidance. Moral of the story When it reached the ear of the King, he again called on When a leader is too busy to truly embrace a new concept, his advisors (but this time told them to speak in proper he or she cannot expect the rank and file to embrace it. turn). The consensus was that the process was simple enough, but the workers just weren’t perceiving it cor- The author welcomes comments and questions. Con- rectly. The King sagely issued a royal decree that all res- tact him at [email protected].
31 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Acquiring All You Need to Maintain Your Software Al Kaniss
n my filing cabinet at home, I have a drawer devoted to all the things I get when I buy an appli- ance or power tool. These include owners manuals, instruction man- Iuals, maintenance manuals, attach- ments, and spare parts. While I don’t always need these things when I first buy the item, I often need them in the future to learn more about how the item works, repair it myself, or find out how to get it serviced by a dealer. That’s when I’m glad I kept all the ancillary items. Making sure I have what I need up front helps make the item maintainable down the road.
Maintainability is also important if you acquire software for the govern- ment. Whether procuring software by itself or as part of a system, you should determine the need for main- tenance of the software, determine who might maintain it (the software developer, government personnel, or a third party), and make sure you get whatever is required to perform that maintenance, which includes not only error corrections but also enhance- ments and adaptation to different hardware. Don’t forget to think be- yond just the first few years when the developer of the Software Data Rights: A Thorny Issue software may still be under contract to maintain it. The Unfortunately, determining the need for software data rights software may be in use for 30 years or more. is not as simple as merely specifying the maximum (also referred to as “unlimited”) data rights in the contract. Re- Besides considering what documentation you might need cent intellectual property laws preclude the government (requirements documents, design documents, program- from asking for anything beyond minimal (“restricted”) mer manuals, user manuals, etc.), you’ll also want to eval- data rights unless there is justification. Several reasons to uate the need for source code and data rights. Just like specify more than restricted rights would be the possibil- the license agreements that come with software for your ity for the government to do software maintenance in- personal computer, data rights specify what you can and house or to compete it among vendors. Inadequate data can’t do with the software: make and use copies, run it rights may make in-house or third party software mainte- on multiple computers, modify it, and allow other gov- nance extremely costly (if these data rights must be pur- ernment agencies or third-party vendors access to it. chased after contract award) or even impossible. The need
Kaniss is the chief engineer of the Software Engineering Division of the Naval Air Systems Command. He holds a master’s degree from Villanova University in computer science.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 32 for software maintenance without adequate data rights be specifically tailored and negotiated for this pro- usually requires a non-competitive contract with the orga- curement? nization that developed the software. • Do the number of anticipated changes to the software and the required response time for those changes war- Many people are surprised—even shocked—when they rant the possible additional cost or fewer bidders on hear that the government doesn’t automatically own soft- the procurement? ware that is produced on a government contract, even if • What is the likelihood that the government will perform the government paid for 100 percent of its development. the software maintenance in-house? Copyright laws say that an individual contractor or con- • What is the likelihood that the software maintenance tracting company owns the computer software, computer will be competed and awarded to a third party? software documentation, or technical data the individual • Might there be any situations that would require li- or the company creates. The government typically re- censing outside the federal government (e.g., foreign ceives only standard license rights to use the software, military or commercial sales)? software documentation, or technical data in certain lim- • Do you require the rights to modify the deliverables ited ways and only if the proper data rights clauses are now or in the future? Modifications include updates, in the contract. corrections, and enhancements. • Do you need to maintain configuration control over the Standard rights may or may not meet your needs. It’s the deliverables? If so, the government may obtain own- responsibility of the contracting officer to put the proper ership of all or a part of the deliverables. data rights clauses in your contract, but it’s your respon- sibility to provide the contracting officer with a complete After the DRRA has been conducted, the contracting of- assessment of your work effort. This assessment, called ficer will determine if the standard DFARS data rights a “Data Rights Requirements Analysis,” should include a clauses provide the necessary rights for you and the gov- determination of your contemplated present uses of the ernment to accomplish the stated objectives. If additional software or other deliverables as well as an assessment rights are required, the contracting officer will enter into of any future uses by you or others. The DRRA should be negotiations with the contractor to try to acquire such conducted prior to contract award, taking into consider- rights. ation such factors as multiple-site or shared-use require- ments, and whether the government’s software mainte- To close, here are five important things to keep in mind nance philosophy will require the rights to modify or have when planning to acquire software: third parties modify the software. If the DRRA determines • The data rights issue is very complex and requires ex- that the standard data rights clauses are not sufficient to pert guidance from both a patent attorney and con- meet your needs and the future needs of the federal gov- tracting officer to determine the best strategy. ernment, additional rights may be obtained through ne- • Inadequate data rights typically result in paying large gotiations with the contractor, usually at an additional sums of money to acquire the required rights or hav- cost. These negotiations will be conducted for you by the ing only one option for software maintenance—sole- contracting officer. source procurement to the creator of the software. • Without the proper data rights, you will not be able to The DRRA should address the following: legally use your deliverables the way you want. • Is this a new or existing procurement? • Don’t forget to consider the maintenance that may be • Do you have the proper rights in existing software or required over the useful life of the software, sometimes other deliverables that permit the government to mod- 30 years or more. ify, in any way, that existing software for this new con- • Make sure you get everything you will need to recreate tracting effort? the software product—not just the source code. • What type of procurement or assistance vehicle is/will be involved (cooperative research and development When you buy a new tool or appliance, it’s easy to get agreement, Federal Acquisition Regulation contract, caught up with its features and how well it works— and other transaction agreement, technology investment neglect to think about future maintenance. Don’t throw agreement, etc.)? away the opportunity to acquire what it takes to main- • What clauses already exist regarding data rights? tain the item later on. Similarly, when contracting for soft- • How much, if at all, might requiring more than re- ware, get and save what you’ll need to maintain it over stricted/limited rights diminish competition or increase its lifetime. procurement cost? • Will one of the standard Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) levels of data rights The author welcomes comments and questions and (“unlimited,” “government purpose,” “limited,” or “re- can be contacted at [email protected]. stricted”) be acceptable, or do the data rights need to
33 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 ACQUISITION POLICY Using Military Standards in Acquisition Programs David Eiband f one were to ask members of the Department of De- fense acquisition workforce whether or not military standards may be used in their programs, the re- sponses might be surprising. Rather than receiving a consistent, unambiguous statement, one commonly Ihears: “We can’t use military standards in contracts”; or “We can use standards only if we obtain a waiver”; or “Sometimes we can use them”; or “I didn’t think military standards even existed anymore.” There are many more variations, but when one regularly asks the question, it is apparent that there is no consistent working level un- derstanding of DoD policy regarding the application of military standards. Thus the basic issue is what exact pol- icy is to be followed.
How We Got Here Rather than launching into current policy, it may be use- ful to discuss exactly how we arrived at the current situ- ation. Starting with the one-page requirement issued to Orville and Wilbur Wright for the first military heavier- than-air flying machine, the acquisition system arrived at a point in the 1980s when military contracts were no longer measured by the page but by the linear foot, maybe even by the pound as some skeptics suggested.
One of the major contributors to the increased bulk was identified as the overuse of military standards and spec- ifications, and the solution was to “tailor” requirements to eliminate unneeded requirements and thereby de- crease procurement costs. While that approach did di- minish the mass of requirements, the final steps occurred in June 1994 and then March 1996 with directives from then Secretary of Defense Dr. William Perry emphasiz- ing commercial practices and products while simultane- ously departing from the traditional military specification system. Apparently in the intervening years, some of that Policies and Procedures. And despite the varied usage initial clarity was lost, leaving us with many current views views presented in the introduction, there are only two of the milspec system. classes of standards and specifications to be considered: those that may be used with no restrictions and those As with any good research, the only acceptable data should documents requiring waiver. The remainder of this arti- be collected from primary sources, not word-of-mouth, cle will discuss the two classes, giving examples of their your buddy, or somebody’s opinion. In the case of mili- application. tary standards, the primary source is found in DoD 4120.24-M, the Defense Standardization Program (DSP) Defense Standardization Program Policies and Procedures Paragraph C3.8.2. of DoD 4120.24-M lists nine types of doc- uments that may be used in development contracts. Of par- Eiband is professor of systems engineering with DAU. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the United States Air Force Academy and his ticular interest are three military document types: standard master’s at the University of Texas at Austin. practices, interface standards, and defense standards.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 34 In the first category, standard practices, one finds: MIL- gotten military standards and handbooks. Many of these STD-961E, Defense and Program-Unique Specifications documents are essential to well-developed technical pro- Format and Content; and MIL-STD-882D, System Safety. grams and their associated procurements. Each title sheet clearly includes the term “standard prac- tice,” and that identifier is consistent on all military stan- When is a Waiver is Required? dards that may be used without restriction. One final commonly heard comment remains: “I thought I had to get a waiver to use a military standard.” Having In the second category, are: MIL-STD-1553B, Digital Time established within published DoD policy the approved Division Command/Response Multiplex Data Bus; and use of identified standards and documents, it is clear that MIL-STD-1760D, Aircraft/Store Electrical Interconnection other standards and specifications will require a waiver System. Both are titled as “interface standards” and are before use in development contracts. DoD 4120.24-M approved for use without restrictions. lists the circumstances under which a waiver would be required, and many of those circumstances are quite well- Finally, DOD-STD-1399, Shipboard Systems, offers an ex- known: detail defense specifications or standards; pro- ample of a DoD standard—in this case an interface stan- gram-unique detail specification and standards defining dard as well. an exact design solution; or any specifications or stan- dards that describe management or manufacturing Getting ASSISTance processes in a major defense acquisition program, as are Each of these three categories requires use of documents defense test method standards, design criteria standards, listed in the ASSIST database at
As can be seen from the preceding discussion, DoD pro- fessionals have several different types of standards and The author welcomes comments and questions and specifications that may appropriately be used in devel- can be contacted at [email protected]. opment contracts, and among these types are often-for-
35 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 BEST PRACTICES Accrediting DoD Contract Technical Representatives in Italy Without Reinventing the Wheel Maj. Michael J. McCormick, USAF
hen the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (NATO SOFA) came into existence in 1951, there was no mention of Department of De- fense contractors as a category of personnel. Fortunately, the supplemental agreements Wbetween Italy and the United States acknowledged a cat- egory of the forces termed “technical representatives” (TRs)—contractors under the supervision of DoD who perform work in Italy on more than a temporary basis.
Fast forward to the modern day: DoD contractors are a substantial and vital part of the U.S. forces in Italy. To ac- commodate the growing reliance on contractors, the U.S. forces needed a process to streamline and uniformly man- age the accreditation of TRs under the NATO SOFA and U.S. and Italy supplemental agreements. The solution came from a process already in place in Germany to screen DoD contractors for similar NATO SOFA status. The DoD Contractor Personnel Office (DOCPER) in Ger- many, along with the U.S. Sending State Office for Italy (USSSO) and the Service Component Headquarters, agreed to adapt the DOCPER process used in Germany to process TR accreditations in Italy. The result has been a signifi- cant increase in control of accreditation as well as a sys- tematic process for DoD contracting officer representa- tives (CORs) and DoD contractors.
The foundation documents for the stationing of U.S forces in Italy are the NATO SOFA and the classified Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Italy Regarding Bilateral Infrastructure in Implemen- tation of Article III of the North Atlantic Treaty of 20 Oc- tober 1954 (known as BIA). The BIA acknowledged that personnel who were not military service members or DoD civilian employees might go to Italy to assist the U.S. forces. An additional category, “Civilian Personnel,” was created and further divided into subcategories, one of which is TRs—contractors assisting the U.S. forces in Italy for more than a temporary period.
In 1995, the DoD and Italian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding known as the Shell
McCormick is deputy officer in charge, United States Sending State Office for Italy, at the American Embassy in Rome.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 36 Agreement, which defined TRs as “persons … who are closely affiliated with the United States Armed Forces and under their authority, but not employed directly by them … technical representatives of firms having special rela- tions with the United States Armed Forces, when such persons come to Italy for other than temporary visits.”
The U.S. Forces Tri-Component Implementing Regulation for Italy briefly discussed the concept of TRs, but did not elaborate. The 2001 edition of the Tri-Component Regu- lation provided a more detailed definition of TRs as “per- sons who have a high degree of skill or knowledge in the systematic procedures by which a complex or scientific task is accomplished, as distinguished from routine men- tal or physical processes.” The directive gives as exam- ples of positions granted technical representative status “warranty repair technicians for repair of complex equip- ment; key executive and supervisor positions in govern- ment-owned, contractor-operated facilities that perform major maintenance on U.S. government-owned vehicles; and computer software engineers.” Examples are given, too, of positions that have been denied technical repre- sentative status: “administrative personnel; automobile sales representatives; carpenters; masons; painters; plumbers; sales representatives for china, jewelry, clothes, computers, encyclopedias, and similar items; and secre- taries and typists.”
TR Accreditation: Out with the Old Procedures Prior to 2004, the TRs were not generally screened for accreditation before they arrived in Italy. This meant that most TRs had already obtained from an Italian consulate the necessary mission visa without any legal review by the local installation legal office to ensure that they were entitled to the TR status the mission visa accorded them. (The mission visa allows persons to enter Italy for more than 90 days for the purposes of accompanying the U.S. … And in with the New forces.) Upon arrival at an installation, the TR would seek In 2003, USSSO proposed new procedures for the TR authorization of logistic support. Originally, the installa- process. The staff judge advocate from the Army’s South- tion would accept the TR’s application and forward it to ern European Task Force (Airborne) suggested that USSSO for approval. USSSO would review the application DOCPER’s experience in Germany might be useful. for proper orders, visa, and any indication of Italian citi- USSSO, DOCPER, and the Service Component Head- zenship or “ordinary resident status,” either of which quarters spent the next year developing the new process. would disqualify the applicant. If the applicant were de- On July 12, 2004, the Civilian Personnel Accreditation termined to be a TR, then USSSO would issue a SOFA Procedures for Italy were published as an annex to the stamp to be placed in the contractor’s passport. In 2000, February 2004 edition of the Tri-Component Regulation USSSO delegated the entire screening process to the staff for Italy. The new procedures have resulted in a reinvig- judge advocate offices of the U.S. forces units in Italy. orated screening process and a more orderly accredita- tion program. The process generally worked insofar as most contractor employees came from the United States and would have One of the biggest changes is the use of computer au- the type of expertise that met the requirements of the TR tomation. The DOCPER Italy Operations Web site category. However, the rotation of military personnel
37 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 the area where the TR applicant resides. By this letter, USSSO certifies to the Italian consulate that the person has been accredited as a TR and should receive a mis- sion visa. Once approved by USSSO, DOCPER sends the signed accreditation letter and a completed Application for Uniformed Services ID Card to the COR, who forwards the documents to the TR. The TR goes to the Italian con- sulate, receives the mission visa, and travels to Italy. Upon arrival, the TR processes through TR accreditation, re- ceives the ID card, and then processes the mission per- mit of stay (that allows him or her to remain in Italy) from the local Italian police station.
Benefits of the New Process Technology has streamlined the accreditation process. Because of databases, pre-printed forms, and e-mail, in- formation can be transferred immediately. Additionally, the database provides, for the first time, a complete record of TRs accredited in Italy. The U.S. forces in Italy manage the TR accreditation unilaterally, and with the new process, they can state with confidence that they carefully screen each TR coming into Italy. The civilian personnel ac- creditation procedures for Italy have also built into the new system a comprehensive review. This allows DOCPER to establish the baseline database for TRs in Italy.
The most significant development is that the Italian con- sulates have been instructed by the Italian Ministry of For- eign Affairs not to issue a mission visa to a DoD contractor without the USSSO-signed accreditation letter, a step that has completely eliminated the previous problem of DoD contractors showing up in Italy without proper docu- mentation.
Another advantage of the new process is uniformity. Pre- viously, each installation had slightly different procedures or different offices handling TRs. Now there is a single point of contact handling TR matters for Italy. Addition- current contracts and companies doing business in Italy. ally, while the procedures are different in some aspects, If the TR applicant’s company, contract, task order, and contracting office representatives and contractors now position are already listed in the form, then the TR ap- benefit from having a single point of contact for both Ger- plicant fills out the form and forwards it to the COR for many and Italy. transmittal to DOCPER. If the company, contract, task order, and position information are not listed, the COR Finally, the benefits of the new process have been real- downloads and completes the Contract Registration form, ized without adding human resources or creating new of- then forwards it to DOCPER, who updates the database. fices. Even better, the new TR accreditation process now frees installation legal offices from a function that previ- DOCPER screens the information submitted based on ously took up their time. By using technology and draw- guidance found in the Civilian Personnel Accreditation ing from experience in Germany, DOCPER was able to Procedures for Italy; legal questions are referred to USSSO. incorporate the Italy process within its existing opera- DOCPER makes two determinations: whether the posi- tions—all without reinventing the wheel. tion to be used in contract performance meets the defi- nition of a TR position; and whether the person proposed to fill the position meets all the requirements to be ac- credited as a TR. For each qualified applicant, DOCPER The author welcomes comments and questions and submits for USSSO signature an accreditation letter ad- can be contacted at [email protected]. dressed to the Italian consulate that has cognizance for
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41 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Fort Myer Hosts Welcome Ceremony for Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey “Successful Business Transformation Essential to Long-term (Financial) Health of the Army”
Dr. Francis J. Harvey delivered the following address at a cere- I recently had the opportunity to visit wounded soldiers mony held at Fort Myer, Va., on Dec. 6, marking his appointment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. What a moving ex- as the new Secretary of the Army. Harvey spoke of how he pro- perience that was for me—to see the resilience of these poses to transform the Army during his tenure, including adapt- young men and women, and that of their spouses; to feel their commitment to something much greater than self. ing new technologies to warfighting and business operations. The nation and free peoples around the world will sleep better tonight because of the willingness of our soldiers am truly honored to be appointed the 19th secretary and their loved ones to endure hardships so that others of the Army and have the opportunity to serve our might have a brighter future—a future of freedom, democ- Icountry, our great country, during a time of war. I am racy, equality, and opportunity. looking forward to working closely with the chief [of staff of the Army] as together we lead the Army in success- Ladies and gentlemen, values, tradition, and people— fully meeting the challenges of the dangerous and com- that is the essence of the United States Army. plicated 21st-century security environment and, specif- ically, jointly fighting and winning the global war on National Security Environment terrorism. So I am confident that the Army will succeed in meeting the challenges of the 21st Century security environment. Although these challenges are daunting, I know the Army As the chief has stated on many occasions, this security will meet them. I say this because the Army isn’t just an environment, which is characterized by asymmetric ad- ordinary institution—it’s a great institution with an un- versaries, transnational terrorists, non-linear battlefields, paralleled set of enduring core values, a long, rich tradi- and intense post-conflict operations, is, perhaps, more tion, and a demonstrated ability to change and adapt to complex than at any other time in our nation’s history. new situations. In order to ensure our country’s national security in this Values like loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, complex environment, it is essential that the Army con- integrity, and personal courage; and the Soldier’s Creed, tinue to successfully carry out its mission of providing which states: “I will always place the mission first, I will trained and ready forces with the necessary capabilities never accept defeat, I will never quit, and I will never to the combatant commanders in support of the national leave a fallen comrade.” security and defense strategies both today and in the fu- ture. These forces must be fully capable across the en- To me, there is no institution in our country that has a tire range of military operations. richer tradition than the Army. A tradition that is older than the Republic itself. The tradition of the long gray In the near term, that means we must meet our funda- line. The tradition of bravery as manifested at Omaha mental responsibilities of recruiting, organizing, training, and Utah beaches and the Battle of the Bulge, as the equipping, sustaining, and developing soldiers and lead- deputy secretary has [just] noted. The tradition of courage ers. As the chief has frequently said, soldiers are the cen- as demonstrated at Okinawa and Guadalcanal, and most terpiece of our formations. I could not agree more. As recently, at Falluja. The tradition that has preserved the the secretary of the Army, my top priority will be the well- peace and freedom of our country for over 229 years. being of soldiers and their families. There is no more im- This great institution, in concert with the Navy, Air Force, portant aspect of our effort to win the global war on ter- and Marines, has been the “Vanguard of Democracy” rorism than taking care of our people. around the world—countries such as Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq are free today Business Transformation because of the United States Armed Forces and the sac- As we carry out these responsibilities in the near term, rifices of our men and women in uniform. we must also develop a future force that is better able to
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 42 meet the challenges of our security environment by im- A network centric force has dramatically improved situ- plementing a key element of defense strategy, and that ational awareness and quality of information, which, in is transforming the way the Army fights and the way it turn, leads to dramatic improvements in military effec- does business. tiveness across the board including operational cycle time, command and control, force application, force protec- Transformation is a multidimensional and interdepen- tion, and logistics. dent process that involves adapting new technologies to warfighting and business operations; developing im- Under the chief’s leadership, the Army has made signif- proved joint operating concepts and business processes icant progress on force transformation with initiatives to utilize these technologies; changing organizational such as modularity, force stabilization, rebalancing of the structures and, most important, developing leaders, peo- active and reserve components, and the Future Combat ple, and a culture that are relevant to the future. The in- System, as well as a number of interrelated communi- tent is to establish an overall capability that is totally cations and information systems projects. aligned with our security environment. In the area of business transformation, there is much But most important, to truly be successful, transforma- work yet to be done. Successful business transformation tion must build on those enduring values and rich tradi- is essential to the long-term health of the Army because tions of the Army. We will keep the best of the past, while it will free up financial resources that can be applied to transforming to be better able to meet the challenges of the warfighter. the future. As secretary, Army transformation, leadership develop- Information Technology ment, and generating the land forces to win the global The technology that is at the center of transformation is war on terrorism will be among my top priorities. information technology. The long-term goal of the Infor- mation Age transformation of the Department of De- In closing, let me state that whether we are talking about fense is an organization that is capable of conducting the current force or the future force, my number one pri- network centric operations, both military and business, ority that will be overarching and enduring is the well- in a totally joint fashion, to include our allies and part- being of soldiers and their families. I want them to know ners. that I greatly value the service and the sacrifices that they are making for our country. You can rest assured, too, Network Centric Force that I am committed to ensuring that our soldiers get the From the military point of view, a network centric capa- best training and the right equipment to do their jobs. ble force is one that is robustly networked (including com- When they are out there in the cold and the dark fight- mand and control, warfighters, platforms, and sensors); ing the war on terrorism, know that I will be working in- fully interoperable; and shares information and collabo- tensely for their near-term needs while building the Army rates by means of a communications and information of the future. infrastructure that is global, secure, real-time, reliable, In- ternet-based, and user-driven. God bless our soldiers; God bless the Army; and God bless this great nation. Thank you very much.
Photograph by Staff Sgt. Carmen L. Burgess, USA 43 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 ver. 5.1. December 2004 Integrated Defense Acquisition, Technology,
Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution DOD Decision Support Systems The Milestone Decision Authority may authorize entry into the acquisition process at any po DEPSECDEF Oversight Effective Interaction is Essential DoD 7000.14-R
Joint Capabilities Defense Concept Refinement Phase Technology Development Phase System Integration & Acquisition Develop a system or increme Development System System Refine initial concept. Develop Technology Reduce technology risk and determine appropriate set of reduce logistics footprint; imple VCJCS Oversight USD(AT&L) Oversight Development Strategy technologies to integrate into a full system. critical program in CJCSI 3170.01D DoDD 5000.1 MS MS A B System Inte Decision Points/Milestones CD Joint Capabilities Integration & Development System - Acronyms DoD Strategic CDD – Capability Development Document DAB – Defense Acquisition Board KPPs Guidance CJCSI – Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff ICD – Initial Capabilities Document Instruction IOC – Initial Operational Capability System Threat Assessment CPD – Capability Production Document JROC – Joint Requirements Oversight Net-Ready Joint Joint Operations Concepts DOTMLPF – Doctrine, Organization, Training, Council KPP Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, and Facilities KPP – Key Performance Parameter
Joint Operating Concepts Functional Joint Functional Concept Draft J-6 Interoperability Service/JROC Threshold/objective tradeoff Capabilities Joint Functional Concepts Joint Integrating Concept Area Analysis ICD CDD & Supportability Cert. Validation & CDD Revised Performance Attribu Joint Integrating Concepts Integrated Architecture Approval Integrated Architectures Integration & Functional Needs Analysis Information Support Service/JROC Plan D Materiel Ideas for Analysis of Validation & Development Changes Materiel Materiel O Approval T (CJCSI 3170) Approaches Approaches M DOTMLPF Changes Alternative 1 System L (CJCSI 3180) P Alternative 2 Initiate Evolutionary Acquisition Strategy (need driven) F Functional Solution Analysis Alternative N Post Independent Clinger-Cohen Act Clinger-Cohen Act Analysis - Compliance (all IT) - Compliance (all IT) - Certification (MAIS) - Certification (MAIS) Exit DAB/ DAB/ Exit DAB/ APB Criteria MDA ADM ITAB MDA ADM Criteria MDA ADM ITAB ITAB Met Exit Met Exit Criteria Criteria Acquisition Strategy Oversight & Technology Development Program Structure Research & Tech Protection Strategy Acquisition Approach Information Assurance Oversight & Review Capability Needs Product Support ADM – Acquisition Decision Memorandum FRPDR Total Life Review Program Strategy T&E Considerations Human Systems Integration TLCSM Cost, schedule & performance TLCSM AoA – Analysis of Alternatives IOC – In Risk Management ESOH APB – Acquisition Program Baseline ITAB – goals & exit criteria for first tech Cycle Systems Resource Management MOSA CD – Concept Decision Boa demonstration Systems Engineering Business Considerations DAB – Defense Acquisition Board LRIP – Management AoA Test Plan Interoperability Best Practices DRR – Design Readiness Review MAIS – Plan ESOH – Environment, Safety & MDA – M Information Technology Relief, Exemptions & Waivers Occupational Health MOSA – FOC – Full Operational Capability TLCSM AoA AoA updated
Draft Draft Study Source RFP Technology Source RFP System Development Acq Acq Contracting Contracts Selection Development Selection & Demonstration Plan RFP Plan RFP Plan Contract Plan Contract RFP – Request for Integrated Integrated Proposal Baseline Baseline Review Review
Major Preliminary Best Preferred Tech System Prot Integrated Materiel System Performance Engi Products Architecture Approach(es) Concept Demos Spec Dev
Define Refine Set Produ Evaluate Product Supportability Develop Initial Product Support Statutory/Regulatory Supportability Product Support Source of Support Logistics/ Support Capabilities Objectives/ Strategy Strategy Objectives Constraints Legacy Consideration Sustainment CD A B INPUTS OUTPUTSINPUTS OUTPUTS INPUTS Perform •ICD Prelim Sys Spec ICD & Draft CDD Sys Performance Spec Sys Performance Spec P AoA Plan T&E Strategy Preferred Sys Concept LFT&E Waiver Request Exit Criteria Defense Exit Criteria SEP Exit Criteria TEMP Validated Sys Support & Alternative Maintenance Support & Maintenance T&E Strategy Validated Sys Support & Maintenance Objectives & ASR & Logistics Concepts Concepts & Technologies Support & Maintenance Maintenance Objectives & Requirements BLR CDR Inputs to: Concepts & Technologies Requirements APB Acquisition SEP PESHE PPP TRA CDD CI – -draft CDD AoA DT& -AoA SEP Inputs to: SEP EOA -TDS TDS -IBR -ISP -STA -CDD ISP ESO -Acq Strategy TEMP System -Cost/Manpower Est. FCA -Affordability Assessment FME -Cost/Manpower Est. FOT (event driven) FTA ITR ASR SRR IOT& Analyze/Assess Interpret User Needs. ISR Interpret User Needs, Demo & Validate Sys Interpret User Needs, ITR Analyze Operational Concepts Versus Analyze Operational Concepts & Technology Refine System JITC Capabilities & Defined User Needs & Capabilities & Maturity Versus Performance Specs & LFT Environmental Constraints Environmental Constraints Environmental Constraints Defined User Needs Environmental Constraints LOR LRIP MTA Technical Trades Trades Trades Trades Trades OA – Systems Engineering SRR OT& Develop Concept Assess/Analyze Develop System Perf Demo/Model Develop System Test & Evaluation (& Constraints) Spec & Performance (& Constraints) Concept & Verify Integrated System Versus Functional Specs & Enabling/Critical Tech Supportability Definition & Verification System Concept’s Performance Spec System Verification Plan Objectives Performance Verification Plan
Evolve Funct Decompose Concept Assess/Analyze Develop Functional Demo System FMECA Performance Spe Performance into System Concept Definitions for Enabling/ Functionality CI Functional (De Functional Definition & Versus Functional Critical Technologies & Versus Plan FTA Verification Objectives Capabilities Associated Verification Plan Specs and CI Verifi RCM
Decompose Concept Assess/Analyze Decompose Functional Demo Enabling/ Functional Definition into Enabling/Critical Definitions into Critical Critical Technology Components ( Component Concepts & Components Versus Component Definition LORA Assessment Objectives Capabilities & Tech Verification Plan Versus Plan LFT&E Waiver (if appropriate) MTA Develop Component Concepts, Develop System Concepts, i.e., Enabling/Critical i.e., Enabling/Critical Technologies, Technologies, Constraints Update Constraints & & Cost/Risk Drivers Cost/Risk Drivers FullFull FundingFunding iinn FYDPYDP Cost Acro Economic Analysis Economic Analysis CARD – Cost Analysis Req (MAIS Only) (MAIS Only) CCA – Component Cost As ICE – Independent Cost Es CARD Affordability MAIS – Major Automated In (Designated POE CCA ICE POE – Program Office Estim Programs) Assessment RDT&E – Research, Develo PMO Budget Estimate Cost Cost Estimation Parametric Methods Analogy PMO POM Input
Types of RDT&E – Advanced Technology Development RDT&E – Adv Component Dev & Prototypes Funds RDT&E – Management & Support RD
Military Planning, Departments & August Defense Agencies POM/Budget Formulation POM/Budget Submit Programming, PCP/BCP Prep PCP/BCP Submit September - November Budgeting, ISSUES SLRG Reviews OSD & Strategic Planning Joint Programming Joint Staff Joint Planning Document Guidance Guidance & Execution Off Year Optional Off Year Optional PBD Cycle October April / May FYDP National Military Strategy updated Process October - November (biennial calendar driven) White On Year National Security Strategy House Fiscal Guidance Off Year
Recommendations to improve this chart are encouraged and may be sent to [email protected]. & Logistics Life Cycle Management Framework
This chart is a classroom aid for Defense Acquisition University students. It provides a notional illustration of the oint, consistent with phase specific entrance criteria and statutory requirements interfaces among the three major decision support systems used to develop, produce, and field a system for national defense. Defense acquisition is a complex process, with many more activities than shown here, and many concurrent processes that cannot be properly displayed on a two-dimensional chart. Supporting information is on the back of this chart. For more information see the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Knowledge Sharing System (http://akss.dau.mil). m Development & Demonstration Phase Production & Deployment Phase Operations & Support Phase ent of capability; reduce integration and manufacturing risk; ensure operational supportability; Achieve operational capability that satisfies Execute a support program that meets operational support performance requirements and ement human systems integration; design for producibility; ensure affordability and protection of sustains the system in the most cost-effective manner over its total life cycle. Dispose of the nformation; and demonstrate system integration, interoperability, safety, and utility. MS mission needs. system in the most cost-effective manner at the end of its useful life. egration System DemonstrationC Low-Rate Initial Production FRP Full-Rate Production/Deployment Sustainment Disposal DRR DR KPPs System Threat Assessment FOC Net-Ready IOC FOC KPP
Joint Functional Concept Service/JROC Joint Functional Concept fs – J-6 Interoperability Threshold/objective tradeoffs – Validated and approved CDD and CPD for each increment of an Joint Integrating Concept Validation & Joint Integrating Concept utes & Supportability Cert. CPD Revised Performance Attributes Integrated Architecture Approval Integrated Architecture evolutionary acquisition
Information Support Plan
B C Evolutionary Acquisition Strategy DRR Increment II FRP
Clinger-Cohen Act Clinger-Cohen Act - Compliance (all IT) - Compliance (all IT) B C - Certification (MAIS) - Certification (MAIS) DRR Increment III FRP Exit Exit Exit DAB/ DAB/ DAB/ Criteria MDA APB Criteria MDA APB Criteria MDA ADM ITAB ADM ITAB ADM Met ITAB Met Met Exit Exit Exit Criteria Criteria Criteria Acquisition Strategy Acquisition Strategy Program Structure Research & Tech Protection Program Structure Research & Tech Protection w Acronyms Acquisition Approach Information Assurance Acquisition Approach Information Assurance – Full-Rate Production Decision Review Capability Needs Product Support Capability Needs Product Support TotalTotal LLifeife nitial Operational Capability TLCSM T&E Considerations Human Systems Integration TLCSM T&E Considerations Human Systems Integration Information Technology Acquisition Risk Management ESOH Risk Management ESOH CycleCycle SSystemsystems ard Resource Management MOSA Resource Management MOSA Low Rate Initial Production Systems Engineering Business Considerations Systems Engineering Business Considerations Major Automated Information System ManagementManagement Milestone Decision Authority Interoperability Best Practices Interoperability Best Practices – Modular Open Systems Approach Information Technology Relief, Exemptions & Waivers Information Technology Relief, Exemptions & Waivers – Total Life Cycle Systems Management Purpose of LRIP: AoA • Establish Production Base AoA updated Ramp to Production Rate MAIS only n/a MAIS Produce systems for IOT&E Draft Draft Source RFP Source RFP Acq LRIP Acq Production Post Production Software Support Contracts Selection Selection Plan RFP Contract Plan RFP Contract Plan Plan Sustainment Contracts Integrated Integrated Baseline Baseline Review Review totypes/ Prototypes/ Initial Low-Rate Initial Final Full-Rate Production Production ineering Engineering Production Production Post-Deployment Baseline Baseline Models Dev Models Systems Systems Review uct Support Plan Demonstrate Product Support Capability Product Support Package/PBL Implementation Product Support/PBL Management Public-Private Partnering Continuous Tech Refreshment Product Support Elements Footprint Reduction Product Support Elements Supply Chain Management Operations & Sustainment PBA Modifications Obsolescence Management -Supply Support -Training Supply Chain Management Support and Cost Baseline Peacetime Joint Operations ns -Maintenance -Support Data Assessment of PSI/PSPs Configuration Control Training Crises -Manpower & personnel Product Support Elements Contract for Sustainment (organic & commercial) FRP Supply Chain Management Data Management DRR C DR C OTRR DR ance Based Logistics (PBL) Strategy (Preferred Product Support Approach) OUTPUTS Pre-IOC & Post IOC Supportability Assessments Performance Based Business Case Product Support Integrator/ Initial Prod Baseline Independent IOT&E Agreements Analysis Product Support Provider Test Reports Full-Up System Level LFT&E Logistics & Technical Acronyms TEMP BLRIP Elements of Product Report to Disposal R – Alternative Systems Review OTRR – Operational Test Readiness FOT&E Most RIP – Beyond Low Rate Initial Production Support Congress Review JITC Interoperability Acceptable R – Critical Design Review PESHE – Programmatic Environment, Risk Assessment Certification Testing – Configuration Item Safety & Occupational Health Evaluation SEP TRA Recycle/Reuse &E – Developmental Test & Evaluation PDR – Preliminary Design Review PESHE J-6 Interoperability A – Early Operational Assessment PCA – Physical Configuration Audit LFTE OH – Environmental, Safety & Occupational Health PRR – Production Readiness Review Inputs to: & Supportability Validation Report to Congress Reprocessing A – Functional Configuration Audit PPP – Program Protection Plan -CPD -STA -ISP ECA – Failure Mode Effects & Criticality Analysis RCM – Reliability Centered Maintenance -Cost/Manpower Est. T&E – Follow-on Test & Evaluation RMS – Reliability, Maintainability & FCA Landfill A – Failure Tree Analysis Supportability Disposal &E – Initial Operational Test & Evaluation SEP – Systems Engineering Plan SVR PRR – In-Service Review INPUTS OUTPUTS INPUTS OUTPUTS SFR – System Functional Review Combined DT&E/OT&E/LFT&E Least – Initial Technical Review SRR – System Requirements Review Production Baseline Service Use Data Data for In-Service Review Demonstrate System to Test Results Acceptable C – Joint Interoperability Test Command STA – System Threat Assessment Exit Criteria Test Reports User Feedback Input to CDD for next increment T&E – Live Fire Test & Evaluation SVR – System Verification Review Specified User Needs & TEMP PESHE SEP RA – Level of Repair Analysis APB CPD SEP TEMP Failure Reports Modifications/upgrades to fielded T&E – Test & Evaluation Environmental Constraints Input to: P – Low Rate Initial Production TEMP – Test & Evaluation Master Plan Product Support Package Discrepancy Reports systems - Cost/Manpower Est. A – Maintenance Task Analysis TDS – Technology Development Strategy Trades SEP SEP – Operational Assessment TRA – Technology Readiness Assessment &E – Operational Test & Evaluation TRR – Test Readiness Review System DT&E, LFT&E & OAs, PCA In-Service Verify System Functionality Review & Constraints Compliance Monitor and Collect Analyze Deficiencies Implement and to Specs Verify & Validate All Service To Determine Corrective Production Use Data Field SFR TRR Actions Configuration Trades Trades tional Integrated DT&E, LFT&E & ecs into EOAs Verify Performance esign to) Compliance to Specs cation Plan Modify Configuration Analyze Data to Assess Risk of (Hardware/Software/Specs) Determine Improved System PDR To Correct Deficiencies Root Cause Evolve CI Functional Individual CI Specs into Product Verification (Build to) Documentation DT&E Determine and Inspection Plan Integrate & Test System Risk/ Corrective Action CDR Hazard Severity
Fabricate, Assemble, Code to “Build-to” Documentation Develop Process Change – Hardware/Support Corrective Materiel Change Full Action Funding in FYDP nyms quirements Description Economic Analysis ssessment (MAIS Only) stimate nformation System CARD Affordability CARD Affordability mate (Designated POE CCA ICE (Designated POE CCA ICE opment, Test & Evaluation Programs) Assessment Programs) Assessment
Actual Costs Engineering
RDT&E – Systems Development & Demonstration Procurement Operations & DT&E – Management & Support RDT&E – Management & Support Maintenance
Appropriated Funds To Support Contracts
Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution Acronyms DoD Testimony DoD Appeals Allocation BCP – Budget Change Proposals PCP – Program Change Proposals FYDP – Future Years Defense Program PDM – Program Decision Memorandum MBI – Major Budget Issues POM – Program Objectives Memorandum OMB – Office of Management & Budget SLRG – Senior Leadership Review Group PBD – Program Budget Decision PDM(s)
Apportionment DoD Final MBI PBDs Budget FYDP November December updated Congress Congress OMB President’s Authorization/ Budget Authorization Appropriation Budget to Appropriation January Committees Committees Committees Congress Acts Passed February (1st Monday) February - September Preston fielding questions about it. The uniform, designed with input from soldiers, has been field tested by Stryker Brigade soldiers in Iraq.
Wrinkle-free with a digitized camouflage pattern of greens In the News and light browns, the uniform features angled breast pockets, a collar that folds up to prevent chaffing from body armor, Velcro and zippers instead of buttons, and ARMY NEWS SERVICE (NOV. 3, 2004) pockets on the upper sleeves and toward the bottom of SOLDIERS GLIMPSE FUTURE the legs. A pleat in the back shoulders makes the shirt CAPABILITIES more expandable for larger-chested soldiers. Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA oldiers of the future will head into battle with lighter Soldiers will also wear moisture-wicking T-shirts and un- loads, enhanced body protection, better chow, and dergarments, and lightweight jungle-style brown boots. Smore portable electrical power. The uniform will help soldiers blend into a variety of en- Technologies like nanotechnology and photovoltaics— vironments and especially so in urban areas and at night, evolving methods that are responsible for much of the Preston said. It will be phased in much like the physical improvements—were part of a recent forum on “Equip- training uniform was, he added. Soldiers deploying next ping the Soldier for the 21st Century” at the Association year for OIF 3 and OEF 6 will get the uniforms, which of the United States Army annual meeting. will replace the desert camouflage uniforms and both the summer and winter versions of the battle dress uni- Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of atoms and forms. molecules to create materials or items at the nanome- ter scale, which is about 50,000 times smaller than the Basic training soldiers should start getting them issued diameter of a strand of human hair. It's being used to in May 2006, with all soldiers in them by May of 2008. develop lighter, stronger, and more flexible body armor, They'll cost a little more than battle dress uniforms, but helmets, uniforms, eye protection, and food packaging, clothing allowances will be adjusted to compensate, Pre- among other possibilities. ston said. Soldiers will also save money because the uni- forms cannot be professionally laundered or dry-cleaned; Using nanotechnology, scientists and engineers envision they also won't pay for patches to be sewn on since Vel- the soldier of the future in a battle uniform that can stop cro will be used. or slow bullets and other projectiles, repel water, moni- tor health, and automatically deliver medicines to treat Preston said sleeves stay down in theater, and the Army injuries. is getting away from rolling sleeves up in general.
Such technology will improve a soldier's chance of sur- viving serious injuries from blasts and firefights, said Lt. Col. Charlie Dean, the Army's liaison at the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology, where The Institute for Sol- dier Nanotechnologies opened earlier this year.
Photovoltaics, or PVs, use solar cells to convert light into electricity, with no noise, no moving parts, and without producing pollution, scientists said. PVs can be integrated into existing materials like fabric, shelters, and vehicles.
Lightweight and portable PV panels can be laid out on a table, or spread out on top of a shelter, to generate power that can be used for a variety of things, like recharging batteries. With a small PV panel that rolls up and fits in Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston describes features a pocket, soldiers can recharge two double-A batteries of the new combat uniform, demonstrated by Soldier of in about two hours. Larger PV panels can also provide the Year Spc. Wilfredo Mendez, far left, and Staff Sgt. emergency power to field hospitals. Andrew J. Bullock, Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. To the far right, Sgt. Rock, an interactive robotic soldier, also wears the new uniform. The forum also included a demonstration of the new U.S. Amy photograph by Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA combat uniform, with Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 46 In the News
One concern expressed about the uniform was the noise “The concept, thermodynamically, has been around for Velcro makes when a soldier opens a pocket. Preston many years, but no one had been able to make the con- said the leg pockets have drawstrings that can be used cept work until we took it into the laboratory here,” Heil instead. said. “We have shown we can produce thrust from a pulse-detonation engine.” Most soldiers were enthusiastic about the uniform and future technologies. Sgt. Samuel Cowell, a signal intelli- The colonel said a PDE has been installed on an aircraft gence analyst from Korea, appreciated the chance to see and has successfully completed taxi testing. “That's an the uniform up close. example of a technology that has payoffs in terms of ef- ficiency of producing thrust, particularly in the super- “This dispels a lot of rumors about it,” Cowell said. “Peo- sonic regime,” he said. ple are saying there aren't any real improvements, that the Velcro won't work right. But with all the testing it's Another promising propulsion technology involves the been through, and showing us, I think it's going to be manufacture of unique molecules. fine.” “We actually have chemists who will theoretically design AIR FORCE PRINT NEWS (NOV. 12, 2004) high-energy molecules on their computers, then go into AIR FORCE'S FUTURE 'INVENTED' AT the laboratory and synthesize those molecules,” Heil RESEARCH LAB said. “The [chemists] have invented new nitrogen ions. Master Sgt. Scott Elliott, USAF We're doing advanced research to see if these new com- ASHINGTON—It still may be a little too soon pounds and materials have payoffs for rocket propulsion. for Star Trek's “beam me up, Scotty” tech- Sometimes efficiencies are at least twice [that of] cur- Wnology, but Air Force scientists and engineers rent rocket fuels and oxidizers.” are trying to narrow the gap between science fiction and science fact. Heil admitted that AFRL scientists and engineers occa- sionally have to deal with the “giggle factor” when look- The Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson ing into new concepts. Air Force Base, Ohio, recently published the results of a study on the feasibility of teleportation physics. The study “Sometimes things start to look like science fiction, like looked at scientific and engineering literature worldwide Star Trek,” he said. “We don't fund science fiction in to determine the practicality of advanced research into AFRL, we only fund legitimate science that has poten- the disembodied transport of people or inanimate ob- tial payoff for the Air Force. However, it is our job to look jects from point to point across space. far out into the future to pursue promising areas of sci- ence and look at high-payoff, high-risk technologies.” While the study indicates science and technology are not quite ready for teleportation, Col. Michael Heil, chief Heil said the Flash Gordon ray gun was one of those one- of AFRL's propulsion directorate, said the Air Force is not time giggle factor ideas. That science fiction has been about to quit looking to the future. turned into science fact in the form of laser technology, which currently has military, medical, and commercial “I think it's premature to discount the basic research into application. promising technologies,” he said. “We keep our fingers on the pulse of science at all times, so it's a continual The colonel pointed to the very basis of the Air Force— process by our scientists and engineers to stay up to date the airplane—as justification for pursuing far-out tech- in following the technical literature and looking for break- nological concepts. throughs in physics and other sciences.” “We are a high-tech Service,” he said. “We were born of Some technological breakthroughs spend many years technology when the airplane was invented. We always making the transition from concept to reality. One ex- push the edge in terms of embracing technology and ample is the pulse-detonation engine, where the air and being on the cutting edge. fuel mixture is detonated rather than allowed to simply burn. “We have brilliant people [at AFRL] who are inventing the future of the Air Force,” he said.
47 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
17TH PUBLIC AFFAIRS DETACHMENT dration systems, improved knee pads, fleece jackets, NEWS RELEASE (NOV. 8, 2004) and bib overalls. ARMY INITIATIVE PROVIDES LATEST EQUIPMENT TO DEPLOYED SOLDIERS Some soldiers are even issued multi-function tools and Sgt. Frank Magni, USA other tools they use as part of their military occupational ORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanis- specialty. Combat soldiers are also issued modular light- tan—As the battlefield of the 21st century evolves, weight load-carrying equipment, known as MOLLE gear. Fso does the equipment that keeps soldiers in the fight. In response to the rapid deployments of the past On Forward Operating Base Orgun-E, in Afghanistan, few years, the U.S. Army leaders have created the Rapid the initiative team came to properly size soldiers for the Fielding Initiative, known as RFI, which aims to ensure Advanced Combat Helmet. The unit, 2nd Battalion, 27th that soldiers are issued the most technologically advanced Infantry Regiment, was issued a majority of their RFI equipment available to them. items before deploying, but the advanced helmet was a supplemental item. The initiative team issues a variety of equipment, from boots and gloves to sunglasses and improved helmets. The ACH is an improvement over the traditional helmet Most units receive a rapid fielding initiative issue before because of its advanced design, said Luis Samuel, RFI deploying. But in a time of no-notice or last-minute de- team member. “It is designed to work better with inter- ployment orders, there are some soldiers who are missed. ceptor body armor,” he continued. “It is easier to shoot In this case, the RFI team will travel to the field to get from the prone position with these new helmets.” equipment to soldiers, said Sgt. 1st Class James Mical, Army Test and Evaluation Command RFI consultant. The ACH is also one-and-a-half pounds lighter than the traditional Kevlar helmet and has a four-point chin strap “With technology changing so fast, and soldiers rapidly system for a better fit. It also provides a better fit be- deploying, it is necessary to have a flexible solution to cause each helmet has rotating pads that fit to different get equipment to the soldiers,” said Philip Whitlock, ini- sized heads. tiative team member. Each ACH comes with a night vision mount, helmet The advantages of Rapid Fielding Initiative are numer- cover that is reversible with either desert or woodland ous, Whitlock said. Because the team can travel through- pattern, movable pads, and the four-point chin strap out the world, they are able to bring equipment to sol- diers whose units did not have the opportunity to receive the equipment at their home station.
“We go where the soldiers are,” said Whitlock.
Once the members of the team visit the soldiers in Iraq, they send the measurements and sizes back to a ware- house in Kuwait. There, a duffel bag is filled with each soldier's gear based on his or her sizes. The bag is then sent back to the individual's unit for issue. This process can have the gear back to the soldier in about 15 days.
Emphasis on the soldier is one reason why the initiative is gaining in popularity within the Army, said Whitlock. Not only do members of the team pay close attention to customer service, but the equipment they issue keeps Sgt.Luis Samuel, right, a Rapid Fielding Initiative team them popular, Whitlock said. member, fits an Advanced Combat Helmet to Spc. Richard Delgado on Forward Operating Base Orgun-E, Afghanistan. The items issued vary by the type of unit a soldier is Delgado is assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. in, but most get improved T-shirts, belts and socks, U.S. Amy photograph by Sgt. Frank Magni, USA along with silk-weight long underwear, goggles, hy-
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 48 In the News
retaining system. It can also be fitted with a commu- The piece of equipment that has been most useful is the nications system. MOLLE vest, said Maulsby.
While the ACH is just now being issued to many soldiers “These vests are comfortable and practical,” he said. “It in Operation Enduring Freedom, Spc. Edgar Salas of the makes sense because each person can put the pockets battalion's Company C wore the ACH when he was with in different positions. This is better, because with the dif- the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the early ferent weapon systems, each person can put ammo phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom. where it is most efficient.”
Salas said he was very satisfied with the helmet during Both Maulsby and Salas said all the equipment they have the months he used it in Iraq. received from RFI has been very useful and that they would likely have purchased some of the items them- “It fits so well, and it is so much lighter that you some- selves if they weren't issued them. times forget you have it on,” said Salas. “It really helps lessen neck and shoulder fatigue on long missions.” This is a common response heard by the Rapid Fielding Initiative team, and it has become one of the most re- Spc. Dan Maulsby, another Company C soldier, said he warding aspects of their jobs. likes RFI for a few different reasons. “These are all items soldiers were buying anyway, We “It feels good because it feels like the Army is going out were just giving them something they can use,” said of its way to get us the best equipment they can,” said Samuel. “This just cuts down on [unnecessary] cost to Maulsby. the individual soldier.”
AIR FORCE PRINT NEWS (NOV. 2, 2004) instrumental in making the most recent adjustments. LEADERS UNVEIL UPDATED UTILITY The original plan called for only 300 testers, but uniform UNIFORM COLORS, PATTERN board officials decided to increase the number of testers Tech. Sgt. David A. Jablonski, USAF ASHINGTON—Responding to airmen's feed- back, Air Force leaders unveiled an alterna- Wtive utility uniform color scheme and pattern Nov. 2 as part of the ongoing wear-test that was an- nounced in August 2003.
Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray are now wearing the latest test version of the utility uniform during visits to airmen serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The most striking change in this version is the switch from a deep blue, gray, and green color scheme to a more subdued mix of tan, blue, and two shades of green. And the tiger-stripe pattern is now pixilated. The Air Force utility uniform's revised colors are tan, blue, and two shades of green in a pixilated tiger-stripe pattern. This test version includes design changes incorporated Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, and Chief Master Sgt. of in September based on feedback from airmen. the Air Force Gerald R. Murray are wearing the updated utility uniform during visits to airmen serving in Operation More than 700 people at 32 installations are wear-test- Iraqi Freedom. ing the first test uniform. These airmen participated in U.S. Air Force photograph by Tech. Sgt. David A. Jablonski, USAF scientific surveys and focus groups. Their feedback was
49 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
to get more exposure and collect more test data. A se- “The wear test allows airmen around the world to see lect group will test the newest version. the uniform in work places and to give feedback on its appearance, comfort, function, and maintenance,” Dean Data showed that a Service-unique appearance was very said. “The chief of staff took that feedback into consid- important to airmen. eration when making the decision to move forward with expanding the test to include the new color and pattern.” “Ninety-one percent of the airmen responded in favor of a distinctive Air Force utility uniform,” Murray said. Special operations and survival, evasion, resistance, and “Airmen take great pride in serving in America's Air Force. escape airmen will field-test the new utility uniform's Having a distinct uniform that presents a professional pattern and colors to see how they perform in extreme appearance to the public and our sister Services, when conditions. we are at home station or deployed, is important” In January 2005, the uniform board will standardize the A unique Air Force-designed uniform has another big ad- pattern, material, and specifications and deliver the re- vantage. sults to the Defense Logistics Agency for production. Nor- mal production to delivery time can take 18 to 24 months. “Our new utility uniform incorporates a unique fit tai- lored for men and women, and a variety of realistic sizes AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE beyond just small, medium, and large,” the chief said. (NOV. 9, 2004) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT GAIN STARRING “More than 20 percent of our airmen are women, and ROLE IN TERROR WAR we continually received feedback on how the male uni- Donna Miles forms they currently wear do not fit well. Fit and com- ASHINGTON—Unmanned aerial vehicles are fort are important for all airmen to project a professional earning star status in the global war on ter- military image.” Wror, becoming the most requested capability among combatant commanders in Southwest Asia and Officials said they are reaping additional benefits from increasing fourfold in that theater during the last year this particular uniform wear-test process. alone, according to the deputy director of the Pentagon's UAV planning task force. Air Force Clothing Office officials took detailed mea- surements of as many body types as possible and Dyke Weatherington told the American Forces Press Ser- recorded them into a database for future uniform design vice that UAVs are topping combatant commanders' wish studies. Since the last such measurement in the 1960s, lists. During the past year alone, the number of UAVs in officials discovered that the average airmen now has a Iraq has jumped from less than 100 to more than 400. more athletic build. “We've seen a huge growth in the total number of UAVs Not only are airmen more fit to fight; they are deployed in the theater, with most of that growth in the area of more often and for longer periods than ever before. There small UAVs,” he said. “There's a lot of capability over is no time to fuss over finicky uniforms, officials said. there today, and frankly, the warfighter is asking for more.” “The wash-and-wear uniform will be easier and cheaper to maintain,” said Senior Master Sgt. Jacqueline Dean, What makes UAVs so valuable, Weatherington said, is uniform board superintendent. “The permanent-press their ability to provide eyes in the sky for extended pe- treatment eliminates the need for ironing, and home riods of time, beaming real-time images to the ground. washing can save an airman from $180 to $240 in laun- dry costs over the course of a year.” “In the global war on terror, persistence is vitally im- portant,” he said. “It's important to deny the enemy sanc- Dean oversees the wear test and leads the uniform tuary. And constant surveillance in his backyard, so to board's campaign to display the uniform as much as pos- speak, prevents him the opportunity to mass assets and sible in a variety of locations. forces.”
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 50 In the News
In the event the enemy does this, UAVs offer an addi- Even unarmed, Predator and other UAVs can identify tar- tional capability beyond their traditional intelligence, sur- gets so other strike platforms, such as AC-130 Spectre veillance, and reconnaissance role, Weatherington said. gunships, can engage them more quickly and effectively, Now they're demonstrating a strike capability as well. Weatherington said.
The Air Force's Predator UAV, which earned its stripes But Predator isn't the only UAV proving its value in South- flying reconnaissance missions in Bosnia, showcased west Asia. Weatherington said the variety of UAV sys- that capability in Southwest Asia. Predator is credited tems in the military inventory ensures that UAV tech- with taking out one of al Qaeda's top lieutenants in nology is adaptable to the widest range of missions. Afghanistan with a Hellfire missile, and has since been used widely for offensive operations in Iraq. In all, the military now has more than a dozen UAV sys- tems in its inventory and is at work on several new ones, Although Predator wasn't initially designed as a strike including the Joint Unmanned Combat Aerial System, platform, Weatherington said its ability to provide con- which will incorporate direct-strike capabilities and a ro- tinual surveillance and respond quickly to on-the-ground tary-wing UAV. threats makes it a valuable asset in the war on terror. On the more immediate horizon, there's the high-alti- “A UAV with a strike capability can take action very early tude, super-sophisticated Global Hawk being developed in that cycle [of enemy activity],” Weatherington said, for the Air Force to conduct long-term surveillance. At “and in many cases, eliminate the threat entirely.” the other end of the spectrum, the Marine Corps' hand- launched Dragon Eye system already in use in Iraq gives
U.S. Marines prepare a hand-launched Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle along the outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, in the first hours of Operation Al Fajr on Nov. 8, 2004. The Marines are assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. U.S. Air Force photograph by Cpl. James J. Vooris, USMC
51 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
squad- or company-level leaders a snapshot of their op- said as many as five Predator systems—all operated from erating area, then breaks down into pieces that fit in a within the United States—continually monitor the skies backpack. over Iraq and Afghanistan, sometimes simultaneously.
The Raven, another small, hand-held system in use by Weatherington said UAVs can do what people can't—or the Army, is the most common UAV in Iraq, Weather- ideally, shouldn't have to. They're able to operate at long ington said, with about 250 systems providing real-time, ranges and don't tire or lose concentration as a human up-to-date, over-the-horizon views over trouble spots. It would over extended periods, particularly when operat- packs into a transit case that fits into the back of a ing in dangerous, high-stress environments. Humvee. They're less expensive to operate than manned plat- Another rising star is the Shadow tactical UAV, which is forms. For example, operating Predator costs “about a proving its value in Iraq during improvised-explosive-de- quarter of what it costs to operate an F-16—and it stays vice sweeps and reconnaissance missions. Weathering- up 10 times as long,” Weatherington said. ton said six Shadow systems in Southwest Asia “are fly- ing almost continuously.” But perhaps most important, they can conduct highly risky missions without risking human lives. “It affords Weatherington, whose office coordinates all military UAV combatant commanders flexibility in using an asset to initiatives and programs, said there's no single, one-size- conduct a mission that they may not choose to risk a fits-all formula for UAVs. Different systems are more read- human, manned platform to do,” Weatherington said. ily adaptable to different missions, providing capabilities from the squad or company level to the division or corps In the long term, Weatherington said he expects to see level, to the theater level. UAVs and other unmanned systems replace more manned systems, particularly for high-risk or high-threat “It's the integration of all those capabilities that make missions. “I think we'll continue to see that evolution,” them advantageous,” he said. “The integration of those he said. systems is what provides very persistent surveillance ca- pabilities.” But despite their contributions, Weatherington was quick to point out that UAVs “aren't a panacea.” In Iraq, UAVs provide situational awareness for troops guarding garrisons and high-value targets, support mo- “They can't do everything for everybody, and we should- bile troops during scouting missions, and watch over n't try to make them do everything for everybody,” he convoy movements, among other missions, Weather- said. ington said. Air-to-air combat, for example, is probably best left to “They're a real advantage,” he said. “If a convoy is going the highly skilled pilots trained to operate in what Weath- down the road and sees something up ahead that looks erington called “a highly dynamic environment.” Simi- unusual, they can literally stop, put one of these things larly, tanker and airlift missions are probably most ap- together and launch it, fly down the road and see what's propriate for manned aircraft, although Weatherington down there—without endangering the convoy.” said the Services are eyeing the possibility of “optional manning” for these aircraft. Weatherington said these small UAVs extend the capa- bilities of ground forces involved in protecting strategic In the meantime, Weatherington said UAVs have become locations. “You can have a detachment there for pro- “an extremely valuable asset, in terms of their endurance, tection, but they can't always service the entire area,” their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ca- he said. “So with one of these small UAVs, you can ex- pabilities, their flexibility, and their cost.” tend their eyes and ears to a much larger area and have a very rapid response if they detect a potential threat.” “They've proved their worth and continue to be a very effective tool for combatant commanders fighting the Meanwhile, UAVs provide high-altitude surveillance with global war on terror,” he said. “robust capabilities” at the theater level. Weatherington
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 52 In the News
AIR MOBILITY COMMAND NEWS “Obviously, there are going to be some limitations, but SERVICE (NOV. 15, 2004) our limitations are [fewer] than they have [at the de- NEW AMC DELIVERY PROCESS SPEEDS ployed aerial port], so we've taken this upon ourselves,” SHIPMENTS TO TROOPS he said. Tech. Sgt. Mark Diamond, USAF COTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.—A new Air Mobility What the program means to the warfighter is a more Command program, dubbed “Pure Pallet,” is sim- rapid and simplified distribution of shipments into the Splifying and speeding up airlift shipments into the theater of operations, said Maj. Michael Kossow, the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility. branch's chief of strategic distribution.
The program involves building and shipping individual “Our nation's military efforts in support of the global war aircraft pallets with cargo for a single customer, AMC of- on terrorism, particularly those of the Army and Marine ficials said. Corps in the Central Command area of responsibility, have changed the old paradigm of logistics support to a Lt. Col. Steve AuBuchon, AMC's cargo management new philosophy of time-definite delivery,” he said. “The branch chief of the logistics air transportation division, focus is on airlifting shipments to the warfighter at the said that a customer's cargo is normally loaded onto an right speed, at the right time, and most important, on aircraft pallet with cargo for other customers within the the right pallet to a designated location.” same region. Under this system, a single pallet could contain cargo for dozens of customers. The colonel said Since March, the program has been incorporated in aer- once these “mixed” pallets arrive at a forward-deployed ial port operations at Dover Air Force Base, Del., aerial port, they must be broken down, sorted, re-pal- Charleston AFB, S.C., and Ramstein Air Base, Germany, letized, and distributed to the individual customers. for cargo shipments into the CENTCOM theater.
Besides adding a considerable amount of time to the de- The process of building each pure pallet begins at the livery process, AuBuchon said the airmen, soldiers, or aerial port, where cargo is held in aisles or lanes, ac- Marines responsible for breaking down, sorting, re- cording to the customer's Department of Defense ac- building, and redistributing these mixed shipments are tivity address code. AuBuchon said the codes can be vulnerable to attack for longer periods of time. compared to ZIP codes used by the U.S. Postal Service— each customer has his or her own code. “In CENTCOM right now, the aerial ports are very re- stricted on the amount of cargo processing facilities, “One of the problems with building pure pallets is hav- equipment, people, and experience [because of] the ing enough cargo to fill an entire pallet,” the colonel said. threat of attack,” he said. “If you're unloading and sort- “When we were negotiating with the Army and Marine ing cargo at Balad, you could easily have a mortar drop Corps, we told them it would kill us to ship a half-empty on top of you.” pallet. Airlift is a precious commodity, and we can't send a C-5 [Galaxy] over there with 36 half-empty pallets. We The program transfers this additional workload to what have better things to use that airlift for. Airlift is a pre- he called “the peaceful end of the process.” When a pure cious national asset, and we have to make sure we use pallet arrives at the deployed aerial port, it can be pulled it as efficiently as we can.” from the aircraft and immediately handed off to the cus- tomer or placed on a truck or C-130 Hercules headed to He said Army and Marine Corps officials said they would more remote locations. “The process never stops,” AuBu- be willing to wait a certain a number of days for the aer- chon said. ial port to accumulate cargo for specific codes. Addi- tionally, AuBuchon said, certain codes can be combined The colonel said the program is based on the principle to fill a single pallet. that the earlier in the logistics pipeline that individual shipments are unitized into a single package, the quicker Although the aerial ports are holding cargo for an addi- and more efficiently the package is going to go through tional three to five days, Kossow said the program has the system. still reduced delivery times into Southwest Asia.
53 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
He said that because a single mixed pallet could include chon said. “Our program has been very successful. [Sol- cargo for dozens of customers within the same region, diers have] had some very high praise for the program, aerial port workers and customers expend valuable time not only because the cargo is getting to them faster, but and resources breaking down, sorting, rebuilding, and because of the quality job AMC is doing.” distributing the shipments, resulting in delays of up to several weeks. The major said pure pallets, on average, Kossow said the “quality” is a by-product of the hard are reaching their customers in fewer than nine days. work from AMC airmen.
But AuBuchon said AMC officials cannot take all the credit. “Our AMC aerial ports at Charleston, Dover, and Ram- stein have made a very complex and unique task look Although pure pallets are new to the Air Force, the colonel easy,” he said. “But the reality is these aerial port pro- said AMC's program was actually modeled after a simi- fessionals have really stepped up to the task with hard lar system used by the Defense Logistics Agency. work, creativity, and an insatiable drive to keep the warfighter equipped in the global war on terrorism.” “Our pure pallet operations are much smaller than the Defense Logistics Agency’s, but no less effective,” AuBu-
AIR FORCE PRINT NEWS (NOV. 16, 2004) NEW LIGHT-WEIGHT WEAPON JOINS BALAD ARSENAL Master Sgt. David Reagan, USAF 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs ALAD AIR BASE, Iraq—In an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing face of close-quarters com- Bbat, F-16 Fighting Falcon crews here plan to use a new, lightweight satellite-guided munition soon.
The GBU-38 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition is designed to reduce collateral damage, limit unintended casualties, and take the fight up close and personal to enemy insurgents and anti-Iraqi forces alike.
Although they will not be the first in theater to drop the newest JDAM in the U.S. arsenal, munitions specialists, maintainers, and aircrews dedicated to keeping the bite of the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron “Black Wid- ows” lethal are saying, “Let's Roll.”
As specialists and maintainers fine tune the basics to cer- tify the GBU-38 on F-16s based here from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, elsewhere in the area the new JDAM has al- ready proved to be a thorn in the side of those who choose to impede the Iraqi reconstruction effort. BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq—Airman 1st Class Michael Claypoole assembles a GBU-38 500-pound Joint Direct Two F-16s from an undisclosed location completed the Attack Munition. The new munition is designed to reduce first successful combat drop of GBU-38s on Oct. 4, 2004, collateral damage, limit unintended casualties, and take during a precision strike on a confirmed Abu Musab al- the fight up close and personal to enemy insurgents and Zarqawi terrorist meeting. The two released JDAMs pre- anti-Iraqi forces alike. Claypoole is a munitions systems cisely struck the terrorist hideout causing only minimal journeyman with the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance collateral damage. Squadron at Balad. U.S. Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. David Reagan, USAF
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 54 In the News
“We're ready to go and just waiting on the final steps in “You cannot go to war and win without space,” Air Force the approval process,” said Senior Master Sgt. Douglas Gen. Lance W. Lord said during a live appearance on Baker, 332nd Expeditionary Equipment Maintenance “Fox and Friends” here Nov. 11, 2004. Squadron munitions flight chief. “After receipt of our JDAM tail fin kits in late October, my munitions crew pro- The command comprises about 40,000 space profes- duced sufficient quantities of the new JDAM to support sionals who provide combat forces and capabilities to our mission requirements in only 24 hours.” North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Strategic Command, supporting various operations world- Additionally, Baker said the new weapon greatly enhances wide. the capabilities of the Black Widows by giving them an additional choice of weapon that performs well in a con- Space allows precision attack on the battlefield, the gen- fined, inner-city environment. eral said, and has transformed the way American forces fight modern wars. Normally with new equipment and cutting-edge tech- nology, one can expect a certain degree of difficulty or Precision-guided munitions using Global Positioning Sys- steep learning curve to be associated with the product; tem satellites limit the exposure and vulnerability of however, during the initial build, munitions crewmem- forces while minimizing collateral damage and maxi- bers found the newest version the easiest to assemble mizing combat effectiveness, he said. of all the JDAM line-up. “We take the 'search' out of search and rescue,” Lord “We prefer building this JDAM over the others simply be- said during his television appearance. cause it is much easier to work with the smaller weapon compared to the 2,000-pound JDAM we routinely call He said the command's airmen are currently support- the monster,” Baker said. ing warfighters on the ground in Fallujah, Iraq.
“The focus and level of teamwork we used in building “We provide the navigation and the timing so that [the the initial complement of GBU-38s was high. There is a warfighters] can know exactly where they are—and what profound likelihood these weapons will be expended on the target coordinates are—and [are] able to hit those each mission here, so it was imperative for us to learn with precision using space-based capabilities.” and follow the new procedures to the letter,” said Tech. Sgt. Patrick Van Vranken, 332nd EMXS munitions flight The general reiterated the importance of space during a production supervisor. “After all, it is all about bombs on speech at a luncheon later the same day. target in this environment,” he said. Van Vranken over- saw the initial assembly of the new JDAMs here. “Our nation depends upon our space capabilities for pre- cision attack, speed, and unmatched maneuverability “Anytime you experience a new weapons system, it is on today's battlefield,” he said. “We are well on our way interesting and challenging all at the same time,” Van to becoming a full spectrum combat command in the Vranken said. “We have to do it right each and every future.” time. Our Army, Navy, and Marine counterparts expect no less and need this support on the ground; they need He said space superiority is a prerequisite for success, this firepower.” describing three elements necessary to achieve and sus- tain space superiority. AIR FORCE PRINT NEWS (NOV. 16, 2004) SPACE ASSETS CRITICAL TO WINNING “Space situation awareness provides a robust under- WAR ON TERRORISM standing of what's going on in the medium of space,” Capt. Johnny Rea, USAF he said. Air Force Space Command Public Affairs EW YORK—Space-based assets are proving crit- Defensive counterspace is not a program or a goal, but ical to winning the war on terrorism, according rather a mindset, he said. “We must work diligently to Nto the commander of Air Force Space Com- protect our advantage in space. Our nation depends on mand. it.”
55 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
Finally, the general said the United States must develop The new brigade also brings with it the capability to reach the ability to counter enemy systems through reversible back to commands in the United States. effects. “Our team includes representatives from AMC's major “We have made some tremendous progress with our ex- subordinate commands, like Tank-automotive and Ar- isting capabilities, and we can all be proud of the con- maments Command, Aviation and Missile Command, tributions made by our military space systems,” Lord and others, enabling us to deliver expertise and equip- said. “We are making a difference—where it counts the ment directly from the source to the soldier,” Lobeto said. most—on the battlefield.” Pre-positioned equipment and repair capabilities also ARMY NEWS SERVICE (NOV. 24, 2004) feature prominently in the new command. Field support ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND MERGES battalions (formerly called combat equipment battalions) UNITS IN EUROPE located in The Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, and the C.W. Fick Jr. United Kingdom bring 20 years of experience in deliv- ECKENHEIM, Germany—In keeping in step with ering combat-ready equipment to the battlefield. the Army's transformation, Combat Equipment SGroup–Europe and Army Materiel Command For- “Many of the tanks and trucks the 3rd Infantry Division ward–Europe merged Nov. 18, forming Army Materiel drove to victory in Operation Iraqi Freedom were deliv- Command Field Support Brigade–Europe.
The new unit mirrors the mission of its parent, Army Field Support Command, and will deliver the full spec- trum of logistics power projection and support to forces in the field.
“By combining two Army Materiel Command units with a proud history of warfighter support, the Army gains a leaner organization, focused on delivering expertise and equipment to soldiers and units throughout the Euro- pean area of operations,” said Col. Max Lobeto, com- mander of the newly formed brigade.
The focus of AMC FSB-E is to provide service to supported units.
“Adopting a brigade structure aligns us with the expedi- tionary Army units we support in Europe and beyond,” said Lobeto. “Our mission is unchanged: AMC Field Sup- port Brigade–Europe provides an essential and endur- ing link from America's arsenal to units and troops in the field.”
More than 300 people form the core of the brigade, with several hundred more host-nation service providers and contractors adding capabilities ranging from mechani- cal repairs to logistics assistance. Brig. Gen. Jerome Johnson, Army Field Support Command commander, Gen. Benjamin S. Griffin, Army Materiel “We have over 1,600 people on the ground throughout Command commander, and Col. Max Lobeto, AMC Field Europe and attached to U.S. Army Europe units for one Support Brigade–Europe, salute during a Nov. 18 cere- mony at Seckenheim, Germany, in which CEG-E and AMC purpose: delivering logistics readiness power forward,” Forward–Europe were merged to form AMC Field Support Lobeto said. Brigade–Europe. U.S. Army photograph by C.W. Fick Jr.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 56 In the News
ered by CEG-E, which has become the field services arm Miniaturization, or the process of condensing more pow- of the new brigade,” the commander said. erful technologies into smaller packages, will help the Army create more and better unmanned machines that Though the name has changed and the staff are con- remove soldiers from dangerous combat situations. Some solidated, the pace of operations has not missed a beat fighting will be done by remote control, Kurzweil said. all across the brigade. Today we have smart bombs, but tomorrow we may “Now that the 1st Armored Division is back in Germany, have smart bullets, he added. our workforce is heavily engaged in rapidly repairing and returning equipment in what is called a 'reset' mission,” Human knowledge of information technology, computer Lobeto said. He said this enables the soldiers to con- technology, and health science is doubling annually, centrate on training and getting back to full operational Kurzweil said. In nearly every area, we are experiencing readiness. exponential growth in knowledge.
“We're part of an Army at war, and we are adapting to This knowledge does not only have military applications; the mission,” Lobeto said. “By merging capabilities into its possibilities across the spectrum of human existence one headquarters, we're providing combatant com- are astounding, he noted. manders with one-stop logistics services.” Kurzweil offered the example of genetics. It took 15 years ARMY NEWS SERVICE (NOV. 30, 2004) to sequence the HIV virus, the cause of AIDS, but it took ARMY SCIENCE CONFERENCE SPEAKER only 31 days to sequence the SARS virus. This knowl- FORECASTS REPLACEMENT OF COM- edge allows scientists to explore gene suppression, a pos- PUTERS BY 2010 sible key to unlocking a cure for dozens of diseases, he RLANDO, Fla.—By 2010, computers will be re- said. placed by electronics so tiny they can be em- Obedded in clothing or eyeglasses and broadcast “There are new drugs… kind of like smart weapons, that on the human retina, a noted inventor predicted at the zero in on specific targets with no side effects,” Kurzweil Army Science Conference. said.
Dr. Ray Kurzweil, creator of the first synthesizer, inven- Another example is the development of instantaneous tor of the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary language translation devices, which Kurzweil predicted speech recognition machine, and winner of the $500,000 will be common on cellular telephones by the end of the Lemelson-MIT Prize for invention and innovation, also decade. foresaw the introduction of realistic 3-D holographic pro- jection and machines that instantly translate the spoken “Within a few years, we will be able to talk to anyone, word from one language to another. regardless of language,” he said.
His presentation on Nov. 29, 2004, capped off the first Because of the importance of technology, the threat to day of the 24th biennial conference sponsored by the the military and economic dominance of the United United States Army to explore how transformational sci- States lies in the decline in Americans’ pursuing careers ence is changing our world and the soldier fighting force. in fields such as engineering and natural science. Senior Army leaders, industry experts, and noted acad- emics joined together here to build collaborative rela- Kurzweil noted that more and more students in China tionships and develop the technologies and capabilities and other Asian nations are pursuing advanced educa- that will be the hallmark of the future force. tion in science-related fields. In America, these trends are reversed. Technological advance has incredible potential to im- prove the warfighting effort, Kurzweil said. New virtual Kurzweil admitted while technology will solve many technologies will reduce—and in many ways, are already problems we face today, a utopia is not on the horizon. reducing—the time it takes to develop new combat sys- He concedes this development will unlock new prob- tems, he said. lems we do not fully understand today.
57 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
Commissioned by Claude M. Bolton Jr., assistant secre- volved with the project since its inception about a year tary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technol- and a half ago. ogy, the Army Science Conference has a focus that is twofold: to discuss the current state of technology and Different weapons can be interchanged on the system— how it is being used to support the global war on terror; the M16, the 240, 249, or 50-caliber machine guns, or and to forecast how emerging technologies will be har- the M202 -A1 with a 6mm rocket launcher. Soldiers op- nessed in the future. erate the SWORDS by remote control, from up to 1,000 meters away. In testing, it's hit bullseyes from as far as ARMY NEWS SERVICE (DEC. 3, 2004) 2,000 meters away, Tordillos said. The only margin of ARMED ROBOTS SOON MARCHING TO error has been in sighting. “It can engage while on the BATTLE? move, but it's not as accurate,” Tordillos said. Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA RLANDO, Fla.—Soldiers may have armed ro- The system runs off AC power, lithium batteries, or Sin- bots as battle buddies by early 2005, according gars rechargeable batteries. The control box weighs about Oto industry and military officials attending the 30 pounds, with two joysticks that control the robot plat- biennial Army Science Conference. form and the weapon, and a daylight viewable screen. SWORDS recently was named one of the most amazing The Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance De- inventions of 2004 by Time magazine. tection System, or SWORDS, will be joining Stryker Brigade soldiers in Iraq when it finishes final testing, said There are four SWORDS in existence. Eighteen have been Staff Sgt. Santiago Tordillos, a bomb requested for service in Iraq, Tordil- disposal test and evaluation NCOIC los said. So far, each system has cost with the EOD Technology Direc- about $230,000 to produce, said Bob torate of the Army's Armament Re- Quinn, lead integrator for the pro- search, Development and Engi- ject. When they go into production, neering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, Quinn estimates the cost per unit N.J. will drop to the range of $150,000 to $180,000. “We're hoping to have them there by early 2005,” Tordillos said. “The Quinn credits soldiers with getting soldiers I've talked to want them the project started. “It's a classic yesterday.” boot-strap effort,” said Quinn.
The system consists of a weapons Tordillos fielded a variety of ques- platform mounted on a Talon robot, tions while showing off the system a product of the engineering and in the exhibit hall. Soldiers wanted technology development firm Fos- to know what military occupational ter-Miller. The Talon began helping speciality they have to sign up for in with military operations in Bosnia order to work with the system. There in 2000, deployed to Afghanistan in is no specific MOS for it, he said. early 2002, and has been in Iraq since the war started, assisting with Other questions were more thought- improvised explosive device detec- provoking. Does he envision a day tion and removal. Talon robots have when armed robots will outnumber With a weapons platform mounted to a been used in about 20,000 missions humans on the battlefield? Tordillos Talon robot, the SWORDS system allows in Iraq and Afghanistan, according soldiers to fire small arms weapons by firmly said no. “You'll never elimi- to Foster-Miller reports. remote control from as far as 1,000 meters nate the soldier on the ground,” he away. The system, demonstrated at the said. “There'll be a mix, but there “It's not a new invention; it’s just biennial Army Science Conference, may will always be soldiers out there.” bringing together existing systems,” soon join soldiers in Iraq. said Tordillos, who has been in- U.S. Army photograph by Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 58 In the News
ARMY NEWS SERVICE (DEC. 7, 2004) EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FORM FUTURISTIC UNIFORM Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA RLANDO, Fla.—Dressed in black from head to toe and wearing a helmet that allows barely a Oglimpse of his face, Staff Sgt. Raul Lopez looked like something out of a science fiction thriller.
Lopez, an infantry soldier stationed at the Natick Soldier Center in Massachusetts, spent four days in what could be the Army uniform of the future at the 24th Army Sci- ence Conference, explaining the technology behind it.
The black fabric of the form-fitting suit would be made through the wonder of nanotechnology, which involves manipulating atoms and molecules to create things at the nanometer scale. That’s about 50,000 times smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. Soldiers wearing the suit would have the ability to blend into any envi- ronment, like a chameleon.
The helmet is the main hub of the uniform, where “all of the action happens,” Lopez said. A tiny video camera in front provides 360-degree situational awareness. A se- ries of sensors inside give the soldier three-dimensional audiological hearing and the ability to amplify specific sounds, while lowering the volume of others.
Complete voice translation is also provided for what the soldier hears and what he or she says. Night vision sen- sors, minimized to the size of pencil erasers, are also in the helmet. Maps and other situational awareness in- formation are projected on the inside of the visor, while everything the soldier sees and hears is sent in real time up to higher headquarters. “It’s all voice activated,” Lopez said. “I can tell it to show me where my buddies are, and it projects it on the visor.”
Virtual reality technology would also play a part in help- ing the soldier navigate an environment by projecting maps on the ground surrounding him or her.
Sensors detect threat, provide treatment Thermal sensors weaved into the fabric of the uniform control its temperature, based on the soldier’s environ- ment. An on-board respirator, tethered to the soldier’s back, provides a continuous supply of fresh air—elimi- Army Staff Sgt. Raul Lopez models a conceptual version of nating the need for a protective mask. Should the sol- an Army soldier's uniform in the year 2025. dier breath in some kind of harmful agent with the visor U.S. Army photograph by Sgt. Lorie Jewell, USA up or the helmet off, the uniform sensor will immedi-
59 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
ately detect it, release tiny embedded capsules to counter PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR it, and inject treatment into the soldier’s body. ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS NEWS RELEASE (DEC. 10, 2004) From the waist down, a skeletal system allows the sol- ARMY AND INDUSTRY WORKING OVER- dier to carry two or three times his or her body weight, TIME TO SUPPLY IMPROVED TACTICAL feeling only the weight of the body through the tech- HEADSETS FOR TROOPS IN IRAQ nology of an XO muscle, which augments a soldier’s Stephen Larsen strength. he Army is scrambling to acquire sufficient quan- tities of improved tactical headsets (ITHs), which Wearing the futuristic suit doesn’t make Lopez feel like Tare designed to protect soldiers' hearing and to a science fiction superhero or invincible. “It’s just con- allow them to communicate in the high-noise environ- ceptual right now,” he said, smiling. ment of the M1114 up-armored HMMWVs (High-Mobil- ity Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles) and other light tac- Liquid armor protection tical vehicles being used by the Army in Iraq. The ITHs The uniform might be made out of fabric treated with are manufactured by Bose Corporation under a sub- another technology featured in the conference’s exhibit contract with Northrop Grumman Corporation. The hur- hall, shear thickening fluid. Unofficially referred to by dle is that the improved tactical headset is a completely some as “liquid body armor,” STF is made of equal parts new, revolutionary design that is being rushed into pro- polyethylene glycol—an inert, non-toxic thickening agent duction to satisfy the Army's needs in Iraq. used in a variety of common products, like some ice creams—and miniscule glass particles, said Eric Wetzel, “The Army had not planned on needing the new head- who heads the STF project team in the Weapons and sets until sometime in late 2005,” said Maj. Ron Clai- Materials Research Directorate of the U.S. Army Research borne, the Army's assistant product manager, vehicular Laboratory. intercommunication systems, with the Project Manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmission Sys- In a small glass vial, the light blue liquid is easily stirred tems. “But we have soldiers in Iraq who need these head- with a small plastic stick—as long as the stick is moving sets now, so Bose is working with us to produce ITHs on in slow, easy motion. When sudden, rapid or forceful an accelerated production and delivery schedule.” motion is applied, the liquid instantly hardens, prevent- ing any movement. Speaking in December 2004, Claiborne said there were “around 2,000” ITHs fielded—all in Iraq—and that Bose “When the movement is slow, the glass particles can was able to produce between 125 to 400 a week. “Our flow around each other,” Wetzel explained. “But when goal is to get production and fielding up to between 500 the movement is fast, the particles bump into each other, to 700 ITHs per week by the end of January,” he said. preventing any flow of movement.” “Then after we satisfy all requirements for M1114 HMMWV headsets in Iraq, we hope to be able to field STF has been applied to regular Kevlar material, Wetzel them to the rest of the Army beginning in July 2005.” said. The fabric’s texture doesn’t change; it looks and feels the same as if it hadn’t been treated. Using a test Designed to fit under the standard U.S. Army personnel swatch of four layers of untreated Kevlar—the normal armor system ground troops helmet and the newer ad- thickness of body armor—Wetzel is able to stab an ice vanced combat helmet, the ITH provides hearing pro- pick through the fabric. But when stabbing a treated sec- tection through both active and passive noise reduction tion of fabric with all the force he can muster, the ice technologies and enables soldiers to communicate in the pick dents the fabric but can’t penetrate through. high-noise environment (up to 95-plus decibels) that is typical of the M1114 up-armored HMMWV. Soldiers can Research is being done into whether STF can be of use wear the ITH for extremely long periods without dis- to the Army, Wetzel said. If it is, soldiers may start get- comfort because of the reduced clamping force on their ting gear treated with it in about two years, he added. ears and its light weight (only about 16 ounces). Bose also has a special patent on ear cushion material, which further increases comfort.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 60 In the News
Claiborne said that the ITH will be replacing nearly 15,000 every soldier he spoke to had only positive things to say emergency-issue interim headsets and older models cur- [about the ITH],” said Claiborne. “One M1114 crew told rently in use. “The emergency issue interim headset does- him they were wearing the ITH when a tank was oper- n't provide any hearing protection from the noise in the ating nearby, and not only was the M1114 driver able to M1114 HMMWV,” he explained. “The Army's goal is to keep in constant contact with the gunner through the replace every interim headset with the new ITH so that headset, but the headset canceled out almost all of the the soldiers have adequate safety and protective equip- background noise from the tank. Before getting the im- ment, and reduced hearing loss medical claims.” proved tactical headset, the driver or vehicle comman- der wouldn't have been able to communicate with the Also, he said, the new ITH can be put on or quickly re- gunner in a safe manner because of the tank turbine en- moved without requiring a soldier to remove his or her gine noise levels.” helmet. “This is an absolute requirement for soldiers who might have to quickly dismount from a HMMWV for com- The effectiveness of the ITH's active noise reduction tech- bat or security operations,” said Claiborne. nology was supported by a study completed in early De- cember 2004 in the engineering psychology department Claiborne said that he has feedback from Maj. Matt Paige, of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. by cadets the project leader for the M1114 Up-Armored HMMWV, Edward “Flip” Klein and Jon Wertz, under the leadership who was on temporary duty in Iraq. “Paige said that of research coordinator Maj. Dan Smith. They studied
The improved tactical headset (inset) protects soldiers' hearing and allows them to communicate in the high-noise environ- ment of the M1114 up-armored HMMWVs (High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles) and other light tactical vehicles being used by the Army in Iraq. Photograph by Stephen Larsen/inset courtesy of Bose Corporation
61 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 In the News
the effect of noise cancellation on sound localization, “In practical terms, this means a soldier wearing the new comparing use of the interim headset with the improved ITH headset has a better chance of identifying the di- tactical headset. rection of incoming sniper fire than a soldier wearing the older interim headset,” said Claiborne. “The study supported our hypotheses, which were based on signal detection and sound localization theory,” said For information about availability or technical charac- Wertz, “that the improved tactical headset allows sol- teristics of the improved tactical headset or vehicle in- diers to better localize the direction of exterior sounds, tercom system, contact Maj. Ron Claiborne at (732) 532- although there is a degree of typical front-rear confu- 5415 or [email protected]. sion.” Stephen Larsen is the Public Affairs Officer for the PEO EIS at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
West Point Cadets Jon Wertz (left, wearing Improved Tactical Headset, ITH) and Edward “Flip” Klein studied the effect of noise cancellation on sound localization, comparing use of the Interim Headset with the ITH at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. Photograph by Stephen Larsen
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 62 Career Development
ARMY CONTRACTING STUDY: “PREPAR- On Nov. 1–5, 2004, a working group met at the Defense ING FOR TOMORROW'S ARMY TODAY” Acquisition University to begin the study. The group was n Oct. 7, 2004, Deputy Assistant Secretary of made up of representatives from contracting offices across the Army for Policy and Procurement Tina Bal- the Army, support contractor LMI, and subject matter Olard kicked off an assistant secretary of the Army experts from a number of Service schools including the (acquisition, logistics and technology) (ASA (ALT))-ap- Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the Army War proved study to design a world-class procurement and College Fellowship at University of Texas, the Naval Post- contracting organization in support of all Army person- graduate School, and Defense Acquisition University. The nel: active, Reserve, National Guard, and civilian. The group will solicit input from Army contracting customers purpose of the study is to determine if Army procure- and stakeholders including the secretary of the Army, ment and contracting structure and staffing are posi- chief of staff of the Army, G-3, G-6, G-8, G-4, and selected tioned for today's and tomorrow's changing world and Army major commands and program executive officers. to determine the best organizational alignment of pro- curement and contracting functions and activities The draft study findings will be briefed to and coordi- throughout the Army, to include future forces and mis- nated with a cross-Service senior advisory council chaired sions. The study will include an examination of lessons by Ballard, and the coordinated study results will be learned from the challenges of providing procurement briefed to Claude M. Bolton Jr., ASA (ALT) in March 2005. and contracting support to the global war on terrorism and Operation Iraqi Freedom post-conflict operations.
Carol Lowman, co-leader of the Army Contracting Study Future Force/Mission team, briefs members of the senior steering group and other working group teams on Dec.16, 2004, at the Defense Acquisition University. Seated to Lowman's left is Future Force/Mission team leader April Miller. Photograph by Staff Sgt. Kevin Moses, USA
63 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Career Development
The approach to the study will be collaborative com- and a training partner of the Defense Acquisition Uni- bining the best of government and contractor expertise versity. Contract Management and Administration is rec- to create the final recommendation. Selected topics under ommended for 45 hours toward the National Contract the major focus areas to be examined are briefly de- Management Agency’s Certified Professional Contracts scribed below: Manager (CPCM), Certified Commercial Contracts Man- ager (CCCM), and Certified Federal Contracts Manager Organizational Structure: How should Army contract- (CFCM) certifications. ing offices be structured? What management chain of command would be most effective? What types of po- PERFORMANCE BASED LOGISTICS: A sitions are necessary to staff contracting offices to meet PROGRAM MANAGER'S PRODUCT SUP- future procurement needs? PORT GUIDE (NOV. 10,2004) his document supersedes Product Support: A Pro- Process: What are the sources of major inefficiencies gram Manager's Guide to Buying Performance, pub- within the Army procurement and how should they be Tlished in November 2001, which has been com- addressed? How can effectiveness be improved? monly known as The PBL Guide. The new Performance- Based Logistics: A Program Manager's Product Support Future Force/Mission: What should the future Army con- Guide captures the progress that has been made in im- tracting and procurement organization look like? What plementing PBL over the past three years, and presents type of training will be required for procurement per- up-to-date guidance based on the lessons learned from sonnel? What type of flexibility for personnel/hiring do the application of PBL to support activities throughout we need? the Services.
ASA(ALT) Strategic Plan: Compliance with the ASA(ALT) Download the new guide from the Acquisition Commu- mission—to “equip and sustain the world's most capa- nity Center (ACC) Web site at
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 64 Career Development
agers in today’s dynamic environment, providing the lat- A point is generally equivalent to one hour of education, est information related to: training, or developmental activity. Continuous learn- • Defense acquisition policy for weapons and informa- ing points build quickly when you attend training courses, tion technology systems, including discussion of the conferences, and seminars; complete leadership train- DoD 5000 series (directive and instruction) and the ing courses at colleges/universities; participate in pro- CJCS 3170 series (instruction, and manual) fessional activities; or pursue training through distance • Defense transformation initiatives related to systems learning. Continuous learning points are assigned to dis- acquisition tance learning courses
65 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Career Development
agement, marketing, quantitative methods, and orga- DAU DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES nization and management; or at least 24 semester ACQ 101 Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition Man- credit hours (or the equivalent) from an accredited col- agement lege in the individual’s career field and 12 semester credit hours (or the equivalent) from such an institu- ACQ 201A Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A tion from among the disciplines listed here, or equiv- alent training as prescribed by the secretary to ensure BCF 102 Fundamentals of Earned Value Management proficiency in those disciplines. BCF 103 Fundamentals of Business Financial Manage- ment Acquisition Corps eligibility is a prerequisite for serving in a critical acquisition position (CAP). CAPs are positions BCF 209A Acquisition Reporting Course, Part A of significant responsibility, primarily involving supervi- sory or management duties in the DoD acquisition sys- BCF 211A Acquisition Business Management, Part A tem. CAPs vary in scope and span of control but must CON 104A Principles of Contract Pricing, Part A be filled by corps members. For more information on acquisition corps eligibility and certification, browse the CON 110 Mission Support Planning AT&L Knowledge Sharing System (AKSS) Web site at CON 111 Mission Strategy Execution
TST 101 Introduction to Acquisition Workforce Test and Evaluation
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 66 Policy & Legislation
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 3010 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-3010
ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY AND LOGISTICS SEP 23 2004
MEMORANDUM FOR: SEE DISTRIBUTION
SUBJECT: Defense Acquisition System Safety
On July 3, 2003, the Secretary of Defense established the Defense Oversight Council (DSOC) and tasked them with the goal of reducing DoD mishap and accident rates by 50% in two years. Subsequently, the Strategic Planning Guidance (SPG) was modified to institutionalize this goal. We can contribute substantially to meeting SPG guidance by following an informed and structured risk assessment and acceptance process, which manages and minimizes system safety risks throughout the acquisition process. Our intent is to design safety into our weapons systems, not add it afterwards as an operational consideration.
Therefore, in order to increase the emphasis on system safety within our acquisition process, I direct addressees to ensure that:
a. Program Managers (PMs), regardless of the Acquisition Category of their programs, integrate system safety risk management into their overall systems engineering and risk management processes.
b. PMs use the government and industry Standard Practice for System Safety, MIL-STD-882D, in all developmental and sustaining engineering activities.
c. PMs ensure the DoDI 5000.2 requirement to integrate the Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH) risk management strategy into the systems engineering process is incorporated in the Systems Engineering Plan.
d. PMs identify ESOH hazards, assess the risks, mitigate the risks to acceptable levels, and then report on the status of residual risk acceptance decisions at technical reviews and at the appropriate management levels in the Program Review process in accordance with MIL-STD-882D.
I need your help to implement these actions to integrate system safety risk management more effectively into our acquisition process. Active collaboration between system safety and acquisition communities as we execute our programs will help achieve the goals the Secretary of Defense has established. It will also save lives, preserve assets, and enhance our overall warfighting capability by increasing readiness through system safety improve- ments.
Michael W. Wynne Acting
Editor’s note: View the distribution to this memorandum at
67 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Policy & Legislation
OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 3000 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-3000
ACQUISITION, NOV 24 2004 TECHNOLOGY AND LOGISTICS
DPAP/P
MEMORANDUM FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (ACQUISITION, LOGISTICS AND TECHNOLOGY) ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITION) ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE (ACQUISITION) DIRECTORS OF DEFENSE AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Immediate Increase in the Dollar Threshold for Simplified Acquisition Procedures and in the Dollar Threshold for Senior Procurement Executive Approval of Justifications and Approvals
Section 822 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (the Act) sets out increases in both the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold for certain procurements and purchases. Effective immediately, the micro-purchase threshold outside the United States is $25,000 and the simplified acquisition threshold outside the United States is $1,000,000. These thresholds are applicable only for contracts to be awarded and performed, or purchases to be made, outside the United States in support of a contingency operation or to facilitate the defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.
The Act also increases the dollar threshold for certain Justification and Approval (J&A) authority. Effective immediately, Senior Procurement Executive approval is required only for a J&A for a proposed contract in excess of $75M.
These changes are being incorporated in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. If you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please contact Angelena Moy at 703-602-1302.
Deidre A. Lee Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 68 Policy & Legislation
OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 3000 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-3000
ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY AND NOV 29 2004 LOGISTICS
DPAP/EB
MEMORANDUM FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (ACQUISITION, LOGISTICS AND TECHNOLOGY) ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITION) ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE (ACQUISITION) DIRECTORS, DEFENSE AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Transition Planning Guidance and Metrics
As part of the ongoing effort to achieve the Acquisition Domain’s interim state for procurement systems and to comply with the Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, section 332, the Domain is continuing its transition planning activities. To date, we have received initial documentation from the Components on their high-level plans to transition to the interim procurement state.
To effectively manage transition planning activities, the Acquisition Domain developed guidance and metrics to provide visibility into the status of transition and migration activities. The attached draft “Acquisition Domain Transition Planning Guidance & Metrics” is posted on the Acquisition Domain portal at https://portal.acq.osd.mil within the “Acquisition Domain Transition Planning” project documents section. The Acquisition Domain will determine the completeness of the Component plans using the guidance as the objective standard. Once the Component transition and system migration plans have been approved by the acquisition governance structure, we will track progress relative to plan.
Please provide comments on the planning guidance and the proposed metrics on the Acquisition Domain portal through the project discussions named “Comments on Draft Transition Planning Guidance” and “Comments on Transition Planning Metrics” by December 10, 2004. Upon issuance of the final transition planning guidance, you will be expected to update transition plans and submit migration plans in accordance with the guidance and the due dates provided by the Acquisition Domain.
My action officer for this effort is Diane M. Morrison. She may be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 703-614-3883.
Deidre A. Lee Editor’s note: View the attachments to this Director, Defense Procurement memorandum at
69 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Policy & Legislation
DEFENSE FAR SUPPLEMENT (DFARS) Code of Federal Regulations. PGI is available at
Interim Rule Publicizing Contract Actions (DFARS Case 2003-D016) Transition of Weapons-Related Prototype Projects to Deletes unnecessary text on cooperative agreement hold- Follow-On Contracts (DFARS Case 2003-D106) ers, paid advertisements, and synopsis requirements; Establishes a pilot program that permits contracting of- and relocates a synopsis format to PGI. The Federal Reg- ficers to use FAR Part 12 (Acquisition of Commercial ister notice for this rule is available at
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 70 Policy & Legislation
To correct this potential source of confusion, this DFARS first article testing and approval requirements; and re- change removes the Buy American Act and the Trade locates procedures for requesting pre-award surveys and Agreements Act from the list of laws inapplicable to sub- obtaining approval for product qualification requirements contracts for commercial items. This change will not im- to PGI. The Federal Register notice for this rule is avail- pact the proper implementation of the Buy American able at
71 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Policy & Legislation
DEFENSE FAR SUPPLEMENT (DFARS) provides incentives for major DoD contractors to assist CHANGE NOTICE 20041122 small disadvantaged business concerns through the DoD oD published the following changes and pro- Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program. The Federal Register no- posed changes to the DFARS on Nov. 22, 2004. tice for this rule is available at
Contractor Use of Government Supply Sources Contracting for Architect-Engineer Services (DFARS Case 2003-D045) (DFARS Case 2003-D105) Clarifies contractor requirements for payment of invoices Finalizes, without change, an interim rule published on from government supply sources; and relocates proce- June 8, 2004 (DFARS Change Notice 20040608), to im- dures for authorizing contractor use of government sup- plement Section 1427 of the National Defense Autho- ply sources to the new DFARS companion resource, Pro- rization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. Section 1427 increased, cedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI), available at from $85,000 to $300,000, the threshold below which
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 72 Policy & Legislation
The Federal Register notice for this rule is available at Defense Management: Tools for Measuring and Manag-
Update of Clauses for Telecommunications Services Department of Defense: Further Actions Are Needed to (DFARS Case 2003-D053) Effectively Address Business Management Problems Proposed change deletes an obsolete clause and revises and Overcome Key Business Transformation Chal- the applicability of certain clauses used in telecommu- lenges, GAO-05-140T, Nov. 18, 2004 nications services contracts. The clauses being revised are presently applicable only to common carriers (those Depot Maintenance: DoD Needs Plan to Ensure Com- subject to Federal Communications Commission or other pliance with Public- and Private-Sector Funding Allo- governmental regulation). The proposed change will cation, GAO-04-871, Sept. 29, 2004 make the clauses applicable to both common and non- common carriers, since the differences between com- Electronic Government: Smart Card Usage is Advancing mon and noncommon carriers have become less dis- Among Federal Agencies, Including the Department tinct. The Federal Register notice for this rule is available of Veterans Affairs, GAO-05-84T, Oct. 6, 2004 at
73 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Conferences, Workshops & Symposia
ANNUAL SUMMIT ON UNIQUE faces challenges in implementation standardization and IDENTIFICATION UID integration but is forging ahead with its F/A-18 pro- Heather Vaughan gram. Its goal is to begin legacy marking by October of n Nov. 17, 2004, Michael Wynne, acting un- 2005, with full UID compliance by October of 2010. dersecretary of defense for acquisition, tech- Onology and logistics, kicked off the first annual The Air Force is using the C-17 as its model program and summit on Unique Identification and Radio Frequency is in the process of finalizing its implementation plan. Identification. The summit provided a forum for program Since May of 2004, all C-17s have had their landing gear managers, industry partners, and the military services marked during retrofitting, and 100 percent of the draw- to discuss challenges, benefits, and lessons learned. ings for support equipment have been updated to in- clude Unique Item Identifiers (UIIs). Wynne began the discussion with a policy update and an implementation timeline for UID. His vision is for a Air Force Col. Greg Sparks, speaking about his experi- fully integrated situational knowledge of people, places, ence with the C-17 program, said that serialized item and items by 2010. For example, a quick computer search management enhanced by UID has already begun to of comprehensive registries could yield a listing of items show its potential. It recently became necessary to lo- such as spare parts or weaponry at nearby bases, along cate all aircraft containing a part from a specific lot. The with the location of those bases and a listing of troops part was located under the dashboard, and without a list- available there. Thus, both people and items can be iden- ing of marked parts, it would have been necessary to dis- tified and located for rapid deployment response. assemble the entire dashboard to view the part and its lot number. Because the parts had been catalogued, the Wynne's remarks were followed by presentations from registry could be scanned for all parts from that lot. The the Navy, Army, and Air Force about their overarching corresponding aircraft were identified, and it was possi- concepts of operations specific to UID for items. Each ble to ground only the affected aircraft instead of the Service is embracing UID as an agent of change that will whole fleet. increase its logistics efficiency. Although adoption is ini- tially focused on new acquisitions, all the Services are Following the presentations, LeAntha Sumpter, program using maintenance as a trigger for legacy item marking manager for UID, provided a roadmap of the next steps and are making a point of ensuring that all automated for UID, including developing a policy for the marking information systems acquired in the future are designed of legacy items, marking items with virtual UIIs and in- to exploit the possible applications of UID. corporating them into the registry, and integrating UII with real property UIDs. The CH-47 is the Army's pilot program, and it is rapidly implementing and utilizing UID in daily operations. Hav- DOD E-BUSINESS/STANDARD PROCURE- ing gone beyond the requirements of only marking items MENT SYSTEM JOINT USERS' CONFER- and sub-assemblies valued at over $5,000, the CH-47 ENCE program has targeted 1,175 separate parts for marking. TRANSFORMING THE ACQUISITION Legacy parts are being marked in the field during sched- DOMAIN uled and unscheduled maintenance, and over 780 parts Linda Polonsky-Hillmer have already been marked in this manner. Col. Tim ore than 850 Department of Defense acquisi- Crosby, presenter for the CH-47 program, stressed that tion and procurement professionals attended the focus of UID must not be on marking parts, but rather Mthe DoD E-Business/Standard Procurement Sys- on developing intelligent data, and this will only be ac- tem Joint Users' Conference in Houston, Texas, Nov. complished once the registry is fully operational. 15–19, 2004.
Navy also presented a concept of operations that went Entitled, “Transforming the Acquisition Domain,” the beyond the DoD requirements. Navy considers UID a five-day conference emphasized the changing role for strategic imperative that is critical in the transformation contracting professionals in DoD and the automated sys- to a proactive, predictive fleet-readiness culture. Navy tems, such as the Standard Procurement System (SPS),
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 74 Conferences, Workshops & Symposia
Deidre Lee, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, leads the crowd in a round of applause for the organizers of the E-Business/SPS Joint Users' Conference. “SPS is no longer just a contract writing system,” she said. “It has evolved into a business intelligence system, making it possible for us to be strategic business advisors.” Photographs courtesy Corp- Comm, Inc.
that support that change. Automated tools such as SPS Data System-Next Generation reporting process, to SPS will provide tomorrow's professionals a more strategic Version 4.2 Increment 2 report writing. Exhibitors gave business focus, becoming business brokers through the users generous opportunities for hands-on demonstra- use of automated tools such as SPS. tions, including the opportunity to use the new Web- based SPS Version 4.2 Increment 3. This new version in- The general session drew DoD leaders like Kay Cole troduces a new, more open architecture; allows DoD to James, director, Office of Personnel Management; Dei- migrate its business systems to the Web; and has the dre A. Lee, director of Defense Procurement and Acqui- scalability to consolidate server support. sition Policy (DPAP); Mark E. Krzysko, deputy director, DPAP, E-Business; Ronald Poussard, deputy director, DPAP, Defense Acquisition Regulations System; Army Col. Jacob Haynes, SPS program manager; and Army Col. Victoria Diego-Allard, commander of the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Europe.
The focus of the conference was on how acquisition and procurement professionals support the warfighter, and it was a theme many speakers honed in on, including Lee. “Sometimes it's probably hard for us, in the safety of our cubicles, to see how we connect with the warfighter. But when you see one of these heroes, ask for a story, because they'll look in your eyes and tell you how im- portant business arrangements are to make sure every- thing works,” said Lee.
“We learned a lot in Iraq—we now deploy shoulder-to- Deputy Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition shoulder with contractors. Behind every success is a con- Policy, Electronic Business Mark Krzysko (forefront) and tract officer's initials,” she added. Standard Procurement System (SPS) Program Manager Army Col. Jacob Haynes co-sponsored the Department of Approximately 50 separate breakout sessions were held, Defense E-Business/SPS Joint Users' Conference. covering everything from the new Federal Procurement
75 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Conferences, Workshops & Symposia
DEFENSE ACQUISITION 2005 to better defend its borders during these times of chang- (MARCH 1–2, 2005) ing and increasing threats. he Institute for Defense and Government Ad- vancement (IDGA) is sponsoring Defense Acqui- For more information on registration go to the National Tsition 2005, March 1–2, at the Watergate Hotel in Defense Industrial Association Web site at
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 76 Conferences, Workshops & Symposia
DTIC ANNUAL USERS MEETING AND DAU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ANNUAL TRAINING CONFERENCE (APRIL 4–6, SYMPOSIUM (APRIL 19–20, 2005) 2005) ark your calendars now for the Defense Ac- he Defense Technical Information Center will host quisition University Alumni Association its Annual Users Meeting and Training Confer- M(DAUAA) Annual Symposium April 19–20, Tence April 4–6, 2005, in Alexandria, Va., at the 2005, at Scott Hall, Fort Belvoir, Va. Next year’s theme Hilton Alexandria Old Town. DTIC holds this popular con- will be “Best Practices and Solutions for Rapid Acquisi- ference each spring for its user community, which in- tion, Technology and Logistics.” Watch the DAUAA Web cludes professionals in technical research and informa- site at
77 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Conferences, Workshops & Symposia
• Portfolio Management—an assessment of technical and functional capabilities supporting strategic acqui- Currently Scheduled sition • Transition Planning—a plan to transform the acquisi- Defense Acquisition Board tion domain from what is to what should be (DAB) Meetings • Governance—reflective of both procurement and ac- quisition processes and strategies. he following Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) Who should attend? Acquisition and procurement exec- meetings are scheduled through the first half utives who oversee strategic plans and manage trans- Tof calendar year 2005. These meetings are formation policies. For future details on registering, watch subject to change. Check AcqWeb at
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 78 Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
ARMY ACQUISITION SUPPORT CENTER Army Superior Unit Award NEWS RELEASE (NOV. 4, 2004) The Army Superior Unit Award, a special presentation, 2004 ARMY ACQUISITION CORPS REC- was awarded to the Program Executive Office (PEO) for OGNIZES ACQUISITION ACHIEVEMENT Command, Control and Communications Tactical (C3T) RLINGTON, Va.—On Oct. 24, 2004, the acqui- for its efforts and accomplishments leading up to, and sition community held its 2004 Army Acquisi- throughout operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Free- Ation Corps (AAC) Annual Awards Ceremony in dom. Accepting the organizational award were Maj. Gen. Washington, D.C. The event recognized the accom- Michael R. Mazzucchi, commanding general, Commu- plishments of the Army acquisition workforce's most ex- nications-Electronics Command and PEO C3T, and John traordinary members and the teams they lead. The cer- C. Perrapato, deputy PEO C3T. emony's theme, “Celebrating Our Acquisition Stars,” was a fitting tribute to the uniformed and civilian profes- Army Research and Development Laboratory (RDL) sionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to provide Awards combatant commanders and their soldiers with the The Army RDL Award winners were the Army Research weapons and equipment they need to execute decisive, Laboratory (ARL), Large Research Lab of the Year; the full-spectrum operations in support of the global war on U.S. Army Armament Research Development and En- terrorism. gineering Center, Large Development Lab of the Year; and the Natick Soldier Center, Small Development Lab Army Acquisition Executive and Assistant Secretary of of the Year. The HUMVEE Armor Survivability Kit Team, the Army for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology Claude which represents the collaboration between the Tank Au- M. Bolton Jr., who hosted the event, remarked, “We are tomotive Research, Development and Engineering Cen- facing some of our greatest challenges. We are serving ter and ARL, received the Collaboration Team of the Year a nation at war and a military force that is transforming Award. while fighting. It is clear that we have charted the right course—increasing capability, flexibility, and sustain- Acquisition Commander of the Year Awards ability—and that we must maintain the tremendous mo- Col. Ainsworth Mills, Defense Contract Management mentum we have built. With great challenges, come great Agency (DCMA)-Philadelphia, and Lt. Col. Jack Pellicci opportunities for success.” Jr., DCMA-New York, both received 2004 Acquisition Com- mander of the Year Awards. The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center director Col. Genaro J. Dellarocco presided over the event as master Project and Product Manager of the Year Awards of ceremonies. Other Army and defense acquisition se- The Project Manager and Product Manager (PM) of the nior leaders in attendance included Gen. Paul J. Kern, Year Awards were presented to Col. N. Lee S. Price, PM commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command; Defense Communications and Army Transmissions Sys- Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Yakovac Jr., military deputy to the tems, PEO Enterprise Information Systems, and Lt. Col. ASA(ALT) and director, acquisition career management; Joseph Grebe, PM Battle Command Sustainment Sup- Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Scott, director, Defense Contracting port System, PEO C3T. Management Agency; and Dr. Thomas H. Killion, deputy assistant secretary for research & technology and chief “People are central to everything we do,” Secretary Bolton scientist. Other distinguished guests included former as- explained. “Institutions do not transform; people do. Plat- sistant secretary of the Army Paul Hoeper and former forms and organizations do not defend the nation; peo- military deputy to the ASA(ALT) retired Army Lt. Gen. ple do. Units do not train, they do not stay ready, they John S. Caldwell. do not grow and develop leaders, they do not sacrifice, and they do not take risks on behalf of the nation; peo- The evening's presentations included the Army Research ple do. Our job, at its very heart, is to equip and sustain and Development Laboratory (RDL) Awards; the Secre- the men and women who volunteer to defend this na- tary of the Army Awards for Acquisition Commander, tion,” he concluded. Project and Product Managers of the Year; and the Army Superior Unit Award.
79 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
For more information please contact Maj. Desiree AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE Wineland of Army Public Affairs at 703-697-7592 or by NOV. 30, 2004) e-mail to [email protected]. RESEARCHERS AWARDED FOR GRAP- PLING WITH DOD ENVIRONMENTAL AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE ISSUES (NOV. 30, 2004) Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA ‘LEAN’ TEAM LAUDED FOR MANUFAC- ASHINGTON—Some of the nation's top re- TURING-TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES searchers were lauded Nov. 30 for their ef- ASHINGTON (AFPN)—The sixth annual De- Wforts in helping the Defense Department meet fense Manufacturing Technology Achieve- environmental challenges that impact military readiness. Wment Award was presented Nov. 30 at the Defense Manufacturing Conference in Las Vegas. Those receiving awards for helping DoD meet its envi- ronmental challenges were: John B. Todaro, director of the Department of Defense's technology transition office, presented the award to the •Alex Becker, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Air Force's lean depot repair initiative. The Army's uni- for developing a multi-sensor system for the detection form cannon tube reshaping program also received the and characterization of unexploded ordnance award. •John Veranath, University of Utah, for the development of a new computational and analytical tool for distin- The award recognizes defense and private sector indi- guishing local and regional sources for fugitive dust viduals or small groups responsible for developing in- •John A. Gillies, Ph.D., Desert Research Institute, for his novative manufacturing processes that improve the af- work in characterizing and quantifying fugitive dust fordability, cycle time, readiness, and availability of emissions from Department of Defense sources, in- weapon systems and components. cluding unique military activities •Frank E. Loeffler, Georgia Institute of Technology, for The lean team—consisting of representatives from the his project on aerobic and anaerobic transformation Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Research of cis-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride Laboratory, both at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; •Glen Merfeld, GE Global Research, for developing low- Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force temperature durable, corrosion-protection powder coat- Base, Ga.; and Simpler Consulting, of Ottumwa, Iowa— ings for temperature-sensitive substrates was recognized for implementing procedures at the lo- •Susan L. Ustin, University of California, Department gistics center. of Land, Air, and Water Resources, for her work in map- ping invasive species using imaging spectrometry. “This lean approach revolutionized the programmed depot maintenance lines for F-15 [Eagle] and C-5 [Galaxy] The awards were handed out during the opening session aircraft, generating dramatic payback for the warfighter of a three-day symposium sponsored by the Strategic in the form of reduced repair time, increased on-time re- Environment Research Development Program and the turn of aircraft to the field, and lower maintenance cost,” Environmental Security Technology Certification Pro- according to a news release from the deputy undersec- gram. retary for advanced systems and concepts. SERDP is DoD's corporate environmental research and The release reported that in fiscal 2000, only 25 percent development program that focuses on cleanup, compli- of C-5 aircraft were returned to their units on time. That ance, conservation, pollution prevention, and unexploded figure increased to 100 percent in fiscal 2004. Likewise, ordnance technologies. ESTCP, meanwhile, works to iden- the on-time return of F-15 aircraft to the active fleet in- tify, demonstrate, and test technologies that address the creased from 12 percent in fiscal 2000 to 80 percent in military's environmental requirements. 2004. Both organizations are working in partnership with DoD “As a result of this remarkable achievement, lean depot to limit environmental challenges that limit use of mili- practices are being expanded across the defense indus- tary training and testing installations, as well as current trial base, including arsenals, depots, and shipyards,” the and future liabilities. release stated.
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 80 Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
and one of the keynote speakers during the symposium, said he shares the concerns of lawmakers who say that the issue of unexploded ordnance on federal land is an “incredible problem.”
And while DoD is making “good attempts” to grapple with the problem, he said the department still has “a far way to go.”
Beehler told the group that he encourages states to do more to help the military, by partnering with DoD to look at ways to deal with the unexploded ordnance issue and other problems like encroachment that also plague the department.
He said Congress has appropriated money for DoD and military installations to “proactively seek opportunities” with local entities, conservation groups, and states to “operate, manage, and own conservationally desirable lands,” thus creating a “buffer zone” near military bases.
“I see this tying into a whole host of opportunities with better cooperation, helping the local governments in ef- Frank Morrison (center), of Lawrence Berkeley National fective conservation that will undoubtedly spill over into Laboratory, accepts one of six project-of-the-year awards the other areas of effective land management and how from Brad Smith, executive director of the Strategic to deal with unexploded ordnance,” Beehler said. Environment Research Development Program, and Jeff Marqusee, director of the Environmental Security Technol- Such a balance between the military, the environment, ogy Certification Program, during a symposium held by and conservationists would greatly please Marine Brig. the two organizations on Nov. 30 in Washington, D.C. Gen. Willie Williams, assistant deputy commandant for Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA installation and logistics (facilities) for the Marine Corps. Addressing the symposium, Williams said that to have Three of the goals of the two organizations are ensuring an “effective force, the Corps must have an effective en- long-term use of training and testing ranges, improving vironmental program in order to ensure the ranges and detection and discrimination of unexploded ordnance, space we need is there when we need it. and accelerating cost-effective cleanup of contaminated defense sites. “We realize that without proper (environmental) man- agement we would not have the ready force that we have Alex A. Beehler, assistant deputy undersecretary of de- today,” he said. fense for environment, safety and occupational health,
81 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
Leadership Commitment and Strategic Approach to Career-long Learning Distinguish First USD (AT&L) Workforce Development Award Winners Russell A. Vacante
n Nov. 16, 2004, Michael W. Wynne, acting under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and Ologistics, presided over the first annual Under Sec- retary of Defense (Acquisition Technology & Logistics) Learning and Workforce Development Award competi- tion, which was held in conjunction with the PEO SYSCOM Conference (Defense AT&L, January-February rotation and shadowing, executive coaching, leadership 2005, 94). development, and succession planning.
Announced by Wynne in May 2004, the Workforce De- Wynne said that the judges had identified threads of con- velopment Award is designed to encourage AT&L field tinuity: leadership commitment; a strategic approach to organizations to promote career-long workforce learn- career-long learning; a strong leadership development ing and development in accordance with USD(AT&L) program; and allocation of resources—both time and Goal No. 7, Motivated, Agile Workforce; and to recognize dollars—to training and development. organizations that meet the challenge by developing com- prehensive and innovative programs. Best practices iden- “We must ensure that all of our field organizations are tified through the program are shared with other defense world-class learning organizations,” Wynne said. “Today AT&L organizations. we are recognizing some of our best learning organiza- tions.” Congratulating the winners, Wynne stressed the impor- tance of field organizations' providing world-class de- Gold Winner: United States Air Force, Air velopment to create superbly trained, well-disciplined Armament Center (AAC), Eglin Air Force communities focused on providing responsive products Base, Fla. and services to the warfighter. The Air Armament Center develops, tests, acquires, and sustains integrated air armament and provides expedi- “AT&L's success is all about people,” he said. “The Work- tionary combat support. AAC is responsible for devel- force Development Award is a critical component of my opment, acquisition, testing, deployment, and sustain- vision [of ] an agile, motivated workforce. I am deter- ment of all air delivery weapons. mined to create an environment where we can main- tain a world-class AT&L workforce.”
At Wynne's request, the Defense Acquisition University organized the competition. Twenty-two field organiza- tions submitted award applications. A panel of seven ed- ucators and professionals from academia, industry, and corporate learning institutions (see sidebar) evaluated the applications for their scope and innovation to include mentoring, continuous learning, career counseling, job
Vacante is director, sector leadership at the Defense Acquisition University and formerly served as DAU's director of performance-based logistics. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Gold Winner—USAF Air Armament Center (AAC)
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 82 Photographs by Sgt. Mason Lowery, USA Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
AAC has recently implemented several new and innov- ative workforce development initiatives to support their strategic objective to “Create and Enable the Workforce”: • Air Armament Academy (A3). A3's mission is to “sharpen the minds of those who forge the sword.” The curriculum focuses on workforce knowledge gaps identified by AAC senior leaders as they execute their mission. Each member of the AAC senior leadership team serves as an A3 faculty member. AAC senior lead- ers have presented over 300 courses to more than Silver Winner—Naval Facilities Engineering Command 5,000 personnel. (NAVFAC) • Knowledge Now Community of Practice (CoP) for A3. This CoP has transformed training administration from to its workforce development programs. By using this manual to fully automated. process to identify appropriate workforce numbers • Leadership Enhancement and Preparation (LEAP) Pro- and skills, resources can be best aligned and heavily gram. This formal mentoring program is designed to invested on a strategic basis for the optimal value in facilitate the development of civilian employees. intern, education, training, and job rotation programs. • Defense Acquisition University Satellite Program. Part- • Establishment of Facilities Engineering Career Field. nering with DAU, AAC developed the Eglin Learning NAVFAC spearheaded the establishment of the facili- Organization (ELO). With many DAU courses taught ties engineering acquisition career field. NAVFAC at AAC, program savings are estimated at $3 million worked with USD(AT&L) and DAU to field Level I and annually. Level II certification courses. Work is ongoing on the • Organizational Health Center (OHC). OHC provides ex- Level III certification course. ecutive coaching, organizational consulting, and change • College Credit Bank Transcript Service. By law, anyone management specialist services. assigned to the contracting career field must have 24 • Training Days/Training Weeks Policy. Every month has semester credits of business education. Many courses designated training days, and every other month con- at DAU and the Naval Facilities Acquisition Center for tains a designated training week. Training received by Training carry American Council on Education rec- AAC personnel has increased by more than 50 per- ommendation for credits. Excelsior College consoli- cent. These initiatives, along with active internship pro- dates these and other regionally accredited college- grams, job rotation, job shadowing, career counseling, level academic credits onto a single official transcript. supervisor/leadership development, and succession This has helped NAVFAC employees meet their 24-se- planning, are transforming AAC's culture into one of mester-hour requirement and saved $591,000 in 2003. a learning organization. NAVFAC also makes extensive use of internships, in- house training, continuous learning, and leadership Silver Winner: United States Navy, Naval development to diligently ensure each employee rec- Facilities Engineering Command, ognizes his or her value to the command, the Navy, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. and the Department of Defense. NAVFAC manages the planning, design, construction, contingency engineering, real estate, environmental, and Bronze Winner: United States Army public works support for U.S. Navy shore facilities around Program Executive Office for Simulation, the world. It provides the U.S. Navy forces with operat- Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), ing, expeditionary, support and training bases. Orlando, Fla. PEO STRI provides life cycle management of interoper- In August 2000, NAVFAC established its Community Man- able training, testing, and simulation solutions for sol- agement Directorate to oversee all workforce career man- diers' readiness and the defense community. PEO STRI agement programs for the acquisition career fields under is responsible for all major test instrumentation and, its command: when requested, provides technical programmatic sup- • Human Capital Strategic Planning Process. NAVFAC, port to joint and Army agencies. working with USD (AT&L), implemented a six-step planning process to appropriately shape its workforce Because of the complexity of its mission in terms of req- and also develop an audit trail from its strategic plan uisite leadership, technical competence, communica-
83 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Acquisition & Logistics Excellence
tion, and geographical challenges, PEO STRI uses an in- tegrated approach to training and career development activities: • Total Employee Development. This paperless admin- istrative process has reduced the use of DD Form 1556s from 2,100 a year to 50. The entire request, approval, and scheduling process is electronic and can be ac- cessed by the manager, supervisor, or employee any- time and anywhere in the continental United States. • The Employee Development Plan (EDP). This database Bronze Winner—The Army Program Executive Office for catalogs employees' skills, education, certification lev- Simulation, Training, & Instrumentation (PEO STRI) els, and relevant program experiences. The EDP as- sists PEO STRI in bridging the gap between current Additionally, PEO STRI's workforce development pro- and future skill requirements, and supports succession gram includes aggressive use of internships, job rotation, planning to enable knowledge of current competen- counseling, and job shadowing. cies to feed future needs. This program ensures that PEO STRI consistently retains, promotes, and hires the Significant Return on Investment best and brightest talent possible. In closing, Wynne said, “The leadership commitment to • Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Course. employee development is evident. The time and energy The LEAD course assists project directors and team you have placed in creating innovative workforce devel- leaders to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities opment programs will reap a significant return on your needed to effectively supervise and lead military and investment. ... I have great confidence in the future of civilian personnel. The course also stresses professional the AT&L community. Without a doubt, our people will and personal ethics and values. have the right skills, in the right place, at the right time, • Creativity Day Camp. This program challenges man- with the right resources, doing the right things [and] agers, supervisors, and team leaders to think outside smartly supporting the warfighter.” the box, learn how to establish friendly working rela- tionships with subordinates, and learn how to en- Guidelines for the 2005 Workforce Development Awards courage improvement. competition are posted on the DAU Web site at
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 84 AT&L Workforce—Key Leadership Changes
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE 3010 DEFENSE PENTAGON WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-3010
ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY AND OCT 29, 2004 LOGISTICS MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF UNDER SECRETARIES OF DEFENSE ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF DEFENSE GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ASSISTANTS TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, PROGRAM ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION DIRECTOR, NET ASSESSMENT DIRECTOR, FORCE TRANSFORMATION DIRECTORS OF THE DEFENSE AGENCIES DIRECTORS OF THE DOD FIELD ACTIVITIES
SUBJECT: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Philip W. Grone as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment (DUSD(I&E)) effective on November 1, 2004. Mr. Grone has served for over three years as the Principal Assistant DUSD(I&E) and before that as the Deputy Staff Director of the House Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Grone succeeds Raymond F. DuBois who has served as the DUSD(I&E) since April 2001. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has asked Mr. DuBois to continue as a senior member of his staff in his concurrent role as the Director of Administration and Management for the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he has done double duty for the past two years. Mr. DuBois will continue his direct involvement with the Base Realign- ment and Closure process as an advisor to the Infrastructure Steering Group. Under the leadership of Mr. DuBois, the Installations and Environment team has made significant progress in reducing the total costs of ownership of our military installations while greatly improving housing, safety and environmental stewardship.
Please provide to Phil all the great support that has made the I&E team a success.
Michael W. Wynne Acting
85 Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 Seventeenth International Defense Educational Arrangement LETTERS. (IDEA) Seminar We Like Letters. You’ve just finished reading an article in Defense AT&L, and you have something to add from your own experience. Or maybe you have an opposing viewpoint. Don’t keep it to yourself—share it with other Defense AT&L readers by sending a letter to the editor. We’ll print your comments in our “From Our Readers” department and possibly ask the author to respond. If you don’t have time to write an entire article, a letter in Defense AT&L is a good way to get your point across to the June 6-10, 2005 To be held in acquisition, technology, and logistics Berlin, Germany workforce. E-mail letters to the managing editor: The Seventeenth International Defense Educational Arrangement (IDEA) Seminar will hosted by the Bun- [email protected]. desakademie für Wehrverwaltung und Wehrtechnik Defense AT&L reserves the right to edit letters (The Federal Academy for Defence Administration for length and to refuse letters that are deemed and Military Technology). unsuitable for publication. The seminar will be a theme-based format, to include an industry day; will provide for your individual par- ticipation; and will provide you information exchange and feedback.
The seminar is sponsored by IDEA, which consists of defense acquisition educational institutions in Ger- many, Spain, Sweden, Australia, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Those eligible to attend are Defense Department/Min- istry and defense industry employees from the seven sponsoring nations who are actively engaged in in- ternational defense education programs. Other na- tions may participate by invitation.
Invitations, confirmations, and administrative in- structions will be issued after May 1, 2005.
Contact an IDEA team member for additional seminar information: Comm (U.S.): 703-805-5196 E-mail: [email protected]
Updated information can be found on our Web site:
Defense AT&L: March-April 2005 86 Acquisition Logistics& Excellence An Internet Listing Tailored to the Professional Acquisition Workforce Surfing the Net
Acquisition Community Connection DSMC educational products and standards; international developments; (ACC) services; course schedules; job active noteboard. http://acc.dau.mil opportunities. Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Policies, procedures, tools, references, http://www.eia.org publications, Web links, and lessons Access to current and back issues with Defense Technical Information Center search capabilities; business opportuni- (DTIC) Government relations department; learned for risk management, contracting, includes links to issue councils; market system engineering, total ownership cost ties; interactive yellow pages. http://www.dtic.mil/ DTIC’s scientific and technical information research assistance. (TOC). 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Comprehensive central access point for News; policy; Army AL&T Magazine; Defense Information Systems Agency html searching, locating, ordering, and programs; career information; events; (DISA) Audit and evaluation reports; IG acquiring government and business training opportunities. http://www.disa.mil testimony; planned and ongoing audit projects of interest to the acquisition information. Assistant Secretary of the Army Structure and mission of DISA; Defense community. Government Accountability Office (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) Information System Network; Defense (GAO) https://webportal.saalt.army.mil/ Message System; Global Command and DoD Office of Technology Transition http://www.gao.gov ACAT Listing; ASA(ALT) Bulletin; digital Control System. http://www.dtic.mil/ott/ GAO reports;policy and guidance; FAQs. documents library; ASA(ALT) organiza- Information about and links to OTT’s Defense Modeling and Simulation programs. tion; links to other Army acquisition sites. 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Integration) http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov ment, production, and operational phases http://www.manprint.army.mil Navy Acquisition, Research and Communications network for small of the life cycle of systems, facilities, and Points of contact for program managers; Development Information Center businesses. equipment. relevant regulations; policy letters from the http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech Small Business Innovation Research GOV.Research_Center Army Acquisition Executive; briefings on News and announcements; acronyms; (SBIR) Program and Small Business http://grc.ntis.gov the MANPRINT program. publications and regulations; technical U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National reports; how to do business with the Navy. 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