Senate Armed Services Committee | The Contracting Education Academy

April 27, 2018 By AMK

Navy wants a better way to keep China’s nose out of its contracts

The other day, the U.S. Navy was about to issue a contract — nothing remarkable for an organization that awards dozens each week.

Then the contracting office realized that the specific division of the company they wanted to work with was in a joint venture with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. All of a sudden, the service “turned around and said, ‘Whoa, stop the horses,’” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told lawmakers Thursday.

In 2014, concerns about espionage led the U.S. to ban Huawei, which was founded by a former People’s Liberation Army engineer, from bidding on government contracts. In February, U.S. intelligence chiefs cautioned even the average American against buying Huawei products.

In this case, the Navy didn’t automatically kill the contract — though they did put a hold on it as they talked with the prime contractor.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2018/04/navy-wants-better-way-keep-chinas-nose-out-its-contracts/147603/

January 8, 2018 By AMK

‘Surprising capabilities’ guru tapped to lead Air Force acquisition

The Pentagon’s buyer-in-chief, who aims to improve overall military acquisition by mimicking its non-traditional weapons shops, is about to get some major help. That’s because the president today nominated Will Roper, the founding director of the secretive Strategic Capabilities Office, to become the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.

Created in 2012, SCO helps the services modify existing arms and gear to produce “surprising new capabilities,” as then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter put it. Its best-known success stories are swarming Perdix micro-drones and an altered SM-6 missile that could sink ships.

Roper’s office — or perhaps, Roper himself — drew the eye of Ellen Lord, Trump’s first defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics. Last month, Lord brought him along to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on acquisition reform, and pointed him out as she answered senators’ questions about her plans to speed up military purchasing.

**Relevant development, acquisition, and procurement agencies within the U.S. Air Force.**

Keep reading this article at: http://www.defenseone.com/business/2018/01/surprising-capabilities-guru-tapped-lead-air-force-acquisition/144940/

December 27, 2017 By AMK

Pentagon’s ambitious goal: Launch a weapons program in just 12 months

It’s time to make defense acquisition faster, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer recently told lawmakers.

How fast? Request proposals, evaluate the options, and award a contract in 12 months or less, said Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics.

“Now that’s a first step, I would like to be on record to say,” Lord told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Dec. 8th.

There are various ways to measure how slowly the defense acquisition process moves, but whichever one you pick, Lord’s goal is ambitious. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., noted that it can take the Pentagon long enough to acquire new technology that it can be out-of-date by the time the contract is signed. Rounds pegged the process at about two and a half years. Any project with software in it — be it a cellphone or high-end military capability — is likely going to evolve into its next iteration in that time, let alone before troops get their hands on it.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/defense/2017/12/pentagons-ambitious-goal-launch-weapons-program-just-12-months/144408

December 19, 2016 By AMK

DoD stuck with too many reforms and not enough staff

Congress is giving the Defense Department too many acquisition reforms and not enough employees to do the job, says one top Pentagon official.

pentagon-seal The leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees committed to reforming the bloated defense acquisition system a couple of years ago. So far they have devolved acquisition power to the military service chiefs and reduced paperwork burdens for program managers.

The 2017 defense authorization bill takes things a step further by splitting DoD’s chief acquisition officer position in two and putting an emphasis on fixed-price contracts. The bill does that all while mandating reductions in the Senior Executive Service and in headquarters staff.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition/2016/12/dod-stuck-many-reforms-not-enough-staff/

December 8, 2016 By AMK

Defense bill includes numerous provisions to prod DoD toward commercial buying

Last week’s House-Senate agreement on the 2017 Defense Authorization Bill contained about 100 provisions dealing with acquisition — not all of which we’ll even attempt to summarize in this space.

commercial-buying-2017-ndaa But several were built around a common reform theme Congress began in last year’s bill, attempting to reform the acquisition system to suit a world in which leaders of the Defense committees believe that most innovation is happening in the commercial sector.

Besides restructuring and bifurcating the large front office that’s currently responsible for both acquisition and R&D, the bill adds several new authorities that build on last year’s trend of letting DoD sidestep the traditional acquisition system.

“The national security problem starts from the fact that we no longer drive research and development,” Bill Greenwalt, a senior Senate Armed Services Committee staffer, said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security last week. “We reformed the system 20 years ago to try to access commercial items, but it’s not as agile as we would like it to be. It’s risk-averse, it’s compliance-oriented, and it’s optimized to win the Cold War against an adversary that thought in five-year plans.”

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2016/12/defense-bill-includes-numerous-provisions-prod-dod-toward-commercial-buying/

The other day, the U.S. Navy was about to issue a contract — nothing remarkable for an organization that awards dozens each week.

It’s time to make defense acquisition faster, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer recently told lawmakers.

Congress is giving the Defense Department too many acquisition reforms and not enough employees to do the job, says one top Pentagon official.

Last week’s House-Senate agreement on the 2017 Defense Authorization Bill contained about 100 provisions dealing with acquisition — not all of which we’ll even attempt to summarize in this space.

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