Special Ops | The Contracting Education Academy

February 19, 2019 By AMK

DoD: Big companies move too slowly

The defense industry is never shy about urging the Pentagon to move faster when buying everything from equipment to weapons.

But this week, two top Pentagon acquisition officials turned the tables, saying that defense firms are moving too slowly themselves.

First came James Smith, the acquisition executive for U.S.Special Operations Command.

“As I get all sorts of great authorities from Congress and from [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] to move faster, we’re seeing some of our industry partners that are not moving as fast,” Smith said Wednesday at the National Defense Industrial Association SO/LIC conference. “If I’m going to move faster, I need you to move faster as well.”

He alluded to bureaucratic delays at larger firms.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/business/2019/02/dod-big-companies-move-too-slowly-socoms-shopping-list-2020-budget-reveal-slips-march-and-more/154724/

June 13, 2018 By AMK

How SOCOM acquisitions try to be as agile as its warfighters

It’s not easy riding the bleeding edge of warfighter technology and capabilities.

But that’s what U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) does consistently. And it does so by fostering an acquisition team that’s as specialized, disruptive and agile as the operators themselves.

“We are paying very close attention to any developments, because in the cycle of warfare, there is always new technologies and new counter-technologies that occur,” Lt. Gen. Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, commander of U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, said on Agency in Focus: SOCOM.

But paying close attention is not always enough. SOCOM is not looking to be competitive on the battlefield, they are looking for an advantage. Traditional defense acquisition is essentially a process of throwing money at a capability until it performs better than the adversary’s version, or the previous incarnation.

But lighter body armor and guns that shoot farther aren’t the solutions to the kinds of problems SOCOM faces.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/socom/2018/06/how-socom-acquisitions-try-to-be-as-agile-as-its-warfighters/

October 30, 2013 By AMK

Special Ops command seeks contractors for wearable armor technology

U.S. Special Operations Command wants its operators to be protected with what it informally calls an Iron Man suit, named after the fictional superhero.

In September, U.S. Special Operations Command, known as SOCOM, made a Broad Agency Announcement for proposals for prototypes of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS.

The goal of TALOS is to provide ballistic protection to Special Operations Forces, along with fire-retardant capability, said Michel Fieldson, TALOS lead, SOCOM.

“We sometimes refer to it as the Iron Man suit, frankly to attract the attention, imagination and excitement of industry and academia,” he said.

“We’re hoping to take products we’re developing in several technology areas and integrating them into a consolidated suit to provide more protection for the [Special Operations Forces].”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.army.mil/article/113332/_Iron_Man__style_suit_in_early_stages_of_development/

The defense industry is never shy about urging the Pentagon to move faster when buying everything from equipment to weapons.

It’s not easy riding the bleeding edge of warfighter technology and capabilities.

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