UNIFORMED MILITARY ACQUISITION OFFICER CAREER PATH DEVELOPMENT COMPARISON

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management

Naval Postgraduate School

NPS-HR-21-006

ACQUISITION RESEARCH PROGRAM

SPONSORED REPORT SERIES

Uniformed Military Acquisition Officer Career Path Development

Comparison

December 2020

Maj. Ashley R. McCabe, USMC

LCDR Paveena Ritthaworn USN

LCDR Darian J. Wilder, USN

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Robert F. Mortlock, Professor

Kelley Poree, Lecturer

Graduate School of Defense Management

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Prepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - vi -

Naval Postgraduate School

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - vii -

Naval Postgraduate School

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1

A. PROBLEM ...................................................................................................4

B. RESEARCH QUESTIONS .........................................................................5

C. WHY THIS RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT ...............................................5

D. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................6

E. RESEARCH ROADMAP ............................................................................7

II. BACKGROUND .....................................................................................................9

A. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ..................................................................15

1. Army ..............................................................................................16

2. Air Force ........................................................................................18

3. Navy ...............................................................................................19

4. Marine Corps .................................................................................21

B. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT ................................................................22

1. Army ..............................................................................................24

2. Air Force ........................................................................................25

3. Navy ...............................................................................................26

4. Marine Corps .................................................................................28

C. SUMMARY ...............................................................................................29

III. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................31

A. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS ..........................................................32

B. GOVERNMENT REPORTS .....................................................................35

C. JOURNAL ARTICLES .............................................................................39

D. PREVIOUS THESES ................................................................................41

E. ANALYSIS OF REVIEWED LITERATURE ..........................................43

F. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................44

IV. ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................47

A. EDUCATION ............................................................................................47

1. Program Management ....................................................................48

2. Contract Management ....................................................................52

3. Education Concluded .....................................................................54

B. TRAINING ................................................................................................55

1. Program Management ....................................................................56

2. Contract Management ....................................................................63

3. Training Concluded .......................................................................69

C. EXPERIENCE ...........................................................................................70

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - viii -

Naval Postgraduate School

1. Program Management ....................................................................71

2. Contract Management ....................................................................77

3. Experience Concluded ...................................................................83

D. CURRENT SERVICE CAREER PATHS .................................................84

1. Army ..............................................................................................84

2. Air Force ........................................................................................85

3. Navy ...............................................................................................87

4. Marine Corps .................................................................................89

E. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................91

V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................93

A. CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................93

1. Advantages .....................................................................................94

2. Disadvantages ................................................................................94

B. DOD’S NEW INITIATIVE: “BACK-TO-BASICS” ................................96

C. RECOMMENDATION .............................................................................98

D. AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH...................................................103

APPENDIX A. DAWIA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS ...............................................................................................105

APPENDIX B. DAWIA CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION

REQUIREMENTS ...............................................................................................111

LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................................................................117

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - ix -

Naval Postgraduate School

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Acquisition Workforce Demographics. Adapted from Human

Capital Initiatives (2020). ..........................................................................13

Figure 2. Bloom’s Taxonomy and DAU Courses. Source: Layton (2007). ..............14

Figure 3. Army Acquisition Corp Career Timeline. Adapted from DA (2010). .......17

Figure 4. Air Force PM Career Path. Source: DoAF (2012). ....................................19

Figure 5. Recommended Career Path for Navy AWF. Source: Everling et al.

(2017). ........................................................................................................21

Figure 6. USMC Acquisition Officer Career Roadmap. Source: Marine Corps

System Command (n.d.-c) .........................................................................22

Figure 7. Army Acquisition Corp Career Timeline. Adapted from DA (2010). .......25

Figure 8. Air Force PM Career Path. Source: DoAF (2012). ....................................26

Figure 9. Navy Supply Corps Career Progression Path. Source: Office of

Supply Corps Personnel (2011). ................................................................28

Figure 10. Acquisition Corps Requirements. Adapted from DON (2019a) ................30

Figure 11. Leading Practices by Military Services. Source: GAO (2018). .................36

Figure 12. Overall AWF Total. Source: Human Capital Initiatives (2020). ...............39

Figure 13. Professional Development Model (Officer). Source: Gambles et al.

(2009). ........................................................................................................41

Figure 14. Marine Corps Program Management Career Education

Requirements. Adapted from Marine Corps System Command (n.d.-

c). ...............................................................................................................52

Figure 15. Marine Corps Program Management Career Training Requirements.

Adapted from Marine Corps Systems Command (n.d.-c). ........................63

Figure 16. Army Acquisition Career Development Model. Source: DA (2018). .......73

Figure 17. Marine Corps Program Management Career Roadmap. Source:

Corps System Command (n.d.-c) ...............................................................77

Figure 18. Tactical Level Sight Picture for Buyers/Administrators. Source:

DoAF (2014). .............................................................................................80

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - x -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 19. Operational Level for Commanders, Supervisors, and Staff Officers.

Source: DoAF (2014). ................................................................................81

Figure 20. Strategic Level Sight Picture for Strategic Leaders. Source: DoAF

(2014). ........................................................................................................81

Figure 21. Proposed USMC 3006 Career Roadmap. Source: Personal

communication W. Young (March 17, 2020). ...........................................83

Figure 22. Generic Army Acquisition Officer Career Path .........................................85

Figure 23. Generic Air Force Acquisition Officer Career Path ..................................86

Figure 24. Generic Navy Acquisition Officer Career Path .........................................89

Figure 25. Generic Marine Corps Acquisition Officer Career Path ............................91

Figure 26. Proposed Contracting Officer Certification Requirements. Source:

Linden (2020).............................................................................................97

Figure 27. Universal Acquisitions Officer Career Path ............................................100

Figure 28. Possible Career Paths Using the UAOCP ................................................102

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xi -

Naval Postgraduate School

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Uniformed Defense Acquisition Program Management Workforce

by Service...................................................................................................15

Table 2. Uniformed Defense Acquisition Contract Management Workforce

by Service...................................................................................................24

Table 3. Core Plus Recommended DAWIA Education. Source: DAU (n.d.). ........48

Table 4. Contracting Core and Core Plus Recommended DAWIA Education.

Source: DAU (n.d.). ...................................................................................52

Table 5. DAWIA Program Management Required Training for Certification.

Source: DAU (n.d.). ...................................................................................57

Table 6. Core Plus Recommended DAWIA Training for Program

Management. Source: DAU (n.d.) .............................................................57

Table 7. DAWIA Program Management Unique Position Training

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.). ...........................................................58

Table 8. USAF and DAU Program Management Track. Source: DoAF

(2012). ........................................................................................................60

Table 9. Air Force APDP Approximate Training Flow Chart. Source: DoAF,

2012............................................................................................................61

Table 10. DAWIA Contracting Assignment Type Descriptions. Source: DAU

(n.d). ...........................................................................................................64

Table 11. DAWIA Contract Management Core Required Training for

Certification. Source: DAU (n.d.). .............................................................65

Table 12. DAWIA Contract Management Core Plus Recommended Training

for Certification (Level I). Source: DAU (n.d.). ........................................66

Table 13. DAWIA Contract Management Core Plus Recommended Training

for Certification (Level II-III) Cont. Source: DAU (n.d.). .........................67

Table 14. DAWIA Contract Management Unique Position Training

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.). ...........................................................67

Table 15. DAWIA Program Management Core and Core Plus Experience

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.). ...........................................................71

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xii -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 16. Program Management Statutory Position Requirements. Source:

DON (2019). ..............................................................................................75

Table 17. DAWIA Contracting Experience Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.). .....78

Table 18. Contracting Statutory Position Requirements Source: DON (2019a) .......82

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xiii -

Naval Postgraduate School

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1LT/1stLt First Lieutenant

2LT/2ndLt Second Lieutenant

A&S Acquisition and Sustainment

AAC Army Acquisition Corps

AAPC Army Acquisition Professional Course

AC Acquisition Corps

ACAT Acquisition Category

ACC Army Contracting Command

ACE American Council on Education

ACF Acquisition Career Field

AEE Acquisition Entrance Exam

AICC Army Intermediate Contracting Course

AFFAM Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management

AFIT Air Force Institute of Technology

AFOCD Air Force Officer Classification Directory

AFPC Air Force Personnel Center

AFSC Air Force Specialty Code

AL&T Acquisition, Logistics and Technology

ALCP Acquisition Leadership Challenging Programs

AT&L Acquisition, Technology & Logistics

AOC Army Area of Concentration

APDP Acquisition Professional Development Program

AQD Additional Qualification Designation

AQS Acquisition Qualification Standard

AWF Acquisition Workforce

BBP Better Buying Power

BOLC Basic Officer Leadership Course

BQC Basic Qualification Course

BtB Back to Basics

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xiv -

Naval Postgraduate School

C&S Command and Staff

CAP Critical Acquisition Position

CAPT/CPT Captain

CCC Captain Career Course

CCLEB Commandants Career-Level Education Board

CCO Contingency Contracting Officer

CDR Commander

CHEK Continuing Hours of Education and Knowledge

CIVINS Civilian Institutions

CL Continuous Learning

CM Contracting Manager

COL/Col Colonel

CPIB Commandants Professional Intermediate-Level Education Board

CRS Congressional Research Service

CSL Centralized Selection List

CTETP Career Field Education and Training Plan

DA Department of the Army

DAC Defense Acquisition Corps

DANTE Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support

DSST DANTE Subject Standardized Tests

DAU Defense Acquisition University

DAW Defense Acquisition Workforce

DAWIA Defense Acquisitions Workforce Improvement Act

DCMA Defense Contract Management Agency

DH Department Head

DIVO Division Officer

DLA Defense Logistics Agency

DoAF Department of Air Force

DoDI Department of Defense Instruction

DoD Department of Defense

DoN Department of Navy

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xv -

Naval Postgraduate School

DPM Deputy Program Manager

ENS Ensign

EWI Education with Industry

FA Functional Area

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FIPT Federal Integrated Product Team

GAO Government Accountability Office

GEV Graduate Education Voucher

IDE Intermediate Development Education

IDP Individual Development Plan

ILE Intermediate Level Education

IQC Intermediate Qualification Course

ITP Individual Training Plan

JPME Joint Professional Military Education

JQO Joint Qualified Officer

KLP Key Leadership Position

KO Contracting Officer

LT Lieutenant

LTC/LtCol Lieutenant Colonel

LCDR Lieutenant Commander

LTjg Lieutenant Junior Grade

MAIS Major Automated Information System

MAJ/Maj Major

MBA Master of Business Administration

MCSC Marine Corps System Command

MDAP Major Defense Acquisition Program

MEF Marine Expeditionary Force

MOS Military Occupational Specialty

MRC Mission Ready Contracting

MTL Master Task List

NAVMC Navy Marine Corps

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xvi -

Naval Postgraduate School

NAVSUP Naval Supply Systems Command

NDAA National Defense Authorization Act

NOOCS Navy Officer Manpower and Personnel Classifications

NPS Naval Postgraduate School

NWC Naval War College

OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

OJT On-the-Job Training

OP Operational

OPNAV Operational Navy

OSD Office of the Secretary of Defense

PCC Pre-Command Course

PCD Position Category Descriptions

PDE Primary Development Education

PEO Program Executive Officer

PM Program Manager

PME Professional Military Education

PMOS Primary Military Occupational Specialties

PMT Project Management Trainer

PCC Pre-Command Course

PQS Personnel Qualification Standard

QUAL Qualification

RAND Research and Development

RL Restricted Line

SAASS School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

SDE Senior Development Education

SECDEF Secretary of Defense

SOS Squadron Officer School

SSC Senior Service College

TIG Time-in-Grade

TWI Training with Industry

TYCOM Type Commander

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xvii -

Naval Postgraduate School

UAOCP Universal Acquisition Officer Career Path

URL Unrestricted Line

USAASC U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center

USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers

USD Under Secretary of Defense

USD(A) Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition

USD(A&S) Under Secretary of Defense of Acquisition and Sustainment

USD(AT&L) Under Secretary of Defense of Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics

USD(R&E) Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management - xviii -

Naval Postgraduate School

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -1 -

Naval Postgraduate School

I. INTRODUCTION

Currently, “it is DoD [Department of Defense] policy that the AWF [acquisition

workforce] Program support a professional, agile, and high-performing military and

civilian AWF that meets uniform eligibility criteria, makes smart business decisions, acts

in an ethical manner, and delivers timely and affordable capabilities to the warfighter”

(DoD, 2019, p. 5). The DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5000.66 outlines the Defense Acquisition

Workforce Education, Training, Experience, and Career Development Program, which

originates from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and

Sustainment (OUSD[A&S]). It is the responsibility of the OUSD(A&S), among other

things, to establish “accession, education, training, and experience requirements for each

acquisition position category based on the level of complexity of each category’s duties”

(DoD, 2019, p. 6). For the DoD, a position is descriptive of an individual’s job.

According to the Defense Acquisition Workforce Position Category Descriptions

(PCD) (2018), there are a total of 15 acquisition position categories. These PCDs provide

duty characteristics that are in line with general acquisition-related responsibilities and

career path specifics. PCDs also include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

(OCC) series codes for civilian personnel and a breakdown of DoD component uniformed

personnel’s unique Army Area of Concentration (AOC), Navy Additional Qualification

Designation (AQD), Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC), and Marine Corps Military

Occupational Specialty (MOS). Not every PCD has officers and civilians from each of the

DoD components. Of the 15 acquisition position categories, only five have representatives

from each component: Test & Evaluation, Science & Technology Management,

Information Technology, Program Management, and Contracting. This research focuses

on the program management and contract management career fields. Moving forward,

program managers (PMs) and contracting officers (also referred to as “KOs”) are

referenced as the acquisition workforce, or AWF. This professional project centers on a

Joint perspective, where more than one of the military components (Army, Air Force,

Navy, and Marine Corps) work together on the same program.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -2 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The DoD AWF consists of uniformed acquisition officers and defense civilians

employed in multiple areas of expertise. The AWF is “responsible for identifying,

developing, buying, and managing goods and services to support” the needs of the DoD

(Schwartz et al., 2016, p. i). Defense acquisition is a team effort between the PMs and KOs

as they acquire products and provide services on behalf of the warfighter to deliver

capabilities at the right time, to the right place, and within established cost goals. The Better

Buying Power (BBP) 2.0 guidance memorandum states that the factor that has the greatest

impact on effective performance of the Defense Acquisition System is “the capability of

the professionals in our workforce” (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for

Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (OUSD[AT&L]), 2013, p. 24). To support the

initiative of establishing higher standards for key leadership positions (KLPs) brought

about by the BBP 2.0, KLP Qualification Boards were established to “certify AWF

personnel as qualified for key leadership positions” (OUSD[AT&L]), 2013, p. 24). The

AWF consists of program management, engineering, contracting, and product support

disciplines engaging in a wide scope of activities throughout the product life cycle

(OUSD[AT&L]), 2013). The life cycle of a product, either supply or service, starts with

the development of the idea behind a need, moves to the development of that idea into a

defined product or service, progresses to the delivery of the supply or service to the end

user, and then concludes with the sustainment of that supply or service until it is no longer

needed (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment

(OUSD[A&S]), 2020a).

The AWF consists of uniformed enlisted and officer personnel as well as civilians

who work together to support the military (Schwartz et al., 2016). This research focuses on

the field of program management and contract management within the AWF for uniformed

personnel. The PM and KO are the key positions within the program management and

contracting career fields. The efficient support and effective integration of PMs and KOs

are needed for the successful acquisition, sustainment, and delivery of services and other

equipment in response to military requirements. The primary responsibilities for a PM are

to balance the cost, schedule, and performance of a project through its development phase

until the military capability is fully fielded and sustained. Moreover, the PM’s duties

consist of understanding the warfighters’ needs and executing the requirements in a way

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -3 -

Naval Postgraduate School

that is consistent with DoD guidance and federal regulations. Lastly, the PM ensures that

high quality, affordable, supportable, and effective defense systems, supplies, and services

are delivered expeditiously to the military to support the warfighter. The KO also serves a

vital function in the AWF and works collaboratively with the PM. The primary

responsibility of a KO is to write, administer, and terminate contracts to procure products

and services that satisfy the DoD’s requirements while abiding by federal acquisition

regulations. The KO works closely with the PM, the customer, and technical specialists to

generate explicit requirements packages, develop acquisition strategies, and purchase

capabilities. For the PM and KO to be good at their jobs, the training they receive must

provide the basic skills that will make them successful.

DoD leadership is responsible for providing training, education, experience, and

mentorship to the AWF professionals to support what can be argued as the best-equipped

military in the world. According to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),

the DoD needs to evaluate the state of the AWF capability in areas such as certification,

education, training, experience, and leadership development (Berger et al., 2019). The DoD

mandates PMs and KOs to meet certain certification requirements to qualify to execute the

duties of their positions. Each Service, namely the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine

Corps, in turn, has different training paths and experience requirements for PMs and KOs

to be eligible to hold these positions within the AWF. The AWF must enhance qualification

and certification processes to heighten the performance effectiveness of government

acquisitions and better serve the DoD as a whole.

The DoD relies on the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) to maintain Core

standards under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA).

DAWIA, which was passed into law in November 1990, was enacted to improve the

professionalism and effectiveness of the personnel that manages DoD acquisitions by

improving the education, training, and experience levels of acquisition professionals (Navy

Personnel Command, 2019). Specifically, each Service has different timelines for its

officers to reach these training and educational requirements during their careers. It is

important, for the sake of maintaining consistency, for the services to be able to work

together and be able to replace one member of an acquisition team with another, from

another services, when necessary. An Army PM should not have to worry about, for

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -4 -

Naval Postgraduate School

example, about a Navy KO doing something incorrectly for fear that they will not be as

knowledgeable or experienced as an Army KO. Since each Service has different training

timelines and different requirements, however, currently it can often be difficult for

separate services to work together because of different levels of knowledge and experience.

A. PROBLEM

For major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs) and Joint acquisition programs

in particular, each Service provides representatives on the acquisition team. The differences

in how the services develop and use their uniformed acquisition officers create challenges

for the effective management of large acquisitions, which can span multiple years. PMs

and KOs can rotate out of a program every 2 to 4 years. When a new PM or KO transfers

into a multiyear program and is not as competent as one from a different Service, the

learning during the process can create management inefficiencies that affect the program’s

cost, schedule, and performance baseline. Since each Service has different career path steps

and timelines in training PMs and KOs, the level of competence is not consistent across

the services, and in a Joint program office this may affect the overall efficiency of the DoD

acquisitions. The Joint environment is where all the services come together to work

towards a common goal or idea that is important to more than one Service. An example of

a Joint major MDAP is the Joint Strike Fighter program for next-generation strike aircraft

for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.

As Ashton Carter, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), stated,

“Today’s security environment is dramatically different and more diverse and complex in

the scope of its challenges than the one we have been engaged with for the last 25 years”

(OUSD[AT&L]), 2016, p. 7). The former SECDEF also stated that leadership needs to

adopt new ways of thinking and performing to develop workforce strategies to close

competency gaps. The nature of requirements is changing due to the transformational

environment and the changing character of warfare and it requires new ways of thinking

and acting (OUSD[AT&L]), 2016).

A 2000 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Federal Acquisitions:

Trends, Reforms and Challenges, states that “despite budget surplus, the federal

government continues to face compelling fiscal pressures,” which means “that government

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -5 -

Naval Postgraduate School

acquisition, a major component of discretionary spending, will have to compete with other

funding priorities for scarce federal resources” (p. 2). Furthermore, a 2019 GAO report

specified that “Congress and the administration face difficult policy choices about federal

revenues, spending and investment; choices that need to be accompanied by a broader

fiscal plan to put the government on a more sustainable long-term fiscal path” (GAO,

2019b, p. 100). These reports highlight that the change in the way the government spends

money and the increase in demand for funding from various sectors is changing the very

nature of how the government allocates funding. With these budgetary demands, it can be

inferred that the services are adjusting to becoming more Joint in nature towards more

combined requirements to optimize budgetary allocations.

B. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The primary question that guides this research is: “What current career path

practices for PMs and KOs across the services should be adopted from one Service to the

others to maximize competencies and effectiveness in program management and contract

management in Joint acquisition programs?” To answer this primary research question,

there are two secondary research questions that this thesis seeks to answer: “What are the

services’ career paths for active-duty uniformed Acquisition Officers?” and, “Why do the

services have different development timelines for Acquisition Officers?” This research

examines each Service’s career path for PMs and KOs across the certification process,

education requirements, and career milestones.

C. WHY THIS RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT

We opine that symmetry in training education, certifications, and experience for

PMs and KOs across the services will enhance environment outcomes in Joint acquisition

programs. The primary objective of this research is to provide a model career path

framework as a baseline that each Service could consider implementing when developing

PMs and KOs. This approach involves comparing the current career paths for PMs and

KOs in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps acquisition fields and then designing

a common career development path that all services could employ. A common career

development path may promote greater efficiency and symmetry within the AWF,

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -6 -

Naval Postgraduate School

supporting acquisition efficiencies irrespective of military services. More efficient

management of the career path development across the services will benefit the DoD and

allow the services to work together towards desired acquisition program outcomes. A

common career path for PMs and KOs may promote the efficiencies sought by the 2010 to

2015 Better Buying Power initiatives from 2010 to 2015, such as removing “unproductive

processes and bureaucracies for both industry and government” (OUSD[AT&L], 2015, p.

18).

The efficient career path model provided by this thesis suggests potential

improvements to the development of uniformed military acquisition officers within the

services so that, ultimately, the shared knowledge will be synchronized to promote a level

field of competency. The purpose of this research is to compare the career path

development of Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps PMs and KOs to identify

differences in the development of the PMs and KOs. After analysis of the differences, the

research conclude our study by suggesting best practices across all the four services and

recommend a common career path framework for all the services to use that will offer the

best knowledge at each level of an Acquisition Officer’s career.

D. METHODOLOGY

This research relies on several methods for collecting information. The first method

is an extensive literature review of the AWF in the PM and CM career fields. The literature

review consists of various DoD Joint military doctrines, regulation publications, GAO

reports, and prior Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) master’s theses. This literature

examines what research has been done previously and allows the researchers to answer the

study’s research questions. This literature review also allows for comparison of each

Service’s processes and frameworks concerning career field education and training of

uniformed acquisition officers in the PM and KO professions.

Each Service’s processes are compared to identify milestones for career

progression, highlighting the potential benefits in the training and development of

Acquisition Officers. Throughout this process, each Service’s career development process

for acquisition officers is discussed. Next, the certification requirements, education, and

experiences that the DoD requires of acquisition officers within each of the services are

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -7 -

Naval Postgraduate School

studied. Then, an analysis of how and why the services manage their acquisition officers

differently is performed. Finally, the identification of possible aspects of one Service, that

can be carried across to other services are identified.

E. RESEARCH ROADMAP

This MBA research project is divided into five chapters that examine the uniformed

military Acquisition Officer career path development. The first chapter introduces the

framework, problems, and questions of PMs and KOs of the AWF. The methods in data

collecting to answer the research questions are also indicated in this chapter. The second

chapter consists of background information on the AWF through a literature review of

information on the development of PMs and KOs. The third chapter is devoted to gathering

data from those works of literature. The fourth chapter formulates data and develops

findings to form the best results for the research. The last chapter contains the conclusion

of the findings and a recommendation on a career path for all services to utilize when

developing their PMs and KOs. Also included are recommendations for further research

into this topic.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -8 -

Naval Postgraduate School

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -9 -

Naval Postgraduate School

II. BACKGROUND

There has been many long-standing, continual, reforms to the DoD’s acquisition

program over the past 50 years (Fox, 2011). Fox (2011) and Allen stated that “the problems

of schedule slippages, cost growth, and shortfalls in technical performance on defense

acquisition programs” have been the basis for many defense acquisition program reforms

from the 1960s to the present (p. vii). According to Layton’s (2007), “major cost overruns,

schedule slippages, and performance shortfalls,” along with “significant problems in

procuring routine and less complex items,” caused the public to have a lack of confidence

in the government procurement process, which led to many reforms in government

procurement policy (p. 7). For instance, in the early 1980s, there were some embarrassing

instances of gross and comical overpayment by the Pentagon for various nonessential

items, such as a $400 hammer or a $600 toilet seat (Ocasio & Bublitz, 2013). President

Ronald Reagan established the Packard Commission in 1986 to decrease inefficiencies in

the defense procurement system. According to the Packard Commission, the fundamental

issues with the acquisition process since 1969 were cost growth, schedule delays, and

performance shortfalls (Fox, 2011). Essential recommendations from this group included

revamping the acquisition process, boosting tests and prototyping, transforming the

organizational culture, upgrading planning, and creating the competitive firm model where

appropriate (Christensen et al., 1999).

In 1969, David Packard, founder of Hewlett Packard, who also served as the Deputy

Secretary for Defense, recognized that a mechanism for the effective management of

defense acquisition and controlling cost was necessary. In 1972, Packard released the DoD

Directive 5000.1 The Defense Acquisition System, which in turn created the DoD

Directive 5000 Series, which governs all aspects of the Defense Acquisition System

(Ferrara, 1996). Packard, in his founding document for the Defense Acquisition System,

stated:

Successful development, production, and deployment of major defense

systems are primarily dependent upon competent people, rational priorities,

and clearly defined responsibilities. Responsibility and authority for the

acquisition of major defense systems shall be decentralized to the maximum

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -10 -

Naval Postgraduate School

practicable extent consistent with the urgency and importance of each

program. (Ferrara, 1996, p. 111)

Packard also defined a position that would be overall responsible for the execution of

defense systems:

The development and production of a major defense system shall be

managed by a single individual (program manager) who shall have a charter

which provides sufficient authority to accomplish recognized program

objectives. Layers of authority between the program manager and his

Component Head shall be minimum, … [The] assignment and tenure of

program managers shall be a matter of concern to DoD Component Heads

and shall reflect career incentives designed to attract, retain, and reward

competent personnel. (Ferrara, 1996, p. 111)

The intent Packard displayed in this foundational document has, over time, guided

many modifications to the DoD Directive 5000.1, subsequent 5000 Series documents, and

many of today’s defense acquisition statutes, policies, and institutions (Ferrara, 1996). One

of the most significant reforms since Packard created the Defense Acquisition System was

the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA), which was created

largely in response to continued budgetary restrictions and was passed into law with the

1991 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; Garcia et al., 1997). The NDAA of

1991, spearheaded by Representative Nicholas Mavroules, established the requirement for

a Defense Acquisition University (DAU), and over time, the DAU has created a premier

training environment. Its curriculum is recognized as the Core standard for all DoD

acquisition professionals, for training requirements (Layton, 2007).

The DAWIA was intended to improve the professionalism and effectiveness of the

personnel who manage DoD acquisitions by enhancing the education, training, and

experience levels of acquisition professionals (Navy Personnel Command, 2019). The

DAWIA was created to “regulate both civilian and military acquisition professionals”

(Ocasio & Bublitz, 2013, p. 5). The act also “provided a new set of opportunities for

documenting the professional development and advancement of the civilian [acquisition]

population” (Ocasio & Bublitz, 2013 p. 5). To incorporate the uniformed acquisition

personnel under the DAU, in 1991, the DoD published DoD Directive 5000.57, Defense

Acquisition University, which stated that the services would provide to the DAU

acquisition personnel training requirements and allocate annual student quotas to the DAU

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -11 -

Naval Postgraduate School

(Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1991). As part of the NDAA of 1991, the

Acquisition Corps was formed to regulate, certify, and record the essential and critical

acquisition education, training, and experience of each member across the armed forces.

The creation of the Defense Acquisition System and the changes enacted from the NDAA

of 1991 were a result of changes between how industry and the DoD interacted when it

came to acquisitions (Layton, 2007). During the era of World War II and the Cold War,

from 1939 through 1991, the relationship between government and industry evolved due

to the continued intricate nature and evolution of weapons systems (Layton, 2007).

According to Layton (2007), this evolution changed the government’s role to that of a

program manager who managed teams of contract managers, a role for which the

government was woefully underprepared.

Packard had characterized the DoD AWF as undertrained, underpaid, and

inexperienced. The training and career path management of acquisition personnel were

inadequate, and as a result, Packard called for the creation of a professional acquisition

corps with specific standards, education, training, and experience requirements (Layton,

2007). Layton (2007) further stated that training of government acquisition professionals

was “decentralized, fragmented and often of poor quality” (p. vi), so in response, a

government agency needed to be established to focus on the education and development of

acquisition professionals. The first step in making this effort successful was establishing,

in 1986, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (OUSD[A]); (Layton,

2007). This creation was intended to limit the internal government conflicts and improve

the organizational structure of the government’s Acquisition Corps (Layton, 2007). In

1994the USD(A) was redesignated as the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and

Technology (USD[A&T]); the office then transitioned into the OUSD(AT&L) in 2000, at

which time it shifted its focus to an emphasis on life-cycle responsibilities. In 2017, the

OUSD(AT&L) split into two organizations, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense

for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD[A&S]) and the Office of the Under Secretary of

Defense for Research and Engineering (USD[R&E]), where OUSD(A&S) remains the

organizational head of government acquisitions (Mehta, 2017). The DAU, which falls

under the management of the USD(A&S), provides the training for acquisition career field

certification, as well as assignment-specific requirements and executive-level development

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -12 -

Naval Postgraduate School

for AWF personnel (DoD, 2019). According to the DoD Acquisition Workforce Strategic

Plan FY2016-Y2021, the DAU is “the corporate university for the AWF” which “fosters

professional development for members of the workforce throughout their careers” (DoD,

2016, p. 53). The AWF is comprised primarily of civilian personnel (approximately 91%),

while the uniformed service members make up the remaining 9% of the AWF; however,

the DAU certifications apply to the entirety of the AWF (DoD, 2019). Figure 1, retrieved

from the Human Capital Initiative, which is a part of the OUSD(A&S) shows the current

breakdown of the AWF, between civilian and military, and then further breaks down the

military by Service and acquisition career fields.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -13 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 1. Acquisition Workforce Demographics. Adapted from Human

Capital Initiatives (2020).

Within the first year of its inception, the DAU tackled the immediate task of

redesigning the curriculum and management of the course development process for the

functional areas (Layton, 2007). According to Layton (2007), DoDI 5000.52, Acquisition

Career Development Program, was used to indicate what courses needed development and

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -14 -

Naval Postgraduate School

the standards that would be used for certification, as well as to establish the three levels of

certification still used today. The DAU redesigned the courses to ensure maximum

educational effectiveness, which included the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy for the course

development framework. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchal model that classifies

particular types of learning into categories, each of which has a graduated and increased

degree of complexity (Phillips, 2019). For example, 100-level courses build knowledge

and comprehension, while 200-level courses build application and analysis skills. Together

they create the foundation for critical, creative thinking and team cohesion. Then the 300-

level courses are designed to allow the student to evaluate, synthesize and apply the skills

they learned in the 100- and 200-level courses, sustaining positive performance over time.

This model the DAU used is displayed in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Bloom’s Taxonomy and DAU Courses. Source: Layton (2007).

The DAU’s Level I and Level II courses create a fundamental knowledge in the

functional area and make a specialist out of the acquisition professional, whereas Level III

is the pinnacle of achievement in the curriculum and moves the acquisition professional

from a specialist, who specializes in one area, to a generalist, who is a creative problem-

solver (Layton, 2007). With the continued evolution of certification requirements, instead

of the DoD impractically updating the DoDI 5000.52 annually, the DAU publishes an

annual course catalog, which details the current certification checklists so that members of

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -15 -

Naval Postgraduate School

the AWF know what to expect for certification in each of the functional areas at each level

of certification (Layton, 2007).

A. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The purpose of the Defense Acquisition System is to manage the nation’s

investments, support the services in a timely manner, and acquire capabilities at a fair and

reasonable price (DoD, 2020b). Because it is the PM’s responsibility to “ensure a project

is completed successfully, within budget, on time, and according to the specifications,”

program management is one of the most important functional areas within the DoD’s

acquisition system (Rendon & Snider, 2019, p. 4). For the DoD acquisition system and

acquisition personnel, one main goal is acquiring goods and services to support the

warfighter in defense of the nation. For this purpose, the DAU has developed training

courses that support the development of the program management workforce, consisting

of individuals who support the effective and efficient integration of all functional area

efforts for a successful acquisition (DoD, 2019). Within these training requirements, the

three levels of certification have “assignment types” that guide personnel to the courses

that are required for each level and assignment type. For program management, the

assignment type activities change as the certification levels increase. Appendix A is the

DAU catalog, which gives the training, education, and experience required for certification

of the three levels for program management. Table 1 shows the percentages of the program

management career field within each Service.

Table 1. Uniformed Defense Acquisition Program Management Workforce

by Service

Appendix A describes the DAWIA-specified courses that a PM would need to take

to receive a certification, which is then further broken down by assignment types. The

assignment types separate the type of procurement the PM would be managing, specifically

weapons system, services, or business management systems/information technology. Each

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -16 -

Naval Postgraduate School

assignment type has representative activities that give task descriptions as examples of

what the PM would be doing in that assignment. Each DAWIA certification level is

assigned courses with training, education, and experience requirements. Each of the three

certification levels has Core Standards courses, which are mandatory, and Core Plus

courses, which are suggested to enhance the knowledge of the PM in that specific area. For

each DAWIA certification level, there are listed training course numbers and titles, and

then each assignment type indicates whether a PM would need to take that specific training

course to receive certification. After each listed training course, at each certification level,

education and experience requirements are listed. The one significant difference between

the certification levels is that at Level III, a PM has to have “at least 24-semester hours

from among accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics,

industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and

management” in order to achieve certification (DAU, n.d.). Along with the DAWIA

certification, each service has slightly different definitions of what a PM is and does, as

well as different training and experience requirements for their PMs.

1. Army

The Army identifies its military officer acquisition workforce with the designator

of 51 (U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center [USAASC], 2020). Uniformed PMs in the

Army are designated as 51As and are responsible for the management of a program’s cost

schedule, performance, risk assessment, mitigation, and test and evaluation (USAASC,

2020). Throughout the life cycle of a program, Army PMs manage the efforts and

interaction of the government and industry partners (USAASC, 2020). The uniformed

officers assigned as PMs for the Army are required to maintain current DAWIA

certifications specific to the career field, as well as the type of acquisition assignment, as

depicted in Appendix A (USAASC, 2020). Army uniformed officers apply for the Army

Acquisition Corps as “senior captain [s] or major level [officers] who are branch-

qualified,” and it is recommended that they have at least 24 undergraduate business hours

so that the Army can train and retain the highest quality personnel for the Army Acquisition

Corps (Gambles et al., 2009, p. 26). Once Army officers enter the Acquisition Corps and

are assigned a functional area (51A for PM or 51C for KO) the focused functional training

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -17 -

Naval Postgraduate School

begins, transitioning them from generalists to specialists (Gambles et al., 2009). Aside from

DAU and DAWIA certifications, uniformed Acquisition Corps officers are required to

maintain a current level professional military development as well as continued learning

points throughout the remainder of their career (Gambles et al., 2009). The Army

additionally has a U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) that provides

individuals with career decision assistance, education on legislative and regulatory

requirements, and awareness (Carroll & Hicks, 2018). Figure 3 is the current Army

Acquisition Corps career path model that the Army recommends all PMs, who are

members of the Army Acquisition Corps, follow.

Figure 3. Army Acquisition Corp Career Timeline. Adapted from DA

(2010).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -18 -

Naval Postgraduate School

2. Air Force

The Air Force identifies its program managers as acquisition managers in the

acquisition utilization field, with the AFSC of 63AX (Air Force Personnel Center [AFPC],

2012). For brevity and to maintain consistency, the acquisition managers for the Air Force

are identified as PMs. In the Air Force PMs plan, organize, and direct acquisition

management activities (Department of the Air Force [DoAF], 2012). According to the

Acquisition Managers: Career Field Education and Training Plan publication, PMs

manage acquisition programs, covering every aspect of the acquisition process (DoAF,

2012). PMs also develop, review, coordinate, and execute acquisition plans to support daily

operations, contingencies, and warfighting capabilities (DoAF, 2012). For the Air Force,

the acquisition management career field is a combination of Office of the Secretary of

Defense (OSD) mandated certification training, run by the DAU, and additional Core Plus

recommended training for specific types of assignments that support Air Force continuous

learning requirements (DoAF, 2012). For uniformed PMs, the career path begins at Second

Lieutenant (O-1), but some officers cross over into the career field at Captain (O-3 grade)

after they complete their primary development training (DoAF, 2012). Like the Army, the

DAU courses are the main component of the training for Air Force PMs. However, the Air

Force has the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), which provides courses that earn

DAU equivalencies that meet Level I DAWIA certification requirements (DoAF, 2012).

PMs in the Air Force, for their first assignment to the AWF, are expected to build depth

through technical experience and develop skills as a project manager and acquisition

specialist (DoAF, 2012). Figure 4 is the current AF PM which the AF career path

progression model that all AF 63As follow.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -19 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 4. Air Force PM Career Path. Source: DoAF (2012).

3. Navy

Uniformed PMs in the Navy have a designator of AAX, which is called their

additional qualification designator (AQD). The first two alphanumeric characters (AA) of

the AQD are the same for the program management Navy officer at all levels. The third

character (X) indicates assignment responsibility and officer certification level (Navy

Personnel Command, 2020). The Navy is not unique in its PM responsibilities; however,

it is unique in how it identifies the experience for the officer. An officer can hold only one

AAX AQD at a time (i.e., AA2 supersedes AA1). The Navy recognizes officers from the

grades of W-2 to O-9 as being eligible for DAWIA Levels I to III, or AA1, AA2, and AA3.

The qualifications can be held indefinitely by either active or reserve components. The

ability for reservists to hold the qualifications is important for manpower and the filling of

critical billets, because with AWF shortages sometimes there is not an adequate number of

active-duty officers to fill the positions. Once a Navy officer obtains the Level III

certification (AA3), there are opportunities to fill the program management AQD coded

billets of AAC and AAK for critical and key positions, respectively. Officers in the O-4 to

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -20 -

Naval Postgraduate School

O-9 pay grade are eligible for the AAC qualification, and those in the O-5 to O-9 pay grade

are eligible for the AAK qualification (Navy Personnel Command, 2020). Another qualifier

to fill either the AAC or AAK billets is to have the APM code, which means the individual

is “fully qualified” in the respective career field. The AAC and AAK qualifications are

awarded upon assignment to a billet, whereas AA1 to AA3 are given upon completion of

a given task, such as coursework or experience time.

In the Navy, there is no guarantee that an individual will progress from AA1 to

AAC/K. After all, experience is driven by time in a certain billet, and the billet must be

coded for the PM AQD. To go from AA1 to AAC/K, a Navy officer will have to be

assigned to as many as six billets over 12 years considering the sea-to-shore rotation

schedule and an average tour length of 24 months (Navy Personnel Command, 2019). The

2018 GAO study entitled, Defense Acquisition Workforce: Opportunities exist to improve

practices for developing program manager, recognized that while the Navy does have a

career roadmap and detailed description of skills and competencies needed for the PMs

who supports aircraft, it does not have these tools for PMs who support surface ships

(GAO, 2018). The lack of clear guidance for career field advancement and periodic breaks

in job experience result in either stagnation at a current certification level or prolonged time

to obtain a higher certification level. Figure 5 displays the recommended career path for

the Navy AWF which was recommended from a previous NPS thesis, Modeling the

Department of Navy Acquisition Workforce with System Dynamics written by Joe Everling,

Liz Rosa, Altyn Clark, and David Ford in 2017. The Navy currently does not have an

officially recognized career path for its uniformed acquisition workforce personnel.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -21 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 5. Recommended Career Path for Navy AWF. Source: Everling et al.

(2017).

4. Marine Corps

Marines uniquely identify their uniformed personnel with only a four-digit number,

called a military occupational specialty (MOS), and no letters. Uniformed PMs in the

Marine Corps have four MOS designations: 8057, 8058, 8059, and 8061. Warrant Officers

and Limited Duty Officers are assigned only the 8060 MOS and are considered acquisition

specialists in the AWF. The Marines’ designators essentially identify officers’ level of

experience and are only held while in certain positions, called areas of functional expertise

(Marine Corps System Command [MCSC], n.d.-a). The 8057 designation is acquired by

O-1 to O-3 officers and is distinctly named “acquisition professional candidates” to

indicate their positions as “associates” in the project office (Department of the Navy

[DoN], 2015). The MCSC acquisition officer candidates “assist in planning, directing,

coordinating, and supervising specific functional areas that pertain to the acquisition of

equipment or weapons” (MCSC, Acquisition MOS, n.d.). The 8058 MOS is considered the

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -22 -

Naval Postgraduate School

“acquisition management officer” and the officer must be a Major (O-4) or higher (DoN,

2015). According to Marine Corps System Command “the assignment of MOS 8058

identifies the completion of statutory requirements for acceptance into the Defense

Acquisition Corps (DAC)” (MCSC, n.d.). The 8059 and 8061 MOS designators are the

acquisition management professionals and are assigned to the aviation and ground system

acquisition process respectively (DoN, 2019c). The acquisition management professional

can be as junior as a Major (O-4) select to as senior as a Colonel (O-6). The acquisition

management professional is “accountable for taking requirements from concept

exploration to development of an operational piece of equipment” (MCSC, Acquisition

MOS, n.d.). Figure 6 is the recommended PM career path for uniformed Marine Corps

PMs, retrieved from MCSC.

Figure 6. USMC Acquisition Officer Career Roadmap. Source: Marine

Corps System Command (n.d.-c)

B. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Contracting Officers (KOs), who fall within the AWF, work closely with PMs. KOs

are responsible for ensuring the performance of all necessary actions for the effective

execution of contracting actions while also safeguarding the interests of the U.S.

government (Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, 2012). The term

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -23 -

Naval Postgraduate School

contract manager embodies the responsibilities of the contracting officer, and therefore

can be used interchangeably. The contractor and KO are the “two hands that shake” in a

government contract and are the personnel on both sides of the agreement that are

responsible for the successful completion of the contract (Lohier & Johnson, 2019). The

KO, hereafter referred to as CM in this research, manages contracts from conception to

completion and is the primary government official responsible for ensuring compliance

with contractual agreements (Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy,

2012). The National Contract Management Association (NCMA; 2019) defines contract

management as

The actions of a contract manager to develop solicitations, develop offers,

form contracts, perform contracts, and close contracts. It is a specialized

profession with broad responsibilities that include managing contract

features such as deliverables, deadlines, and contract terms and conditions.

(p. 6)

Currently, and for many years prior, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

has identified contract management as a high-risk area for the DoD. The DoD obligates

hundreds of billions of dollars annually on contracts for goods and services, roughly two-

thirds of the DoD annual budget (GAO, 2019b). One of the major areas identified as high

risk by the GAO is the AWF specifically AWF personnel’s skill level, because a skilled

AWF is vital to maintaining military readiness and saving the DoD money (GAO, 2019b).

The DAU is responsible for training of contract management personnel, with the individual

Service components providing additional service-specific training. Just as with program

management, the DAU has come up with specific training course requirements to support

the development of CMs. Contract management also currently has three levels of

certification and 10 different assignment types that dictate what courses are required for

certification, which is detailed in Appendix B. Appendix B provides the DAU catalog that

gives the training, education and experience required for certification of the three levels for

contract management. Table 2 shows the percentages of the contract management career

field within each Service.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -24 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 2. Uniformed Defense Acquisition Contract Management Workforce

by Service

Appendix B contains the contracting core curriculum that covers all three

certification levels, broken down by certification levels and assignment types. Contract

management differs from program management in the assignment types because there are

10 different assignments, though the representative activities do not change across the

certification levels as they do for PMs. Each level for CMs has specified Core courses that

are taught through distance learning or in residence. These required Core Standards courses

are supplemented with Core Plus courses that are designed to deliver assignment type

specific training for each functional area. Each DAWIA certification level for contract

management has different experience requirements, and for education. CMs are required

to hold baccalaureate degrees. However, since the 2020 NDAA was published, the 24-

semester hours in business courses are no longer required for Level I and Level II

certification (NDAA, 2019). As with PMs, the services have slightly different definitions

of what a CM is and does, as well as different training and experience requirements for

their CMs.

1. Army

The Army identifies its military officer acquisition workforce with the designator

of 51 (USAASC, 2020). Contract management in the Army is designated as 51C. KOs

work with the PMs to make determinations on contract awards supporting the acquisition

programs that the PMs manage (USAASC, 2020). KOs can work on acquisitions for the

warfighter, systems, or service contracting and within the Army Corps of Engineers, the

Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA),

or at any level of Army operations (USAASC, 2020). Along with a PM, a uniformed

officer’s career as a CM usually begins as a Captain (O3), when officers are selected for

the acquisition branch within the Army (Gambles et al., 2009). Similar to PMs, KOs also

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -25 -

Naval Postgraduate School

are required to maintain the DAU and DAWIA certifications for the career field, as well as

the type of acquisition assignment they hold (Gambles et al., 2009). Uniformed Army KOs

are also required to concurrently maintain current level professional military development

as well as continued learning points that support their career assignment (Gambles et al.,

2009). Army KOs also have the support of the U.S. Acquisition Support Center (USAASC)

for assistance with career decisions, legislative and regulatory requirements education, and

awareness of the changes within the AWF (Carroll et al., 2018). Figure 7 is the current

Army Acquisition Corps career path model, that the Army recommends all CMs, who are

part of the Army Acquisition Corps, follow.

Figure 7. Army Acquisition Corp Career Timeline. Adapted from DA

(2010).

2. Air Force

The Air Force identifies its contracting uniformed personnel as “contracting” in the

“contracting utilization field” and with the AFSC of 64PX (AFPC, 2012). Within this

research, for brevity and to maintain consistency, the contracting uniformed personnel for

the Air Force are identified as contracting managers (CMs). The Air Force trains its

uniformed acquisition officers beginning when they initially commission, specializing

them in their functional discipline. This is one of the main differences between the Air

Force and the other services (DoAF, 2014, p. 41). The Air Force creates technical

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -26 -

Naval Postgraduate School

specialists, where the other services create generalists before transitioning them to

specialists later in their careers. In the contract management field, from Second Lieutenant

(O-1) to Colonel (O-6), uniformed acquisition officers are submerged in the AWF from

day one. The Air Force has its uniformed AWF personnel complete the DAU’s required

certifications, which are required for acquisition professionals by DAWIA, but it also

supplements additional learning specific to the Air Force. The Air Force has also developed

specific courses to augment the DAU courses with additional information on Air Force

specific processes and methodologies, providing a working knowledge of key functional

disciplines and the Defense Acquisition System (Aufderheide et al., 2011). As Air Force

officers progress in rank they are provided career development within the contract

management field. The Air Force deliberately develops its acquisition professionals along

well-defined career path models designed to provide the experience, education, and

training necessary to execute positions of higher authority (Aufderheide et al., 2011).

Figure 8 is the current AF CMs career path progression model that all AF 63As follow.

Figure 8. Air Force PM Career Path. Source: DoAF (2012).

3. Navy

Uniformed KOs in the Navy have a designator of ACX as their AQD. The first two

alphanumeric characters (AC) of the AQD are the same for the contracting Navy officer at

all levels. The third character (X) indicates assignment responsibility and officer

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -27 -

Naval Postgraduate School

certification level (Navy Personnel Command, 2020). The Navy is not unique in the

responsibilities of the KO; however, it is unique in how it identifies the experience for the

officer, and an officer can hold only one ACX AQD at a time (i.e., AC2 supersedes AC1).

The Navy recognizes officers from the ranks of W-2 to O-9 as being eligible for DAWIA

Levels I to III, or AC1, AC2, and AC3, respectively. The qualifications can be held

indefinitely by either active or reserve components. The ability to allow reservists to hold

the qualifications is important for manpower planning and the filling of critical billets when

there is not an adequate number of active duty officers to fill the positions. Once a Navy

officer obtains the Level III certification (AC3) there are opportunities to fill the ACC and

ACK billets. Similar to program management, for contract management, the ACC

qualifications are available for eligible O-4 to O-9 uniformed officers, and the ACK

qualifications are available for eligible O-5 to O-9 uniformed officers, where ACC is for

“critical” billets and the ACK is for “key” billets (Navy Personnel Command, 2020).

Another qualifier to fill either the ACC or ACK billets is to have the APM code, which

means the individual is “fully qualified” in the respective career field. The ACC and ACK

qualifications are awarded upon assignment to a billet, whereas AC1 to AC3 are given

upon completion of a given task, such as coursework or experience time. In the Navy, there

is no guarantee that an individual will progress from AC1 to ACC/K. After all, acquisition

experience is driven by time in a certain billet, and the billet must be coded for the KO

AQD. To go from AC1 to ACC/K, a Navy officer will have to be assigned to as many as

six billets over 12 years considering the sea-to- shore rotation schedule and an average tour

length of 24 months (Navy Personnel Command, 2011). Figure 9 is the Navy Supply Corps

Career Progression path that Navy KOs use, as there is no recognized career path for Navy

KOs.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -28 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 9. Navy Supply Corps Career Progression Path. Source: Office of

Supply Corps Personnel (2011).

4. Marine Corps

Uniformed KOs in the Marine Corps have one MOS designation for officers: 3006.

The 3006 MOS is a unique designator for the services. Where the other services’ KOs

could be considered generalists in what contracts they help to administer, the 3006 MOS

is specifically for contingency contracting. Also, only Captains (O-3) or those selected for

career designation as a First Lieutenant (O-2) can be selected for the 3006 MOS (DoN,

2015). Another unique feature of the 3006 MOS is what may be called a transitory feature

of the Marine’s experience. This means that upon completion of the contingency

contracting tour, the Marine is eligible to transition to 8057 MOS, acquisition professional

candidate, and 8058 MOS, acquisition management officer, for further career progression

(NAVMC 1200.1A). Currently the Marine Corps does not have an official or

recommended career path for KOs, as 3006 MOS is not a recognized PMOS.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -29 -

Naval Postgraduate School

C. SUMMARY

The founding of the DAU, as required by DAWIA, and subsequent changes to the

AWF have greatly impacted the way that uniformed PMs and CMs are trained and educated

across the services. The AWF is “charged with providing DoD with the management,

technical, and business capabilities needed to execute the defense acquisition programs

from start to finish” (Gates et al., 2018, p. xi). Due to the mid-1990 drawdown of the AWF

and the buildup since 2009, it is important that decision-makers understand where DoD-

wide human capital shortages or surpluses may be developing so that they can normalize

those gaps and surpluses (Gates et al., 2018).

During the drawdown of 1990, the DoD ensured highly qualified AWF personnel

were identified by establishing the elite, membership only, Acquisition Corps (Assistant

Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, n.d.). To be a member of

the AC, there are certain rank, education, and experience requirements must be met (see

Figure 10). To be a member of the AC, a uniformed member must be an O-4 or above and

have a bachelor’s degree, 24 semester hours in business courses, and at least 4 years of

acquisition experience (DON, 2019a). Initially, all services had their own AC with varying

membership requirements, and it was not until 2005 that DoD Directive 5000.52

consolidated the separate component ACs into a single Defense Acquisition Corps

(Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, n.d.). The

consolidation accomplished several things. First, it created a pool of highly qualified

personnel to fill critical acquisition positions (CAPs) and key leadership positions (KLPs).

Secondly, as stated by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Research Development and

Acquisition, “AC membership in any component was recognized by all DoD components”

(Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition, n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -30 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 10. Acquisition Corps Requirements. Adapted from DON (2019a)

Because uniformed AWF officer’s turn over at a higher rate than AWF civilians,

an understanding of the similarities and differences in the training, experience, and

education across the services is paramount (Gates et al., 2018). This is vital because in the

instance that a uniformed AWF member is brought into the Joint program office

environment, that member will have similar levels of experience, education, and training

with other services to avoid management challenges and not meeting cost, schedule, or

performance requirements of a program.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -31 -

Naval Postgraduate School

III. LITERATURE REVIEW

This literature review studies the common literature published about the AWF from

1996 to 2020. It covers several themes, such as training, education, and experience. The

literature reviewed consists of Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, RAND

reports, Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, DoD Instructions, DoD Doctrines,

and regulations and publications from each of the services (Army, Air Force, Navy and

Marine Corps). Also included are previously published Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)

master’s theses and a few articles published in quarterly magazines, such as Army AT&L

and Contract Management Magazine.

The governing document for education and training of the AWF is the Defense

Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act of 1990, which created the DAU and established

education and training requirements for acquisition personnel within the DoD (Defense

Acquisition Workforce [DAW], 2019). The law, titled Defense Acquisition Workforce, is

updated with amendments as requirements change over time. Moreover, 10 U.S.C. 1701

states that the Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition,

Technology, and Logistics, will “establish policies and procedures for the effective

management (including accession, education, training, and career development) of persons

serving in acquisition positions in the Department of Defense,” as well as ensure that

“acquisition workforce policies and procedures … are uniform in their implementation

throughout the Department of Defense” (DAW, 2019). Furthermore, 10 U.S.C. 1748 also

specifies that there are standards that will demonstrate competence in the area in which

AWF personnel receive training, criteria that must be met for the training to be considered

complete (DAW, 2019). As of 2019, 10 U.S.C. 1701 states that a certification program will

be created that “shall be based on standards developed by a third-party accredited program

based on nationally or internationally recognized standards” (DAW, 2019). Congress

recognized that improvements in the way the DoD handled acquisitions were needed.

Therefore, the enacted laws required that there must be education standards and

certification requirements that need to be met, and that nonservice specific universities

would create a curriculum for the entire DoD to follow. It is essential to understand what

is required, by law, in the education and training of AWF personnel. The following

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -32 -

Naval Postgraduate School

publications were analyzed for symmetry among the services’ AWF practices to create to

a model career path framework for each Service to consider implementing.

A. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

According to Layton’s (2007) The Defense Acquisition University: Training

Professionals for the Acquisition Workforce, 1992–2003, 10 U.S.C. specifies the DAU as

a third-party accredited program and develops standards and courses for DoD certification

requirements. Layton’s (2007) book provided the history of the DAU, starting with the

legislation that founded the DAU, until 2003, when the DAU had been operating and

instructing students for a few years and its reputation as a premier corporate university was

solid. Layton (2007) explained how the DAU was created to train the DoD acquisition

personnel as professionals and how the DAU was meant to be the training center for entire

DoD acquisition community. Still, this achievement would not come without significant

and constant adjustment to the university and the training program, like the delivery

method and content of the training. Layton further discusses how the defense acquisition

community went through a redesign early in the DAU’s history, that focused on creating

professional career paths for the community that led to “career development programs,

certification standards, and research and publication capabilities” (Layton, 2007, p. 16).

Layton discusses the corporate enterprise structure of the DAU that led to the establishment

of a precise curriculum that was aimed at meeting DAWIA certification standards, which

led to the DAU’s recognition as a “best in class” corporate university for acquisition

professionals (2007, p. 119).

The Air Force utilizes the Contracting: Career Field Education and Training Plan

(CFETP) to manage the training and education of its contract management officers. The

CFETP for the Air Force Specialty Code (ASFC) 64PX career field is called CFETP 64X

(DoAF, 2014). The CFTEP 64PX highlights the education and training required of Air

Force CMs, which each CM follows to become fully qualified contracting professionals

within the Air Force (DoAF, 2014). This document also allows individual CMs and their

commanders to build a personalized career path with the institutional information the

CFTEP provides. This training and education plan starts at the entry-level 64P1 and

continues to the qualified 64P3 CM, and then goes on to the 64P4 staff-level CM. It also

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -33 -

Naval Postgraduate School

emphasizes the importance of what the DoAF states is “adequate training and timely

progression” of CMs and the importance this plays in the Air Force at large (DoAF, 2014,

p. 20). The CFETP is broken down into a three-stage development model that the DoAF

(2014) claims “expound [s] on the occupational competencies, career development

opportunities, APDP [Acquisition Professional Development Program] requirements, and

AFSC levels within each of the three development stages” (p. 20). The APDP is how the

Air Force implements the DAWIA certification requirements within the acquisition career

fields of the Air Force. The three stages of the CFETP development model are tactical,

operational, and strategic, all of which are designed to provide experience and build

contracting competencies in the CMs.

Similar to CFETP 64PX, CFETP 63AX & 1101 provides training and education

information for PMs in the Air Force (DoAF, 2012). The significant difference from the

CFETP 64PX is that it applies to the uniformed officer PM as well as the civilian PM who

works for the Air Force. This plan is used as a training roadmap for Air Force acquisition

personnel that “identifies mandatory qualification and training certification requirements

acquisition managers must receive during their time” in the career field (DoAF, 2012, p.

1). The CFETP 63AX & 1101 is broken into two parts, the first of which provides necessary

information on the management of the career field, and the second of which is used at the

unit level to “identify, plan, and conduct training” for PMs at all levels and types of

commands within the Air Force (DoAF, 2012, p. 1). There are three levels in the program

management career field for the Air Force: entry level (1 to 3 years), intermediate/qualified

level (4 to 10 years), and staff or senior level (beyond 10 years). The Air Force Officer

Classification Directory (AFOCD) specifies that if an officer begins at entry-level

acquisition management (which equates to a PM), it is desirable for the officer first to be

assigned to another unitization field whenever possible (AFPC, 2012). Those that begin in

program management should seek, according to the AFPC, “a subsequent assignment in

another unitization field followed by a return to the acquisition program management

career field” to gain a broader perspective of the interaction between program management

and other types of commands (AFPC, 2007, p. 191).

Unlike the Air Force, the Army does not have a CFETP to guide acquisition

personnel through training and education requirements. Still, the Department of the Army

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -34 -

Naval Postgraduate School

(DA) Pamphlet 600-3, Officer Professional Development and Career Management, is used

for this purpose (DA, 2010). DA Pamphlet 600-3 serves as a professional development

guide and covers the full range of opportunities for the successful development of a career

as an Army officer. DA Pamphlet 600-3 that its purpose is to “focus the development and

career management of all officers of the United States Army” (DA, 2010, p. 1). Chapter 42

of the DA pamphlet covers acquisition officers, including the acquisition career field

(ACF) for PMs (called ACFA) and CMs (called ACFC), and goes over the required

characteristics and development of regular active component AAC officers; it also covers

the reserve component of the Army AAC officers (DA, 2010). Within Chapter 42 are the

purpose, functions, and career specializations of the Army Acquisition Officer. The Army

AAC officer is expected to “develop functional expertise” in two or more of the ACFs and

expand their expertise by “different and unique assignments” throughout their careers (DA,

2010, p. 391). ACF officers are expected to seek and gain experience in several different

areas of acquisitions through their job and not remain single-tracked in their professional

development. The DA pamphlet goes into further detail about the duties of the ACFs,

certification requirements within the ACFs, and professional and self-development

requirements for officers.

Just like the Air Force and the Army, the Navy uses the Department of the Navy

(DoN) Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Operating Guide (DoN,

2019a), which provides “policy, guidance, and tools to assist DoN Acquisition Workforce

(AWF) members in planning and accomplishing their acquisition career goals” (DoN,

2019a, p. 1). The DoN DAWIA Operating Guide assists members of the Navy who would

like to become members of the AWF and guides current members of the DoN AWF in

ensuring compliance with DAWIA and DoD policies. For all levels of DAWIA

certification, the DoN DAWIA Operating Guide describes certification levels and

requirements across the training, education, and experience factors. This is a quick

reference guide for DoN AWF members that consolidates DAWIA and DoD requirements

in one location.

On the other hand, the Marine Corps NAVMC 1200.1E (DON, 2019c) gives basic

descriptions of all MOSs within the Marine Corps. Within the NAVMC 1200.1E, there are

summaries of the duties and responsibilities of the five different MOSs associated with

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -35 -

Naval Postgraduate School

officers assigned to the PM field and the one MOS assigned to KOs in the contract

management field (DoN, 2019b). This document also gives the general prerequisites and

the requirements for each respective MOS (DoN, 2019b). If there is an aspect of training,

education, or experience that is not covered by DAWIA, the Marine Corps, as a department

of the Navy, would adhere to Navy training to fill the gaps in Marine Corps publications.

B. GOVERNMENT REPORTS

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the proverbial “congressional

watchdog” whose main priority is to examine how taxpayer dollars are spent by

governmental agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD). The GAO is a priority

resource for research on how well a process in federal agencies is conducted and is trusted

to be a nonpartisan, independent agency. The GAO website contains over 712 AWF-related

reports and testimonies from January 2000 to July 2020. The challenge with the GAO

reports is that they are rarely focused on active-duty military. Specifically, the GAO reports

concerning the AWF are more than likely referring to the civilian and active duty military

as a group. This is a concern because the importance of investigating the differences

between services is lost to the researchers without substantive research that extrapolates

how certain policies impact active-duty military.

Opportunities Exist to Improve Practices for Developing Program Managers

(GAO-18-217) is one of the 712 reports and testimonies related to acquisitions accessible

on the GAO website (GAO, 2018). Congress commissioned the GAO to provide a

comparison of how the private sector trains, mentors, retains, and selects its PMs and

whether the DoD could learn from the successes as well as the failures in this area (GAO,

2018). The GAO (2018) found that there are 10 critical practices for training, mentoring,

retaining, and ultimately selecting skilled PMs. This report also found that the services

aligned extensively with four of the practices (see Figure 11), but with the other six, not all

services aligned completely, if at all. The report is telling of not only how aligned the DoD

is with best practices in the private sector, but also how dissimilar the services are to each

other.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -36 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 11. Leading Practices by Military Services. Source: GAO (2018).

The 2011 GAO report, Better Identification, Development, and Oversight Needed

for Personnel Involved in Acquiring services (GAO-11-892), identified that more than half

of the 430 personnel involved in 29 Service acquisition contracts were, in fact, non-

DAWIA-qualified personnel (GAO, 2011). In some cases, it is not necessary to be

DAWIA-qualified to contribute to successful service acquisitions. The report indicates,

however, that there is a shortfall somewhere in certified new hires. Non-DAWIA-qualified

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -37 -

Naval Postgraduate School

personnel, usually requirements officials, were put in positions that require DAWIA

certification. The GAOs (2011) recommendation to the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF)

was to “establish criteria and a timeframe for identifying non-DAWIA personnel with

acquisition-related responsibilities, including requirements officials” (GAO, 2011, p. 22).

The DoD pushed this recommendation to the Service Chiefs by establishing the

Acquisition of services Functional Integrated Product Team (FIPT) in August 2012 (GAO,

2013). The Air Force, along with OSD and DAU representatives, were the only Service to

implement a pilot program in 2016 to identify individuals in roles that require DAWIA

certifications but did not hold certification while in those position (GAO, 2019d). However,

since the release of the GAO (2019d) report, there have been no other programs or

implementations. The research on the need for qualified acquisition professionals to be

provided with key or critical positions to gain experience is not exact, but it can be gleaned

from the services’ personnel and workforce status reports that those positions exist but are

not necessarily filled with the right people. Even with non-DAWIA staff in acquisition

roles, the report drove the DoD to complete a services acquisition competency crosswalk,

which identified competencies that personnel with acquisition-related responsibilities

should have and courses to obtain these competencies (GAO, 2011). In 2017, the DoD

Handbook for the Training and Development of the services Acquisition Workforce

incorporated the findings of the crosswalk.

Information on Workforce, Organizational Structure, and Budgeting for Selected

Programs (GAO-19-209) is the latest report from the GAO concerning the makeup or

composition of the AWF, at least for 11 DoD MDAPs major defense acquisition programs

(GAO, 2019a). The report gives insight into the priorities of manning specific programs

and how technical development or the stage of the program within the acquisition life cycle

influences the workforce size and composition. Another influence of workforce size and

mix is the use of contractor support. According to the 2019 report, in an audit from

November 2018 to March 2019, it was identified that contractor support was usually

provided to augment DoD military and civilian personnel because of an increase in

workload, to provide a technical skill that was lacking, or to do work on a project that was

too short in duration to justify hiring someone permanent (GAO, 2019a). There are several

factors that the GAO highlights in this report, but there is only one factor that is relevant

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -38 -

Naval Postgraduate School

to this research. The GAO report indicates that every Service the Navy, Army, and Air

Force has the means to provide PMs and KOs from support organizations particular to their

Service. The Navy has Navy Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and Naval Air Warfare

Center Aircraft Division to pull engineering expertise for various projects; the Army has

the Army Contracting Command for contracting functions; and the Air Force has its

support organization in the Life Cycle Management Center (GAO, 2019a). The personnel

from these support centers are not staffed at a particular program but are shared among

many organizations, very similar to what could be called a matrix organization. Officials

at the support centers control the pool of experts. Interestingly, there is no indication of a

blending or Joint support center of acquisition specialists. In other words, can a contracting

officer from the Army Contracting Command be loaned out to an Air Force program? The

GAO report does specify that military positions are centrally budgeted by the respective

military department’s military personnel appropriations act.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, research organization that

cooperates with or is commissioned by policy makers to develop solutions impacting

security, health, and education, among other issues, worldwide. In 2018, the RAND

Corporation, through its National Defense Research Institute, prepared Analyses of the

Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce for the Office of the Secretary of Defense

(Gates et al., 2018). The 2018 report is an update to previous analyses conducted first in

Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 and again in FY 2011. The report’s audience is any official

responsible for the acquisition of workforce planning and management in the DoD.

Specifically, RAND’s report found several trends during its decades-long study (Gates et

al., 2018). First, the DoD AWF has grown steadily over the past decade with a

concentration in the civilian sector. Second, the current staff consists mainly of younger,

better educated personnel, stemming from an uptick of baby boomer retirees and the fact

that the DoD hires from outside rather than from within. Third, when comparing the

civilian AWF to the DoD-wide civilian workforce, the attrition rates remain lower in the

former. Figure 12 shows the change in numbers over time of the AWF broken down by

civilian and military members.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -39 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 12. Overall AWF Total. Source: Human Capital Initiatives (2020).

The final two points are pertinent to the research at hand. The RAND report states

the size of the military AWF has remained steady from FY2006 through the FY2017 study,

yet increasingly more turnover takes place than with its civilian counterparts in the AWF.

Lastly, according to the 2018 RAND report, program management roles are more likely to

be filled by military AWF members than civilian equivalents.

C. JOURNAL ARTICLES

A peer-reviewed article, “The Contracting Officers and Contract Managers of the

Future: Roles that Must Continue to Evolve,” by Jean Marceau Lohier and Brandon J.

Johnson (2019), describes how the current contracting officer pool and the civilian

equivalent contract managers need to change the way they do business to stay relevant in

the future. The authors “assess [ed] the current state of contracting officer/contract manager

relationship and examine [d] possible ways the roles can evolve to better meet the technical

competencies that are re-shaping workforces” (Lohier & Johnson, 2019, p. 32). The

concise article covers a large portion of the responsibilities of the KO according to the

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This article also includes some reasons as to why

the current structure does not work in the current technical environment, such as KOs not

having the knowledge to recommend input to the design or specifics of a requirement in

systems that are tightly controlled by technical fields. Lohier and Johnson (2019) also give

some general recommendations for changing the existing structure of how KOs operate.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -40 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The argument base for this article is that the traditional roles of the contracting officer/

contract manager cannot be relied upon in the future; contracting managers and contract

officers will not only have to be experts in their fields, but they will also need to have an

ample knowledge in a multitude of areas to be successful in managing a contract life cycle

(Lohier & Johnson, 2019).

The Army Acquisition Logistics and Technology (AL&T) magazine, though not

peer-reviewed, publishes articles about the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) and

acquisition career management tips for those in the Army acquisition fields. An article

therein briefly describes the unique roles and responsibilities of officers in Functional Area

(FA) 51 within the AAC (Gambles et al., 2009). FA 51 encompasses the officers that

support the five DoD acquisition career fields within the AAC, where 51A is the designator

for acquisition officers in the program manager career field and 51C is the designator for

acquisition officers in the contract management career field (USAASC, 2020). Two of the

authors, Gambles and Johnson, are the 51A and 51C proponent officers, respectively, for

the USAASC, and Jones is the Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Office of the Assistant

Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (AL&T). With this

article, Gambles et al., (2009) are reinforcing the AAC’s goal of “accessing qualified

personnel, meeting DAWIA/regulatory and statutory requirements, developing trained and

ready leaders, and providing quality education, training, and experiential opportunities” (p.

29). This article offers a guideline for 51A and 51C training and career progression for

officers in the AAC, provided in Figure 13.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -41 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 13. Professional Development Model (Officer). Source: Gambles et al.

(2009).

D. PREVIOUS THESES

The discussion of the placement of a military officer outside of the duties on a

battlefield has been under debate since General George Washington established a purveyor

of public supplies under the direction of the War Department in 1794 (Naval History and

Heritage Command, 2020). The purveyor of public supplies position is now known as the

Navy’s Supply Corps officer. There is no question concerning the importance of this

individual, as well as others of their ilk in the various services, such as general military

officer leadership and everything that comes with operating in wartime or peace. There is

no shortage of NPS master’s degree theses demonstrating the importance of educating,

training, and promoting the officers that come up through the ranks in so-called staff

positions. The arguments researched summarily demonstrate the challenge of establishing

program management or contract management as a permanent position that could be shared

with any Service considering the similar training and educational background of the

individual. The services seem to lack consistent and standard career progression directives

that allow for a PM or KO to be shared with other services without such a specialized or

determinant endeavor being more than likely detrimental, rather than helpful, to an

officer’s career.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -42 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Pasindorubio et al., (2018), in their thesis Marine Corps Acquisition Optimization,

postulated that there was a gap in a comprehensive analysis of how the Marine Corps

conducts contracting and acquisition activities. Pasindorubio et al. (2018) provided four

courses of action that may optimize the acquisition operations of the Marine Corps, one of

which analyzed whether the Marine Corps could benefit from integrating with already

existing contracting programs, such as expanding the use of the Naval Supply System’s

government-wide commercial Purchase Card Program. Here is a scenario where officers

in one Service can learn from and apply policies from another Service that take very few,

if any, changes to put into effect. This process of sharing resources amongst the Service to

maximize gains and efficiencies could be called “blending” or “sharing” of best practices.

It would be assumed that of all the services, the Navy and Marine Corps would share or

blend resources in such specialized fields, considering they fall under the umbrella of the

Department of the Navy. However, more differences must be tapered by the DoD if the

desire is to be increasingly useful in what could be Joint-minded acquisition endeavors.

Tapering of the differences means understanding the differences of the cultures with the

mindset to fill in the gaps of comprehension with similar policies and learned experiences.

Another example of a blending or sharing of best practices was discussed in Kaul

and Wilson’s (2013) thesis titled Qualification Requirement Perceptions of the United

States Army Acquisition Workforce Since Implementation of the Defense Acquisition

Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Kaul and Wilson (2013) revealed how the Army

used the Navy’s Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) system, where on-the-job

training (OJT), mentoring, and qualification are implemented, as a model for its

Acquisition Qualification Standard (AQS). Kaul and Wilson (2013) also found that the

Army’s introduction of the pilot AQS program has brought a meaningful contribution to

the professional development of its acquisition-trained officers above and beyond DAWIA

certification. The authors recognized that professionals in program management and

contracting must demonstrate their knowledge and experience to verify the efficacy of their

function in the acquisition system. Kaul and Wilson’s (2013) thesis was a rare find, but it

goes to show that there are cases of collaboration between the services.

There are two theses that should be highlighted for their contribution to awareness

of contingency contracting in a Joint environment. A 2005 thesis on Joint Contingency

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -43 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Contracting investigated and analyzed how “contingency contracting officers (CCO) can

effectively operate in a Joint contingency environment and validate the Defense Contract

Management Agency (DCMA) entry and exit criteria” (Johnson et al., 2005, p. 1). The

authors recommended creating a Joint Contingency Contracting Command that “would be

tasked with assisting in the creation of the doctrine and policies necessary in conducting

joint contingency contracting organizations” and have the responsibility to “maintain

oversight of the CCO” (Johnson et al., 2005, p. 134). The other thesis, Army Contracting

Command Workforce Model Analysis, authored by Timothy Reed (2010), may very well

be the best work comparing the agencies contracting workload standards (Reed, 2010). The

primary goal of Reed’s (2010) research was to “identify different methods used to assess

workload and staffing in Army contracting organizations as well as in the DoD” (p. 1).

Reed’s (2010) tangential research goal was to:

Identify potential opportunities whereby the existing methodologies can be

used to more accurately capture the amount and nature of the work

performed by contracting organizations to ensure that the complexity of the

work being at various stages within the contract process was reflected in the

workload models, and to ensure that the level and quality of work was

reflected in performance measurement models. (p. 2)

E. ANALYSIS OF REVIEWED LITERATURE

Upon review of the previously published documents, there is clear evidence that

the fields of program management and contract management in the DoD have a deep

history of focusing on training and education. It is further deduced that the same focus

placed on training and education must be applied to the experience of the program

management and contract management professional. It is only in the combination of

consistent training, relevant education, and robust experience that the DoD will gain its

desired AWF excellence. The argument has to be made that if the experience developed in

the officer’s routine career track of the various services is robust enough to deliver on the

promise of completing the missions of the DoD missions effectively and efficiently, then

there would not be concerns that officers were not getting enough experience without gaps

in knowledge. The discussion to follow postulates that the DoD has not used all the tools

at its disposal to fully educate and enrich the program management and contract

management professions. The gathered research thus far has just hinted at the blending or

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -44 -

Naval Postgraduate School

sharing of resources among the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, but there is

much more potential for a radical involvement of shared knowledge. The idea of a Joint

military is not new; however, even among those within the military, the notion of Joint

only comes to mind when discussing a particular agency (e.g., the Defense Contract

Management Agency) or a specific tour of duty, like the Joint Forces Command Naples. If

there were an agent or movement by the services to share their program management and

contract management professionals where they are needed, the synergy could change the

competitive culture and move into a new era of “purple,” another term for Joint, to

distinguish from the traditional colors of the services (navy blue = Navy, black and gold =

Army, sky blue = Air Force, and red = Marines). More dialogue is needed between the

services about how the blending could be possible, considering the legislation and

directives that control how the services are manned. This dialogue is essential in order to

learn from the past and develop a better way forward.

F. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it should be noted that this literature review is not exhaustive of all

research concerning the contracting and program management fields in the DoD. This

research narrowed down the literature that was focused on the training, education, and

experience requirements for AWF personnel in the DoD. During the review of published

literature, there were several prevalent themes uncovered throughout journal articles, DoD

publications, governmental reports, and previous theses. It was discovered that some minor

educational requirements, specifically the need for 24-semester hours in business courses

for KOs to obtain Level I & II DAWIA certification, were lifted. This change was initiated

not to hinder the involvement of individuals into the AWF, but rather to open the AWF up

to more eligible officers with varying backgrounds. This change fosters a more robust

community of professionals in the DoD AWF. The majority of these researched were those

that narrowly focused on a particular Service and its problems with contracting or program

management. These theses provided processes and courses of action that may only apply

to that Service. Only upon further analysis did the researchers identify cases in which a

solution for one Service may apply to other services. That is the focus of this research.

Overall, the literature review revealed that the services generally comply with the DAWIA

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -45 -

Naval Postgraduate School

certification requirements, but the career management of the officers could be more

effectively integrated to produce officers better suited to serve in Joint billets, program

management offices of Joint acquisition programs, or supporting contracting commands.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -46 -

Naval Postgraduate School

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -47 -

Naval Postgraduate School

IV. ANALYSIS

When individuals think about what a career path encompasses, they may think of a

job or profession that has a particular path for achieving or reaching an objective (e.g.,

junior salesman to regional manager). This is true in many cases in the civilian world;

however, this is not entirely true for careers in the military services. For example, an officer

usually starts their career with some degree of formal collegiate education, usually a

bachelor’s degree, that could possibly have nothing to do with their chosen specialty, also

called a career field or occupation.

For each military Service, the choice or selection of an officer to go on either the

Program Manager (PM) career path or the Contracting Officer (KO) career path entails

many factors. These factors are as unique as the individual they apply to and the Service to

which they belong. However, examining the overlay of officer career progression timelines

and positions held reveals some indicators that the services have more in common than

previously presumed. The objective of this chapter is to determine if there are enough

similarities among the services that there may be a recommended universal PM and CM

career path for any service to follow. The primary categories that all other comparisons

flow from in this thesis are education, training, and experience of the officer within the

program management or contract management professions. This chapter includes an

evaluation of the three categories across the program management and contracting career

fields and identifies similarities and differences between the services.

A. EDUCATION

For the purposes of this thesis, the term education refers to obtaining a degree, such

as a baccalaureate or master’s, from an accredited university. Training, on the other hand,

refers to courses designed to further the understanding of a uniformed military member in

areas such as leadership and career enhancing skills and knowledge. All the services follow

the DAWIA certification requirements for program management and contracting. DAWIA

certification has mandatory educational requirements listed under the Core Certification

Standards and further recommended education listed under the Core Plus development

guide. “The Core Plus construct was designed to advance the DoD AT&L competency

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -48 -

Naval Postgraduate School

management model by providing a ‘roadmap’ for the development of acquisition

workforce members beyond the minimum certification standards required for their

position” (“Spotlight on,” p. 64). It can be speculated that the Core Plus development guide

provides a road map to understanding what avenues an officer should take to increase their

competency and competitiveness for key leadership positions (KLP) and critical

acquisition positions (CAP).

1. Program Management

For the program management education requirements for all three levels of

DAWIA certification, a formal education is not required for certification under the Core

certification standards for Level I through Level III. However, Table 3 shows that the

recommended Core Plus development standards there are additional education

recommendations for Level I through Level III. Under the Core Plus development

standards, Level I requires a baccalaureate degree, and Level II requires a master’s degree.

Then, for Level III certification, there are no further educational requirements other than

having 24 semester hours from among accounting, business finance, law, contracts,

purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and

organization and management courses. This 24 semester hours requirement could be

accomplished through a master’s degree program or continuing education courses

throughout the career of the individual. For Level III, the 24 semester hours requirement

can also be substituted with Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support

(DANTES) equivalency exams. DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST) are tests

that cover upper and lower-level baccalaureate credit courses (Military.com, 2020).

Table 3. Core Plus Recommended DAWIA Education. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -49 -

Naval Postgraduate School

a. Army

Since a formal education is not required for DAWIA certification, only 88% of the

Army’s AWF has a higher education degree (USAASC, 2020). The lack of necessity for a

higher degree has not impeded the Army from establishing programs for Functional Area

51 Acquisition (FA 51A) Officers to pursue an advanced degree. The Advanced Civil

Schooling Program is awarded by a bi-annual selection for regular Army officers and offers

a full-time, fully funded master’s or PhD level education at civilian universities (Advanced

Civil Schooling [ACS], 2019). The intent of the higher education is to better prepare the

officer for those positions, such as KLP or CAP, that require higher level education and to

meet the needs of the Army.

According to Army Acquisition Corps pamphlet 600–3, officers qualify for the

Acquisition Corps when they have:

received a Baccalaureate degree at an accredited educational institution

authorized to grant Baccalaureate degrees, with at least 24-semester credit

hours (or the equivalent) of study from an accredited institution of higher

education from among the following disciplines: accounting, business

finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management,

marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management or

equivalent training; or, at least 24-semester credit hours (or the equivalent)

from an accredited institution of higher education in program management

or contracting and 12-semester credit hours (or the equivalent) from such

an institution from among the disciplines listed above. (DA, 2020a, p. 4)

Army officers also are required to have an Individual Development Plan (IDP),

which is used to “track and maintain self-development requirements” (DA, 2020a, p. 4).

The IDP is an outline of specific objectives that an officer is expected to accomplish during

an assignment. One such requirement covered is the 80 continuous learning (CL) point

requirement every 2 years for officers of all ranks in their career field.

b. Air Force

The Air Force has several continuing education programs geared toward creating a

more rounded and operationally prepared officer. The education programs are very similar

to the other services as far as their degree offerings and how attending them will provide

the prerequisite for further DAWIA certification and senior leadership positions. The Air

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -50 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a full-time military duty assignment that provides

a graduate degree in engineering and management (U.S. Air Force, n.d.). AFIT also has an

extension program called the Civilian Institution Program that provides specializations that

is not available at AFIT (U.S. Air Force, n.d.). There are other continuing education

programs that award graduate and undergraduate degrees but are more restricted to a

functional area outside of the program management career field. The Air Force also gives

its intermediate-level program management officers the opportunity to learn from industry

in a 10-month Education with Industry (EWI) program to develop their understanding of

industry-leading companies’ processes and procedures (DoAF, 2012). The EWI program

allows Air Force PMs to learn what initiatives the industry is undertaking and bring them

back to the Air Force for possible implementation, as well as learn how to better interact

with the industries when working with them on acquisition programs.

c. Navy

The Navy is no different from the other services in its emphasis on extended

education for its officers. There is the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA,

that is essentially a Joint higher education bastion that provides master’s degrees and PhDs

in a variety of technical, non-technical, and management curricula. One unique feature of

the Navy’s offerings for graduate education, outside of NPS, is its segregation of the

Unrestricted Line (URL) officers and the Restricted Line (RL) officers with regard to who

can apply for the various programs. For instance, the URL officers are offered the Graduate

Education Voucher (GEV) to earn a fully funded master’s degree at a civilian university.

The GEV is not offered to RL officers such as the staff corps Supply Officer. The Supply

Corps has a program specifically for them, called the 810 program, which authorizes them

to attend a civilian university.

d. Marine Corps

Uniformed program managers in the Marine Corps are similar to PMs in the other

services when it comes to education, as they all have a bachelor’s degree when

commissioning into the Marine Corps. Again, this bachelor’s degree is non-specific to their

career within the service but is a requirement for a Marine to become an officer. The Marine

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -51 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Corps has an annual screening board to select individuals for graduate education

opportunities. This process is an effort to “integrate education into career paths and provide

career planning guidance that capitalizes on education achievements and utilizations while

appropriately retaining highly educated officers” (DoN, 2019c, p. 3). This screening

process allows Marine Corps officers to receive a graduate education at one of the

following institutions: Naval Postgraduate School, Air Force Institute of Technology,

civilian institutions (limited to education and history degrees), and the partially funded

Advanced Civilian School Program (Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs,

2020a). Any of these programs would assist in attaining a master’s degree, which would

make the individual eligible for Level III certification and, once experience and rank

requirements are met, AC membership.

The two MOSs that pertain to PMs in the Marine Corps are 8057 and 8058. The

8057, labeled Acquisition Professional Candidate, can rank from Second Lieutenant to

Colonel, and is not required to be a member in the AC. Both the 8057 and 8058 “must have

a baccalaureate degree from an accredited educational institution” (DON, 2015, p. 1-233).

The 8058, labeled an Acquisition Corps Member or Acquisition Manager, in addition to

the baccalaureate degree,

Must have completed 24-semester credit hours (or academic equivalent) of

study from an accredited institution of higher education from among the

disciplines of accounting, business finance, business law, contracts,

purchasing economics, industrial management marketing, quantitative

methods (math courses applied to business and management such as

statistics, operation research, and mathematics normally taught in schools

of business or management). (DoN, 2015, p. 1-233)

Alternatively, there are some other options to reach the 24 semester hours

educational requirement for 8058s. Those options are

• [To] have at least 24-semester hour (or academic equivalent) of study

from accredited institution of higher education in their primary

acquisition career field along with 12-semester hours (or academic

equivalent) from the business/management disciplines listed above.

(DON, 2015, p. 1-233)

• Or, to complete coursework or degree programs from an accredited

institution of higher education; applying American Council on

Education (ACE) recommended semester-hour credits if documented in

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -52 -

Naval Postgraduate School

the student’s transcript; and passing score on DANTES examinations

may be substituted for semester credit hours. (DON, 2015, p. 1-233)

As seen in Figure 14, to begin as a PM in the Marine Corps uniformed officers meet

the educational requirements as soon as they are commissioned. However, the assignment

as a PM, or 8057, does not begin until they are a senior First Lieutenant or Captain and

complete their basic MOS training.

Figure 14. Marine Corps Program Management Career Education

Requirements. Adapted from Marine Corps System Command (n.d.-c).

2. Contract Management

As previously discussed, the minimum education requirement for all services in the

contracting specialty is a baccalaureate degree, as shown in Table 4. The baccalaureate

degree requirement is automatically met by all uniformed military officers because, in

order to receive a commission, an individual has to hold an undergraduate degree from an

accredited higher education institution.

Table 4. Contracting Core and Core Plus Recommended DAWIA

Education. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -53 -

Naval Postgraduate School

a. Army

Army officers qualify eligibility for the Acquisition Corps when they have a

baccalaureate degree at an accredited educational institution authorized to grant

baccalaureate degrees, with at least 24 semester hours (or the equivalent) of study from an

accredited institution of higher education from among the following disciplines:

accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial

management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management or

equivalent training; or at least 24 semester hours (or the equivalent) from an accredited

institution of higher education in program management or contracting and 12 semester

hours (or the equivalent) from such an institution from among the disciplines listed

previously. Just like Army PMs, Army KOs are also required to have and follow an IDP.

b. Air Force

KOs in the Air Force are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited

higher education school, based on the requirements from DAWIA. The Air Force requires

that all contracting related education take place through the DAU, in line with the three

certification levels (DoAF, 2014). The Air Force also requires its KOs to earn 80

continuous learning (CL) points every 2 years to maintain currency in the contracting field,

in accordance with DoDI 5000.66 (DoAF, 2014). These continuous learning courses “will

offer officers exposure to a significant amount of task related materials” (DoAF, 2014, p.

21). “The Core Plus Development Guides shown in the DAU iCatalog outline which CL

courses are most applicable to a particular type of assignment” (DoAF, 2014, p. 48). The

Air Force encourages its KOs to gain a master’s degree early on in their careers because a

KO “can apply skills and knowledge gained to [their] job related responsibilities” (DoAF,

2014, p. 36). Additionally, the longer a KO stays in the Air Force, the greater their

responsibilities and expectations become, so completing a master’s degree as a junior

officer is encouraged (DoAF, 2014). A master’s degree can be completed by attending NPS

through the Air Force sponsored Advanced Academic Degree program or through the Air

Command and Staff College or Air War College, either distance or in residence (DoAF,

2014).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -54 -

Naval Postgraduate School

c. Navy

The education requirements for the Navy’s contract management career field have

similar baselines as the other services. The core requirement is to have a baccalaureate

degree by the time the officer reaches Level III (DoN, 2019a). However, it is highly

recommended that the officer earns a master’s degree in business administration or

procurement (Office of Supply Corps Personnel [OSCP], 2011). The recommendation

made is to ensure that the officer is qualified to take positions requiring the Navy’s AQD

of ACC and ACK jobs, critical and key leadership positions respectively (Navy Personnel

Command, 2020).

d. Marine Corps

All uniformed officers in the Marine Corps have a bachelor’s degree upon

commissioning into the Marine Corps. The only other educational requirement to obtain

the alternate 3006 MOS, Contingency Contracting Officer, is to attend NPS and obtain a

master’s degree in business administration. Marine officers are selected to attend NPS for

the Contingency Contraction education via the annual Commandants career level education

board. By obtaining a master’s degree, all Marine Corps KOs fulfill the 24 semester hours

requirement to become a member in the AC. “Officers serving in 3006 MOS are eligible

for the MOS 8057, Acquisition Professional Candidate, and MOS 8058, Acquisition

Management Officer, Acquisition Workforce Programs” when they have fulfilled the

requirements for those MOSs (DON, 2015, p. 1-133).

3. Education Concluded

Across all the services, the formal education requirement to enter into either field,

PM or CM, is the same. All uniformed officers coming into the military in the United States

are required to have a baccalaureate degree. For program management, a baccalaureate

degree is not required to enter the PM field, but the Core Plus standards recommend

attaining one. For the position of PM, it is preferred that the baccalaureate degree be in

engineering, systems management, or business administration. However, not having a

baccalaureate degree in these areas does not preclude an individual officer from being a

program manager. For contracting, in order to attain Level I DAWIA certification

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -55 -

Naval Postgraduate School

individuals are required to have a baccalaureate degree in any field of study; there is no

preference for the area of study as there is with PMs. For Level II in PM, and Level III in

CM, a master’s degree is required; again, PM specifies recommended studies in

engineering, systems management, or business administration preference, and CM

specifies business management or procurement.

For Level III certification, a PM is required to have at least 24 semester hours from

among “accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial

management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management” (DA,

2020a, p. 4). Because all uniformed officers commission into the military with, at

minimum, a baccalaureate degree, all uniformed officers meet the initial requirements for

Level I DAWIA certification. Though not required, it is highly encouraged by all the

services, to obtain a master’s degree to be competitive for selection to O-5. There are

several different ways to obtain a master’s degree, it can be opined that as long as the

individual PM or CM attain a master’s degree during their career, and PMs ensure they

attain the 24 semester hours in the required areas, the services have the same education

standards across the board.

B. TRAINING

Anyone would be hard-pressed to make a distinction between training and

education when it comes to the military colloquialism. As mentioned earlier, training in

this thesis refers to courses that are designed to further the understanding of a uniformed

military member in leadership and specific career-enhancing skills and knowledge. Several

of the training requirements for the services happen in a “resident” status with a teacher

and the service member as a student. However, these will not be lumped in with the

education framework. Training programs are sometimes prefixed with technical or

advanced. The terms technical or advanced seem to only differentiate them from training

courses that have happened previously. The services all have similar breakdowns of career

stages or career guideposts that determine when a training program should start or should

have been completed. The guidepost, sometimes called a milestone, is there to assist the

officer on when to attempt training programs or to indicate when training should have been

completed.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -56 -

Naval Postgraduate School

1. Program Management

As shown in Table 5, the PM Core certification standards have three levels, which

are further fragmented into either “Acquisition Training” or “Functional Training.” The

three levels are in accordance with the professional experience or level of the officer. Level

I is the basic or entry-level, Level II is the intermediate or journeyman level, and Level III

is the advanced or senior level.

Like other DAWIA courses, there are Core Plus trainings that are desired but are

not necessary for certification (see Table 6). The Core Plus training is over and beyond

what is necessary, but it is essential to develop a well-rounded officer who has the potential

to perform in three broad areas. The DAU created the list of courses with the purpose of

identifying requirements that would be advantageous to career development and the

performance in different types of assignments, such as part of an acquisitions team on a

weapons system or a service contract (DAU, n.d.). The broad areas that the assignments

will fall under are Weapons Systems, services, and Business Management/IT. The

definition of activity that the individual will accomplish changes depending on the level of

certification. For example, under a services type of assignment, a Level I representative

may assist in managing the program, whereas a Level II individual would be involved in

preparing and planning the program (DAU, n.d.). Subsequently, a Level III PM is

responsible for coordination and organization of the program, and leads the team

throughout the management of the program (DAU, n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -57 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 5. DAWIA Program Management Required Training for

Certification. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Table 6. Core Plus Recommended DAWIA Training for Program

Management. Source: DAU (n.d.)

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -58 -

Naval Postgraduate School

As early as October 1, 2020, anyone assigned as a Program Executive Officer

(PEO), Program Manager/Deputy Program Manager (DPM) of MDAP/MAIS, or

PM/DPM of a significant nonmajor program must attend the Program Management Trainer

(PMT) 4010 and PMT 4020 courses within 6 months of the assignment, as seen in Table

6. This is a unique training standard particular to these positions and only for Level III-

certified personnel.

Table 7. DAWIA Program Management Unique Position Training

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.).

a. Army

To better prepare its PMs for a broader spectrum of exposure in the PM career field,

the Army has a series of training opportunities that build on each other as the officer

advances in the PM field of study. The first of the two courses is the Army Acquisition

Professional Course (AAPC). The AAPC is a 9-week (but soon to be 16-week) course at

the Army Acquisition Center of Excellence in Huntsville, AL, designed to provide a broad

spectrum of knowledge pertaining to the acquisition process, program management, and

contracting (USAASC, 2020). According to the USAASC (2020), an alternative to the

AAPC is the Naval Postgraduate School’s Advanced Education Program that offers a

Master of Science in System Engineering Management degree through the Advanced Civil

Schooling fully funded education program.

Prior to going to the final course, the senior O-3 and O-4 will attend Intermediate

Level Education (ILE) and the Army Captain’s Career Course (CCC). Both courses are

intermediate leadership and development tracks that prepare the officer for the challenges

that lay ahead not only in their career field but also in their profession as a military officer.

The courses consist “of a common core of operational instruction offered to all officers,

and additional education opportunities tied to the requirements” of the CM (U.S. Army

Modeling and Simulation Office, n.d.). The second course is the three-week Military

Education Level 4/Advanced Operations Course Intermediate Qualification Course (IQC:

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -59 -

Naval Postgraduate School

USAASC, 2020). All CAP positions, by statute, are O-5 and above positions (DA, 2018),

and in order to be selected to an Army CAP position or an Army Acquisitions Command,

an individual must apply for and be selected to the Army Acquisition Centralized Selection

List (CSL) Board (DA, 2020b).

The Army does stipulate that its PMs have certain training requirements. However,

these training requirements seem to first start with formal education requirements. The

formal education requirements allow the member to acquire DAWIA equivalencies while

gaining a master’s degree, making them eligible for the AC once they meet the experience

and rank requirements.

b. Air Force

Table 8 shows that the Air Force has three different levels of training for PMs:

Entry Level, Intermediate Level, and Staff and Senior Level. These levels of training cover

specific years in an Air Force program manager career: entry level for the first 3 years of a

PM’s career, intermediate for years 4 through 9, and staff and senior level is for10 years

and beyond. The Air Force combines the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)

mandated certification training and recommended training for specific assignment types

that support continuous learning and Air Force specific training requirements (DoAF,

2012). For Entry Level training, the Air Force focuses on acquiring knowledge and gaining

competence in acquisition and program management areas (DoAF, 2012). Intermediate

Level program management professionals in the Air Force are encouraged to broaden their

knowledge and experience by pursuing assignments in operational exchange tours (DoAF,

2012). For example, a program manager would do a year or two in maintenance or space

intelligence to understand better the intricacies of the field, which would better allow them

to recognize what is needed when managing a program for that field. For the Intermediate

Level officers, a large component of the training acquired over these years is leadership

training, allowing the program management officer to expand their ability to manage larger

programs, leading them to Acquisition Category (ACAT) Level I/II programs. Staff and

Senior Level program management officers complete the training requirements that allow

them to apply for entry into AC and then take on larger leadership responsibilities and fill

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -60 -

Naval Postgraduate School

critical acquisition positions once they are AC members and have the required experience

(DoAF, 2012).

Table 8. USAF and DAU Program Management Track. Source: DoAF

(2012).

The Air Force has formalized its PMs training, education, and experience

requirements in an Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) (DoAF, 2012)

as shown in Table 9. The APDP tracks the DAWIA specific training requirements as well

as Air Force specific leadership and training requirements, and when a program

management professional needs to complete them. The APDP tracks these training

requirements along with acquisition experience timelines to keep its PMs on track

throughout their career.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -61 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 9. Air Force APDP Approximate Training Flow Chart. Source:

DoAF, 2012.

c. Navy

Training for the Program Manager is structured to align with an officer’s career

stage based upon the officer’s career progression timeline. The typical career progression

for an officer is

• Basic Technical Development and Leadership (O1-O3)

• Advanced Technical Proficiency and Leadership (O3-O5)

• Senior Officer Development and Leadership (O5+)

This typical career progression may not apply to everyone. It also depends on the

availability of training and the willingness or maturity of the officer to possibly seek the

training earlier than expected.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -62 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The GAO (2018), in GAO-18-217, highlighted three best training practices for the

Navy Program Manager. Practice #1 is to have training classes that allow PMs to share

experiences. The DAU offers some classes that are in residency and require the students to

share their knowledge with others. Practice #2 is to offer rotational assignments. The GAO

report states that the Navy is only partially aligned with this best practice. It is typical for

Navy personnel to rotate from position to position and from shore-to-sea and back to shore

positions. Unfortunately, the rotations are not always in the same career field. Training in

the PM career field at one job may not be applicable in the next position. Not having the

steady rotation into different positions that still offer another facet of the PM field hinders

the officer’s opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience and a broader perspective

of the career field. Practice #3 is to have on-the-job training (OJT) and information

repositories. The Navy is fully aligned with this practice according to the GAO-18-217

report. The Navy has established a community of practice and networking groups to share

knowledge.

d. Marine Corps

A Marine Corps PM will gain their DAWIA certifications and begin their career in

this field from their very first assignment, as seen on Figure 15. While on their first

assignment, the DAWIA certification required for an 8057 MOS are Level I and II in their

primary acquisition career field (DoN, 2015). They follow the most current DAU course

requirements to achieve these certifications. When advancing to the 8058 MOS, the first

requirement is to be a Major, and that is when the PM will apply for membership as an AC

member.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -63 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 15. Marine Corps Program Management Career Training

Requirements. Adapted from Marine Corps Systems Command (n.d.-c).

2. Contract Management

Compared to program management, there are quite a few more DAU training

requirements and recommended training courses, for contract management. In contract

management, there are 10 types of assignments, see Table 10, compared to the three types

for PMs, which may account for the larger variety of recommended training. In the required

functional training area for KOs, the training is progressive, see Table 11 through Table

13, meaning all functional training for Level I needs to be completed before advancing to

any functional training for Level II, and so forth. There are also some unique training

courses listed in Table 14, for certain positions for which KOs hold. Specifically, if a KO

is assigned to MDAP/MAIS programs at all levels of DAWIA certification, and for Level

II and III certification in contract cost and price analysist job positions, there are additional

training courses that KOs need to complete.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -64 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 10. DAWIA Contracting Assignment Type Descriptions. Source:

DAU (n.d).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -65 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 11. DAWIA Contract Management Core Required Training for

Certification. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -66 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 12. DAWIA Contract Management Core Plus Recommended Training

for Certification (Level I). Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -67 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 13. DAWIA Contract Management Core Plus Recommended Training

for Certification (Level II-III) Cont. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Table 14. DAWIA Contract Management Unique Position Training

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -68 -

Naval Postgraduate School

a. Army

The Army’s contract management professional training mirrors the Army’s PM

professional training track. There is, however, an additional course called the Army

Intermediate Contracting Course (AICC) that is taken after the AAPC. The AICC is a four-

week intermediate contracting course that emphasizes Army doctrine and Army-unique

system acquisition procedures and organizations throughout its curriculum (USAASC,

2020). The CM track still has the requirement to attend ILE and CCC by the senior O-3

and O-4 rank levels, followed by the 3-week Military Education Level 4/Advanced

Operations Course Intermediate Qualification Course (IQC: USAASC, 2020).

b. Air Force

KOs in the Air Force focus their training toward qualification. This means that they

focus on demonstrating proficiency in the core and non-core tasks listed on each

individual’s Master Task List (MTL) from their individual training plan (ITP), including

anything specific that might be on their unit contracting officer requirements (DoAF,

2014). During their first assignment, Air Force KOs get assigned to a 64P1 position, and

within the 36 months they are at this assignment, they must complete all core and non-core

tasks that are identified in their individual and unit MTL. Once they have at least 12 months

of experience, they can receive the qualified AFSC designation of 64P3. On their second

contracting tour, Air Force KOs “must demonstrate proficiency on all ITP designated

tasks/competencies no later than 36 months from assignment to that unit” (DoAF, 2012, p.

17). Continuing their career progression,

In their third or subsequent assignments should demonstrate proficiency on

any tasks/competencies determined necessary by their commander/director.

...ITPs are at the discretion of the commander/director once the officer has

completed one assignment in operational contracting and one assignment in

systems acquisition. (DoAF, 2014, p. 18)

Air Force KOs are also required to complete and maintain Continuous Learning training

requirements that are in line with the APDP.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -69 -

Naval Postgraduate School

c. Navy

Training courses for the Navy’s Contracting Management specialty is provided via

DAU. There are three ways that an officer can qualify for certification, (a) take DAU

courses, (b) take courses at universities that have been granted equivalencies for DAU

courses, and (c) complete DACM awards fulfillment (DoN, 2019a).

Course fulfillment provides a means for AWF members to receive credit for

DAU courses for which they demonstrate competency through an

assessment of their previous work experience, education, training, or any

combination thereof. Fulfillment is only available to persons serving in a

coded acquisition billet or position. Command DPDs will establish a

fulfillment process, in accordance with the DAU Fulfillment Guide, to

ensure that applicants meet the learning objectives of the DAU course and

provide adequate justification. Command fulfillment processes must be

approved by the DACM prior to implementation. (DON, 2019a, p. 18)

The DAU courses provide a means for CMs to receive credit for DAU courses for

which they demonstrate competency through an assessment of their previous work

experience, education, training, or any combination thereof (DoN, 2019a). This awarding

of DAU course fulfillment would apply to all DAU courses that have been granted

equivalencies through other universities.

d. Marine Corps

After attending NPS, where 3006s gain DAU course equivalencies, the CMs get

stationed in a contracting billet where they work with specialists for six months to a year,

learning the systems and writing contracts. At their first acquisition billet, is where the

3006s will gain their Level I and II DAWIA certifications. After this, they are most likely

be sent back to serve a tour in their primary MOS while completing continuing education

requirements to maintain their certifications. In some instances, they do back-to-back

assignments in an acquisition billet, but not very often.

3. Training Concluded

The training for the PM and CM is guided by directives provided by the Office of

the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment as stated in DOD

Instruction 5000.66. By direction from the USD(A&S) and ASD(A), the President of DAU

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -70 -

Naval Postgraduate School

serves as the Chief Learning Officer of the DoD acquisition community by developing and

delivering learning assets that address competencies identified by the Functional Leads

(DoDI 5000.66). The designation of DAU as the central location of functional training

provides a consistent or standard metric whereby all services can develop training

programs without reinventing the wheel. There is clearly no distinction between the

services on what courses are required to obtain a particular certification, and there are no

outliers on what is seen as beneficial in certain functional assignments.

However, it is said of many military instructions, “you can add to, but never take

away.” It is discovered that the services take the required and suggested course training

very seriously, but some have found that it may not be enough. For instance, the Air Force

and Army have extraneous courses that tend to either prove what was previously learned

can be duplicated in actual assignments (in the case of the Air Force MTL) or ensure the

officer will be able to handle higher levels of leadership obligations (in the case of the

Army ILE and CCC). These extra training courses are more for the benefit of the officer

than for the sake of a certification and tend to set an officer up for success rather than

failure. The downside to these courses is that it is time taken away from an officer’s getting

started on higher level courses, but again, this is a risk and reward scenario. The Army and

Air Force consider that with more mature and self-confident leaders who have gone

through rigorous training in preparation for the next assignment, the risk of subpar

performance would be lower and there would be rewards of quality and effectiveness.

C. EXPERIENCE

The assignment process has three characteristics that will be in the mind of the

officer and the detailing official: (a) the needs of the service, (b) the career needs of the

officer, and (c) the personal desires of the officer (OSCP, 2011). These characteristics are

not weighted equally. Some individuals give more credence to personal desires and forego

jobs that could be beneficial to building experience in their career fields, whereas

sometimes an individual officer is not given the choice because of the needs of the service,

and they miss out on jobs that would benefit their career experiences. Some may focus on

their career experience with the understanding that their personal lives (family, friends,

education) may be negatively impacted. All these dynamics may impact the guiding

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -71 -

Naval Postgraduate School

principles of laying out the career plan to gain experience. Understanding the statutory

requirements for an officer to gain experience at the various levels may help them stay on

track to achieve the maximum experience required.

1. Program Management

The experience of the PM is essentially the experience of the AWF, meaning that

PM’s background is not tied to one field, but PMs are encouraged to have several

experiences in several acquisition fields (e.g., contracting, engineering, supply chain

management, etc.) throughout their career. If a position held outside the acquisition field

broadens the acquisition scope of the PM, then the officer will receive credit towards their

PM career milestones. The Core and Core Plus requirements for DAWIA certification are

followed by all services, as the DAWIA certification is the military’s standards for

involvement as a PM. These Core and Core Plus requirements for program management

are listed in Table 15. On top of DAWIA requirements, each Service necessitates a slightly

different requirement from their uniformed PM officers.

Table 15. DAWIA Program Management Core and Core Plus Experience

Requirements. Source: DAU (n.d.).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -72 -

Naval Postgraduate School

a. Army

The goal for Army PMs is to gain a wide range of experiences leading up to their

O-6 Centralized Selection List (CSL) PM assignment (DA, 2020a). The range of

functionalities the Army encourages its PMs to branch into includes science and

technology, test and evaluation, and contracting (if the timeline of their career allows) (DA,

2020a). The Army leadership development focuses on three domains: institutional training

and education, assignments, and self-development, which shapes officer development

throughout career progression (DA, 2020a). The assignments and self-development

domains contribute to the growth of the PMs experience in their field. Army “officers

should balance assignments in order to gain a breadth and depth of operational and

broadening experience across a variety of organizations and environments” (DA, 2020a, p.

3). The Acquisition Management Branch, which manages the FA 51 Army officers,

provides career development through schooling and assignment opportunities (DA,

2020a).

The Army segments its career development model into three areas: functional

experience, broadening experience, and strategic experience (DA, 2018) as shown on

Figure 16. Functional experience is where an officer gains experience in a single Career

Field related to acquisition and works towards AAC membership (DA, 2018). Functional

experience is usually gained during a first acquisition assignment while the PM is a

Captain. Broadening experiences for an Army PM are where they “build multi-skilled

leadership competencies through education, training, and experience” (DA, 2018, p. 138).

The Strategic Leadership positions occur while the PM is a Major and is where the officer

applies the acquired leadership and job-related competencies in senior leadership positions

(DA, 2018). The strategic leadership positions will be filled by O-5 and O-6 Army PMs

and are CAPs which can be filled by acquisition officers of either a primarily program

management or contracting background (DA, 2018). To fill a CAP Army PMs go through

a board selection process, called the Centralized Selection List (CSL), which identifies and

selects the best qualified officers to lead the most critical acquisition organizations (DA,

2020). Figure 16 shows the pyramid of the Army Acquisition Officer career development

model.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -73 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 16. Army Acquisition Career Development Model. Source: DA

(2018).

b. Air Force

As discussed in the program management training section, the APDP monitors the

Air Force’s program management officers’ training, education, and experience

requirements. The experience is tracked by the time a program management officer spends

in an acquisition position. The first assignment for a program management officer in the

Air Force is usually as a project officer, where they work under a more experienced

program manager. The project officer can be assigned a specific task or be assigned to

manage a smaller portion of a larger project (DoAF, 2012). For the second acquisition

assignment, an Air Force PM is assigned as a project manager with greater responsibility.

The second assignment focuses on team leadership and communication development. This

is where a program management professional learns to ensure that all members of the team

get the information they need and develops cross-functional integration by “trading off the

legitimate demands of the various functions to optimize the overall project” (DoAF, 2012,

p. 26). The Air Force encourages its PMs to take other positions between their acquisition

ones to gain experience in different fields and increase their experience in other aspects of

the Air Force. This broadening of experience can be accomplished by crossing into another

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -74 -

Naval Postgraduate School

acquisition field, such as finance, logistics, or contracting (DoAF, 2012). Air Force PMs’

third acquisition assignment generally place them into positions on larger projects, which

increases their interaction with higher headquarters, the OSD, and even possibly Congress

(DoAF, 2012).

c. Navy

As mentioned previously, the AWF has three designators that a Program Manager

in the Navy must be identified as for coding and appropriate personnel data accountability.

The three designators are Non-Critical Acquisition Positions, Critical Acquisition

Positions, or Key Leadership Positions. The summation of these positions is the total AWF.

DoD AWF positions are positions that include acquisition functions, as defined in DoDI

5000.66, dated 27 July 2017, as the predominant (i.e., greater than 50%) duty in a specific

Career Field (OUSD[A&S], 2019). The >50% criteria determine who is counted in the

AWF, acquisition training priority, and eligibility for certification and AC membership

according to the DON DAWIA Operating Guide.

Table 16 specifically breaks out the statutory requirements for the PM. The

Program Executive Officer is the most senior position a PM can hold. Note that in order to

obtain this position, the officer must have 10 years of acquisition experience in an AWF

position and at least 4 years assigned to a CAP. Gaining 10 years in a particular career field

could be challenging for a naval officer. It must be considered that officers, such as RL,

are only in a coded billet for a few years (no more than 32 months on average, but there

are 36-month waivers for CAPs). To accumulate 10 years of experience in one career field

may require as many as five tours in coded billets. There is no guarantee that this is

achievable even with the most detailed and stringent personal career path track for the naval

officer. However, the accumulation of the experience does not have to be consecutive. The

years are counted as training requirements and tenure times are completed.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -75 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Table 16. Program Management Statutory Position Requirements. Source:

DON (2019).

The DoN DAWIA Operating Guide provides a caveat for URL officers to have up

to 18 months of acquisition-related experience credited for the same amount of time in an

O-5 or O-6 command tour (Commanding Officer time only) when responsibilities

demonstrate program management competencies such as planning, execution, business

acumen, resource management, and interface with the materiel establishment(s). This

credit may be applied to experience requirements for PM certification and AC membership.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -76 -

Naval Postgraduate School

d. Marine Corps

By the time a Marine Corps PM achieves the MOS of 8058, they will already have

achieved at least 4 years of acquisition experience and achieved a minimum of Level II

DAWIA certification. Once they obtain the Level III DAWIA certification they can apply

to become a member of the AC and get assigned the primary MOS of 8059, Aviation

Acquisition Management Professional, or 8061, Ground Acquisition Management

Professional (DoN, 2015). The distinction between these two primary acquisition MOSs is

the type of programs they will support as a PM: aviation or ground systems. While an 8058,

a PM can still rotate back to the fleet to fulfill a role under their original, primary MOS,

but once assigned a primary MOS in acquisitions, they will remain in that role for the

remainder of their career. Assignment to the acquisition management professional’s

primary MOS is “based on selection by a board of eligible candidates” (DoN, 2015, p. 1-

236). Those who maintain the MOS 8058 can still serve in acquisition billets; however,

they can rotate back and forth between acquisition billets and non-acquisition billets. A

recommended career roadmap, with listed billets that an PM should hold at each stage of

their career is presented in Figure 17.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -77 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 17. Marine Corps Program Management Career Roadmap. Source:

Corps System Command (n.d.-c)

Acquisition Management Professionals are required to meet the following list of

requirements:

• Must be a Major or higher

• Must be certified to Level II in primary acquisition career field. Career

field certification requirements are contained in the current edition of

the Department of the Navy Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act

Operating Guide.

• Must have at least three years of experience in designated acquisition

positions with the DoD. (DoN, 2015)

There is also the additional requirement for the candidate for the primary MOSs to

be an unrestricted officer, meaning “an individual in the Marine Corps in the grade of

Second Lieutenant or above,” who is not a restricted officer (DoN, 2006, p. 1-14). For the

Aviation Acquisition Management Professional there is the additional restriction that the

unrestricted officer be from the occupational field of 75, which is a pilot.

2. Contract Management

The requirements for KOs are simpler than for PMs. Core requirements for DAWIA

certification is just a number of years in contracting positions, dependent upon the level of

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -78 -

Naval Postgraduate School

certification. For Core Plus Development starting at Level II, the only recommendation is

to have double the amount of years’ experience in contracting positions to attain a better

understanding of the field. The specific Core and Core Plus requirements are listed in Table

17. The different services have different methods of tracking experience and different

guides for officers on how to achieve the best experience for their continued careers. All

the services ensure that the DAWIA certification experience requirements are met, but they

differ in their approach and direction of guidance they give their uniformed acquisition

officers. Of the three categories of training, education, and experience, experience is where

the four services differ the most.

Table 17. DAWIA Contracting Experience Requirements. Source: DAU

(n.d.).

a. Army

The Army Acquisition Corps guidance states that the Contracting, FA 51C,

assignments focus the ability to lead “teams that enable the Army Contracting Command

(ACC) to provide contracting support worldwide to expeditionary operations throughout

the entire spectrum of military operations” (DA, 2020a, p. 2). The guide goes on to say

these officers will lead contracting teams, contracting efforts for installations, military

construction, and weapon systems procurement. They also “execute contract awards,

contract administration, and provide industrial management or oversight at contractor

facilities worldwide” (DA, 2020a, p. 2). “Officers coordinate the appropriate contracting

action with the supported warfighter or program manager to address requiring activity

needs” (DA, 2020a, p. 2). The Contract Management officers for the Army “are responsible

for making determinations on contract awards and supporting the development of

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -79 -

Naval Postgraduate School

acquisition plans and instructions” (DA, 2020a, p. 2). Positions that have “a contracting

focus may include contracting support to the warfighter, assisting contract support planning

at all levels of Army operations, systems and service contracting in major purchasing

commands” (DA, 2020a, p. 2).

The Army Acquisition Corps Pamphlet 600-3 mentions other positions and

responsibilities of the FA 51C:

Other AOC C positions are located within United States Army Corps of

Engineers (USACE), Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Duties may include determining best

contract types and agreements, negotiating contract terms and conditions;

obligating funds; awarding contracts; leading post award actions;

monitoring performance and production; providing contract surveillance;

performing risk analysis; and advising warfighters, program managers, and

industry. (DA, 2020a, p. 2)

b. Air Force

Over the course of an Air Force contracting officer’s career, the Air Force

encourages and guides their contracting career by having the KO gain experience in three

principle elements of the career field: operational contracting, systems acquisition and

sustainment, and contract administration (DoAF, 2014, p. 20). By doing this the Air Force

ensures that a KO is well rounded in the fundamentals of contracting and understands how

to work with contracts at each stage. “Each element plays a key role in the success of the

Air Force mission and helps develop officers in the contracting career field as future air

and space leaders” (DoAF, 2014, p. 20).

The Air Force also separates its levels of contracting into tactical, operational, and

strategic. Tactical level KOs are considered Buyers/Administrators, operational KOs are

either Commanders, Supervisors, or Staff Officers, and the strategic level KOs are

considered Strategic Leaders. Each of the levels have certain competencies that the KO

should gain experience in to fully understand the aspects of becoming a competent KO at

that level. At each level, there are different occupational competencies that are desired for

successful KOs.

“The tactical level is further subdivided into the entry and intermediate levels and

provides the foundational contracting experience that 64P officers will rely on throughout

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -80 -

Naval Postgraduate School

their career” (DoAF, 2014, p. 21). At the tactical level, KOs “learn and master basic

contracting competencies,” those competencies are listed in Figure 18 (DoAF, p. 21). The

tactical level is where KOs “develop foundational business knowledge and skills upon

which they can build a successful contracting career” (DoAF, 2014 p. 21). At the tactical

level, KOs serve in positions at varied buying commands, as KOs for contract

administration, KOs for deployments, and potentially as a Contracting Team Lead.

Figure 18. Tactical Level Sight Picture for Buyers/Administrators. Source:

DoAF (2014).

At the operational level, KOs “transition from being a specialist to learning more

complex contracting skills and functional competencies while gaining a breadth of

experience” (DoAF, 2014, p. 28). The operational level is where KOs complete their APDP

Level III contracting certification requirements and are considered business advisors and

subject matter experts in contracting (DoAF, 2014). Here is where “individuals should gain

experience in supervisory positions, squadron command, staff positions, joint positions,

and career broadening opportunities outside the career field” (DoAF, 2014, p. 28). At the

operational level, KOs work at Joint or Operational Contracting Support commands,

Systems, Sustainment, or Specialized Buying commands or career broadening commands.

KOs at the Operational level can also serve as squadron commanders, Materiel Leaders, or

as DCMA commanders. The competencies that an operational level KO should focus on

are listed in Figure 19.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -81 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 19. Operational Level for Commanders, Supervisors, and Staff

Officers. Source: DoAF (2014).

The strategic level is usually reserved for KOs with more than 20 years of

contracting experience, and carries significant responsibility and authority (DoAF, 2014).

“At the strategic level, individuals will combine highly developed functional and enduring

competencies and apply broad professional leadership capabilities” (DoAF, 2014, p. 34).

At the rank of colonel and above, the operational level focuses on leading and directing

complex and multi-tiered contracting operations, as seen in Figure 20. Operational KOs

hold positions such as Senior Leader in Systems Contracting, Senior Materiel Leader,

DCMA Commander, or commander of various higher-level Air Force Contracting

Commands.

Figure 20. Strategic Level Sight Picture for Strategic Leaders. Source: DoAF

(2014).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -82 -

Naval Postgraduate School

c. Navy

The Contracting Manager, much like the PM, has statutory requirements for the

naval officer to be permitted in certain positions (see Table 18). As stated previously, the

Navy assigns sub-specialty codes to its officers when they have met a requirement for time

or training in a specific career field. In the case of the CM, the sub-specialty code is 1306.

The unique situation for the CM is that only RL officers can hold the sub-specialty code

1306 according to the Navy Officer Manpower and Personnel Classifications (NOOCS)

Vol I Appendix B manual. Usually, the RL officer to hold this sub-specialty code is a

Supply Corps Officer.

Table 18. Contracting Statutory Position Requirements Source: DON

(2019a)

d. Marine Corps

Presently, there is no official roadmap for 3006 officers in the Marine Corps.

However, according to Lieutenant Colonel Wynndee Young, USMC, the career field is

currently being expanded, and there is a proposed roadmap, presented in Figure 21, that is

largely based on the current PM roadmap (W. Young, personal communication, March 17,

2020). Once selected for O-5 level command, KOs do not return to 3006 Contracting

Officer billets. Currently, there is not a large selection of 3006s in the Marine Corps, and

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -83 -

Naval Postgraduate School

of those available there are limited O-4/O-5 experienced CMs due to primary MOS

requirements, Command, Top Level Schools, and Joint Duty.

Figure 21. Proposed USMC 3006 Career Roadmap. Source: Personal

communication W. Young (March 17, 2020).

The Marine Corps is the only Service that does not command screen O-5/O-6 KOs.

In FY21, all Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Logistics Group Contracting Officer in

Charge billets will be filled with first tour officers, lacking the experience, certifications,

and leadership required to support expeditionary contracting requirements. The primary

MOSs available for selection to 3006 is 3002, Ground Supply Officer, and 0402, Logistics

Officers. The field grade 3002 population is not large enough to consistently staff both

senior 3002 and 3006 billets with experienced personnel. Due to the limited availability of

3006 officers and the requirements of the Marine Corps pulling 3006s back to the primary

MOS filed, there is a decided lack of experienced CMs in the Marine Corps.

3. Experience Concluded

Among all the services, experience requirements in these two acquisitions fields

differ greatly. The Air Force has its PMs and KOs in the field from “cradle-to-grave.” Air

Force acquisition officers track and come up with their career roadmap experience

requirements early on and have very specific requirements to follow alongside DAWIA

certification. Air Force PMs and KOs are groomed from their first assignments, where

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -84 -

Naval Postgraduate School

officers gain functional experience for further on assignments, where they expand their

knowledge with broadening experience to strategic leadership development within their

field of expertise. Air Force Acquisition Officers’ experience is designed to be on a

building block method where they learn from the tactical level of acquisition operations to

the strategic level. They start with smaller acquisitions and build their knowledge and

experience until they become responsible for larger programs and teams of acquisition

personnel.

D. CURRENT SERVICE CAREER PATHS

As the researchers have gone through this analysis of the career path requirements

for the of the services, the need for a clear, all-purpose timeline for an Acquisition Officer

in each Service became apparent. The career timelines, or roadmaps, for an Acquisition

Officer in each of the services are detailed next.

1. Army

Officers in the Army begin their acquisition career as Captains or Majors, after they

have completed a few years of service and are branch qualified in their primary MOS

(Gambles et al., 2009). The following career path does not represent the only path for Army

Acquisition Officers, but, rather, it represents a generic career path guide for Army

Acquisition Officer from O-1 to O-6. Once an Army officer completes Basic Officer

Leaders Course (BOLC), they are assigned a branch designator and serve one to two tours

in their primary branch. After selection to Captain, and between their fifth and sixth year

of service, they complete the Captains Career Course (CCC). At this time, the Army

Officer’s branch designation is augmented, which is where the functional area (FA) in the

Acquisition Corps (51A/C) would be assigned (DA, 2019). Once assigned an Acquisition

FA, Army officers attend AAPC, where they learn the standards of their new FA. This is

also when officers serve their first acquisition tour in their specific FA and earn their

DAWIA Level I certification.

At the end of their first acquisition tour, they are screened for selection to Major

and Intermediate Level School (ILE) or an Intermediate Qualification Course (IQC). KOs,

specifically, attend Acquisitions Intermediate Contracting Course (AICC) after their

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -85 -

Naval Postgraduate School

DAWIA Level I certification is attained to expand development in the field (USAASC,

2020). The second tour in acquisitions is when PMs do a broadening assignment, where

they will learn more about the different disciplines in the acquisitions process. After their

second tour in acquisitions, the O-5 selection and O-5 Centralized Selection List (CSL)

boards convene to select leaders for Acquisition CAP assignments. If selected for a

command position, an Army officer attends the Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Pre-Command

Course (PCC) before being assigned to an Acquisition command. In about the 20th year of

service, Army acquisition officers are screened for O-6, O-6 CSL, and SSC, where they

can be selected for senior staff positions, Program Executive Officers, Project Leads, and

Army Contracting Command positions. Figure 22 is a model of this current generic career

path for Army Acquisition Officers.

Figure 22. Generic Army Acquisition Officer Career Path

2. Air Force

Figure shows a generic career path of an Air Force Acquisition or Contracting

Officer. The given career path is not intended to represent the only path but is representative

of an officer that has promoted on-time. Throughout this subsection, the term Acquisition

Officer encompasses both the Acquisition Manager (63AX) and the Contract Manager

(64PX).

The Air Force’s Acquisition Officer begins their career with a field of specialty,

either 63AX or 64PX. Their first few tours have a blend of technical, leadership, and

weapons systems familiarity. The acquisition officers immediately begin their DAU course

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -86 -

Naval Postgraduate School

work as well. A benefit of this earlier training compared to the other services is that the Air

Force Acquisition Officer obtains their DAWIA level III about 4 years earlier, on average.

The Air Force has resident and distance learning (DL) for advanced development

education. Each iteration, Primary Development Education (PDE), Intermediate

Development Education (IDE), and Senior Development Education (SDE), is in line with

the officer’s promotion to Captain (Capt), Major (Maj), Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) and

Colonel (Col), respectively (DoAF, 2014). However, the officer is permitted to attend the

DL version as soon as they are selected for promotion. Attendance to a resident option is

by board selection or their Commanding Officer’s hand selection. To be selected for

resident education, either hand-selected or board-selected, is highly favored and is seen as

more desirable for future promotions and duty assignments. The officer can only go to the

resident development education once they have a minimum of 1 year of time-in-grade

(TIG), but officers need to ensure that the advanced development education is completed

one way or another prior to the next promotion board. The officer can select either the

distance learning (DL) route or wait for the chance to get selected for resident school. The

risk is that the officer may not get selected for resident and find that they are essentially

behind their peer group if they passed up the chance to take the DL version. Going to

graduate education as a First Lieutenant or junior Captain is not guaranteed either and is

determined by rankings during the Mission Ready Contracting (MRC)/Air Force

Fundamentals of Acquisition Management (AFFAM) courses and the officer’s pipeline

tour performance. A master’s degree can also be obtained while attending the IDE or SDE.

Figure 23. Generic Air Force Acquisition Officer Career Path

Years of Service

Rank

Service Formal

SchooL/PME

Resident

Distance Learning

Selection Boards

Education Graduate School IDE SDE

Rank/Career MAJ LTCOL COL

Command

O-5 CMD O-5 C MD O-6 C MD

Acquisition

Experience

Initial MOS

Acquisition

Training

DAWIA Lvl I Lvl II

Lvl III

Core Plus

PDE

IDE/

Mast ers

Mandatory/

Statutory

Core Plus

O-1

O-2

O-3

O-4

O-5

AFSC

64P1/63A1

MRC/

AFFAM

Graduat e

School/AFIT

AFSC

64P3/63A3

3rd Acquisition Tour

Pipeline

1st Acquisition Tour

2nd Acquisition Tour

MWS/Staff/Specialized SQ

AL CP-I

SAASS

SOS

SDE/

Mast ers

IDE

ACT I/II

Major Weapos Systems

ALCP-III

O-5 CMD or Staff Tour

AL CP-II

SDE

Staff/Joint Tour

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -87 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Courses such as Squadron Officer School (SOS), the Acquisition Leadership

Challenging Programs (ALCP), and School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS)

are automatic and should be on the officer’s professional track but are not always in line

with the provided timeline. Some of the time given to attend these classes is dependent on

when the officer is no longer in an operational tour.

3. Navy

Figure 24 displays the Navy officers career path from O-1/Ensign (ENS) to O-

6/Captain (CAPT). The officers career path consists of many milestones, such as education,

training, and experience, that officers are encouraged to achieve to get promoted to the next

grade. In each career milestones, the officers must go through four different types of the

Navy’s Administration Boards. These boards are rank/grade promotion, education,

training, and experience. The Rank/Grade Promotion Boards are for those officers getting

promoted, starting at the rank from O-3/Lieutenant (LT) and continuing to O-4/Lieutenant

Commander (LCDR), O-5/Commander (CDR), and O-6/CAPT. At each rank/grade

promotion board, the Navy officers have several important wickets to accomplish in order

to be competitive in their career field. For O-4/LCDRs’ promotion board, the board

members review these following valued achievements: (a) warfare qualification; and (b)

two operational (OP) tours in which a department head (DH) tour is encouraged. For O-

5/CDRs’, the valued achievements prior to the board are: (a) a master’s degree related to

the Supply Corps line of operations; (b) Joint Professional Military Education (JPME); and

Logistics Center, Operation Navy (OPNAV), Defense Logistics Center (DLA) or Joint

command. The master’s degree and JPME are not required, but both are strongly

encouraged (OSCP, 2011). To be competitive for the O-6/CAPT board, the major quality

that the service members must possess is leadership, the ability of the officers to lead and

guide sailors in a visible and challenging environment. The most strongly recommended

qualities for an officer to have are (a) officers’ experience in an acquisition line of

operation; (b) Acquisition Corps membership; (c) O-5/CDR OP tour or command tour; and

(d) Joint Qualification Officer (JQO).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -88 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The Education Boards include the education programs, such as the Naval

Postgraduate School (NPS) and Civilian Institutions Postgraduate Schools (CIVINS

810/811). CIVINS 810/811 are the master’s degree programs in which the selected officers

earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. The 810 program attendees will

earn an MBA degree in Supply Acquisition/Distribution Management, and those in the 811

program receive an MBA degree in Petroleum Management from the School of

Engineering. The Training Boards consist of the programs like the Internship programs and

the Training with Industry (TWI) programs. The Internship programs give junior officers

the opportunity to get professional experience in the Supply Corps principal competencies.

TWI programs provide the LCDRs with supply chain management and logistics experience

as well as an opportunity to gain exposure to executive level decision-making in their

professional development. The Experience Boards are the senior officer major command

boards, such as, the O-5 Shore Command Board, the O-5 OP Board, and the O-6 Shore

Command Board. The O-5 and O-6 Shore Command Boards compile the list of selectees

to the major assignments, such as Defense Contract Management (DCMA), Defense

Logistics Agency (DLA), and Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). The O-5

Operational Board is the selection board for the DH assignment on large-platform ships

Navy officers enter the operating forces after attending the Basic Qualification

Course (BQC) for 6 months, the basic school for the Supply Corps. Then the officers go

on their first OP tour as a division officer (DIVO) on a ship for 2 years. Some of the Navy

officers may choose or get recommended to do their first OP tour as a DH on the

submarines. Officers heading to their DH tour are required to attend a four-week DH school

program en route to their assignment. On this tour, the officers are required to get their

warfare qualifications (surface/air/submarine) on their assigned ship platform. Next, the

officers head out to their shore tour for next 2–3 years. Most Navy officers choose to apply

for the Internship programs. The officers have an opportunity to gain acquisition

experience and begin their DAWIA Level I acquisition training. Some officers choose an

overseas assignment and non-related acquisition billet for their shore tour. Then the officers

head back to sea for their second OP tour for 24–30 months. The officers may choose to

do a DH tour on a small-platform ships/submarines or another DIVO tour on large-platform

ships. After their second OP tour, some officers choose to earn a postgraduate education,

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -89 -

Naval Postgraduate School

such as attending NPS or CIVINS (810/811) for 18 months. Some officers prefer to do 1-

year training in a TWI program; some pick a 36-months Joint assignment. The officers are

required to take a 6-weeks JPME II course in route to a Joint assignment.

After their postgraduate school tour, Navy officers either may go to an acquisition

tour for 3 years and work on their DAWIA Level II acquisition training. Some officers

head back to their third OP tour on a large-platform ship for 2 years. The next assignment

for the officers is a shore tour either in acquisition, Joint, or policy tour while they are

waiting to get slated for their O-5 OP DH tour on a large-platform ship or an O-5 command

shore tour. Both are 2-year tours. The selectees of the O-5 OP DH tour are required to

attend a 5-weeks Senior DH school program in route to their assignment. At O-6/CAPT,

the officers are in command of the major or largest organizations. Some officers maintain

in their acquisition line of operations and become PMs, and some become the Joint

Qualification Officer (JQO). Overall, there are many career paths that the officers can take

to advance through each rank/grade, but most importantly to the officers are the tools do

they have in their tool bag to get them there. The three most essential tools are education,

training, and experience

Figure 24. Generic Navy Acquisition Officer Career Path

4. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps officers enter the operating forces after attending the Basic

School for 6 months and then Primary MOS school, which can be anywhere from 2–6

months. Marine Corps officers then go on their first operational tour for up to 3 years.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -90 -

Naval Postgraduate School

During the time that they are eligible for rotation to their next operational tour, is when

they are screened on the Commandant’s Professional Intermediate-level Education Board

(CPIB), where they can be selected to attend graduate school in an acquisition career field.

When they are attending graduate school, they are screened in the Officer Retention Board

for Career Designation. Career Designation is designed as a management tool for the

Marine Corps to “retain the highest quality officers” beyond their initial obligated service

(Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2020b, paras. 2.a). One could guess

that if an officer is selected for a graduate education by the Marine Corps, then they will

be retained by the Marine Corps. After attaining their graduate degree in an acquisition

field, Marine Corps officers then get sent to their first acquisition tour where they get

assigned the secondary MOS of 8057 for PMs and 3006 for KOs. While serving in their

first acquisition tour, they gain the experience and requirements to attain Level I and Level

II DAWIA certification.

After their first acquisition tour, Marine Corps officers transition back to their

Primary MOS (PMOS) and do an operational tour outside of the acquisition career field.

During this operational tour, the officer is screened for promotion to Major and on the

Commandant’s Career-Level Education Board (CCLEB), where they are screened for

Career level Schools, Congressional Fellowships, International Affairs programs, graduate

education, and other career enhancing educational opportunities (Deputy Commandant

Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2020a). Once selected to Major, officers who meet the

requirements can submit their application to lateral move to the MOS of 8059 or 8061 via

the Acquisition Primary MOS Selection Board, as well as complete the field grade

Professional Military Education (PME) requirement of Command and Staff (C&S)

(Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2020b). KOs with the secondary

3006 MOS can also apply for a lateral move under the Acquisition Primary MOS Selection

Board. The Marine Corps designed Acquisition Primary MOS Selection Board to “develop

a population of Marine Corps acquisition officers who meet statutory requirements and are

highly competitive for program management positions of major defense acquisition

programs” (Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2020c, paras. 1). Once

selected for the PMOS of 8059/8061, Marine Corps acquisition officers go to a second

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -91 -

Naval Postgraduate School

acquisition tour, where they obtain DAWIA Level III certification and membership in the

AC.

At the end of the second acquisition tour Marine Corps officers again transition out

of the acquisition field and do another operational tour. This is where an officer is screened

for selection to O-5 and then O-5 command positions. This third operational tour is focused

on a Staff, Joint, or O-5 command position, and towards the end of this tour, an officer will

again be screened for an O-5 command opportunity. Here is where this path can diverge a

little as a Marine Corps officer can do a back-to-back operational tour or transition back to

the acquisition field, and during this tour an officer is screened for O-6 and O-6 command

opportunities. This timeline brings a Marine Corps officer to approximately 21 years of

service, and any further on the career timeline becomes very specific to an individual. This

generic career path for Marine Corps Acquisitions Officers is displayed in Figure 25.

However, it could be speculated that an O-6 Marine Corps officer would not be an

acquisition billets unless they are in charge of Marine Corps Systems Command; this

position is the executive agent for acquisition training and education, and is in charge of

all Marine Corps ground weapon and information technology programs (MCSC, n.d.-b).

Figure 25. Generic Marine Corps Acquisition Officer Career Path

E. CONCLUSION

In three services, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, the uniformed acquisition

officers join the field later in their career, from Captain to Major. For the Navy and the

Marine Corps, once an officer crosses into the acquisition field, they do not necessarily

remain in that field for the rest of their career; they may rotate back into their primary

MOS. The Army maintains its acquisition officers in acquisitions once they cross into the

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -92 -

Naval Postgraduate School

field. The Air Force is the only Service that selects and trains its acquisition officers from

day one in the military. It could be suggested that the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps have

their officers train in different Primary MOSs before going into acquisition fields to give

their officers a better understanding of their customers’ needs.

One could say that although Air Force acquisition officers start working in their

career field earlier and therefore gain more acquisition-related experience and knowledge

at an earlier stage, they are no more qualified or experienced than the other three services

that enter the field as Captains/Majors. The other services, outside of the Air Force, might

not have the compounded experience in the program management or contract manager

fields as junior officers (O-1s and O-2s), but they have operationally military experience.

One could opine that having the general military operational experience leads to the

officers being a more well-rounded and possibly more able to relate to the acquisition

customer—the warfighters.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -93 -

Naval Postgraduate School

V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In the previous chapter, the generic career paths for acquisition officers in each of

the services was identified. In this chapter the advantages and disadvantages of those career

paths are discussed. The results of this research are that there is advantage for junior officer

to serve in non-acquisitions positions and that, once an Acquisitions Officer enters in the

acquisitions field, conducting back-to-back tours in acquisitions greatly benefits the

experience and knowledge of the officer in their functional area of acquisitions. To take

advantage of the advantages found during this research a recommended career path that all

of the services could use is created. This new Universal Acquisition Officer Career Path

(UAOCP) incorporate recent initiatives to requirements changes, anticipated changes, and

the best practices from all the services into a career path that limits the disadvantages while

enhancing acquisitions experience. This chapter will sum up the results of the research,

discuss what the results mean, and apply these results to the UAOCP to benefit uniformed

Acquisitions Officers in the DoD.

A. CONCLUSIONS

Colin Powell, when interviewed about resourcing organizations, said “always find

different ways to accomplish the mission. Then run a counter analysis and list the

advantages and disadvantages. When you have done that, you are ready to make a decision”

(Zehnder, n.d., p. 30). There is always an argument that for every advantage there is a

corresponding and reciprocal disadvantage. However, if it is understood why the

disadvantage exist, one can learn from that knowledge and use it for further beneficial

analysis. For clarity, the summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the current

Service Acquisition Officer career paths put into the framework of strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats. The advantages focused on the strengths and opportunities and

the disadvantages were divided into weaknesses and threats to the training, education, and

experience of an Acquisitions Officer. The identification of the advantages and

disadvantages was done to recommend a different career path that this thesis is proposing

which is a better alternative to the way things are currently done.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -94 -

Naval Postgraduate School

1. Advantages

As presented in Chapter IV, three of the services, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps,

start their uniformed officers on the Acquisitions career path when they are mid to senior

O-3s. Before this, the officer is trained in and serves in a primary MOS, which could be

unrelated to the process of acquisitions in any sense, other than as a customer. After their

first tour in their primary MOS, officers are then selected for apply to go into an

acquisitions field. As our research found, the strength of this approach is that the individual

officer is able to learn more about the customers that they will eventually be supporting.

This presents the opportunity for officers to gain explicit knowledge of the needs of the

customer and the frustrations of turning a requirement into an actual product, as they are

serving side by side with customers. This approach focuses on creating a well-rounded

officer, who has actively developed more knowledge and understanding in a wide range of

areas (Schwartz, 2017). This method enables individual officers to understand the unique

perspective of the warfighter because they understand where the warfighter is coming from

and why they would require certain products. This better enables officers to work with the

customer on developing a product that will fulfill the warfighters’ needs in the field.

On the other hand, the Air Force acquisition officers begin their career path as from

day one, presenting the strength to quickly gain technical knowledge and the opportunity

to apply that knowledge earlier on their careers, thus gaining experience. Air Force

acquisition officers become subject matter experts, very technically savvy in their jobs,

know the regulations and processes backwards and forwards, and are certified in their

specialty very quickly; meaning they can execute their duties as a more junior officer

compared to the other services. This gives Air Force officers the opportunity to serve the

warfighter more efficiently, about 4 years earlier on in their career. This also presents the

opportunity for the Air Force officer to serve as an acquisition professional longer

throughout their career.

2. Disadvantages

This section includes an analysis the harmful results of the distinct career paths of

the various services that were discovered during the research. More specifically, there is a

focus on the weaknesses of each and the threats to the individual Service Acquisition

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -95 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Officer career paths. Looking at the advantages to the current services’ career paths, the

disadvantages seem to directly correspond to the strengths. For the three services that start

their acquisition officers as O-3s, the weakness is they are not as technically competent in

acquisitions as soon as Air Force Acquisition Officers. As an O-3 who has no experience

in the acquisitions process once they transfer into that field, they have to learn the processes

and regulations before they can operate independently in that position. For example, a KO

or PM who comes in as an O-3 will not be able to have a Level I DAWIA certification for

a year, meaning they will not be able to write contracts or manage a program because they

have to learn the new job and meet the DAWIA certification requirements. Another

weakness to these Acquisition Officers’ career paths is that if they do not hold a position

with an acquisition coded billet, they will never attain certification and be able to serve in

higher positions in acquisitions. An identified threat to these current career paths is if the

Acquisition Officer doesn’t serve back-to-back acquisition tours, they will never gain that

long-term experience in acquisitions that will enable them to gain the higher level DAWIA

certifications. This research interpreted this as meaning that the services constantly have a

new pool of acquisition officers who do not have the ability to knowledgably and

efficiently do their job.

For the Air Force Acquisitions Officers the disadvantage is reversed from the other

services. As the Air Force Acquisition Officer comes into the acquisitions field as an O-1,

the weakness in this current approach is that they don’t serve in any area outside of

acquisitions. Not serving with outside acquisitions service members means that the

Acquisition Officer does not create that connection with their customers. This means that

Air Force acquisition officers do not gain that first-hand knowledge of the warfighter and

their needs, making it harder for the customer to connect to the acquisitions team and the

warfighter to get what they need to effectively operate. Another threat is that, as more and

more programs become Joint in nature, like the Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force

Acquisition Officer competes for these positions; the lack of connection to the warfighter

leaves them at a disadvantage to get and effectually serve in these positions.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -96 -

Naval Postgraduate School

B. DOD’S NEW INITIATIVE: “BACK-TO-BASICS”

On September 2, 2020, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and

Sustainment Ellen Lord, issued a memorandum stating that it is

imperative that [the DoD] pivot from the past broad workforce focus and

get Back-to-Basics (BtB) by streamlining our functional area framework

and prioritizing limited training resources for the Defense Acquisition

Workforce (AWF) who develop, acquire, and sustain operational capability.

(OUSD[A&S), 2020, p. 1)

This phased approach to changing the way certification is to be completed applies

to the program management and contract management fields, among others. Lord went to

say that the Back-to-Basics (BtB) emphasizes “achieving streamlined and restructured

certification requirements, identifying prioritized credentials, and providing for continuous

learning” for each of the AWF FAs (OUSD[A&S], 2020, p. 2). BtB is a DoD initiative that

is in the early stages but hasn’t changed the certification requirements for Acquisitions

Officers but will be fully in effect for KOs by September 2021. This initiative is important

to this research because personnel development has been recognized as an issue that the

DoD needs to address, which we have done with this research (Lord, 2020).

Back-to-Basics does not attempt to change the certification progress to narrow the

field but is designed to allow a wider pool of resources at many levels. Education

requirements have not changed with the application of the BtB initiative, mainly, the

requirement to have certain fields of study for the baccalaureate degree was removed as a

requirement for certification. Again, this was to open up the profession to those who that

may not have the foreknowledge that business credits would be needed in their government

jobs or to qualify for a sub-MOS 7 years into their career. With this new initiative training

will be dramatically revamped. Previously, a contracting professional going through the

three levels of certification could expect to attend over 655 hours of resident or online

training (Linden, 2020). With the BtB plan, training would be down to approximately 250

hours prior to potential acquisition officers taking the Acquisition Entrance Exam (AEE)

(Linden, 2020). The focus of BtB is transitioning from, “Did you finish the class?” to “Can

you demonstrate that the competency can be performed?” The remaining 405 hours did not

just disappear. There are assessments and a minimum of 80 continuing hours of education

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -97 -

Naval Postgraduate School

and knowledge (CHEK) that must be completed every 2 years. The CHEK is tied to what

competency needs attention or has been shown to be adequately demonstrated. The change

to have one comprehensive exam may be the biggest development that BtB proposes to

enter into the acquisitions field. A professional is no longer tested out of a level but is

instead tested into a profession. The comprehensive exam is essentially an entrance exam

that is still equivalent to the assessment for the original DAWIA Level I coursework

(Linden).

Figure 26 is a draft of the proposed changes to the certification requirements for

KOs under the BtB initiative. Education, training and experience requirements have not

changed from the DAWIA Level I certification requirements. There is the addition of the

assessments, but the biggest changes are in validation and certification currency. Validation

is where a potential Acquisition Officer record will be compared against the acquisition

field requirements before certification can be gained. This validation is in an attempt to

ensure that those that execute the duties of a position are qualified to carry out those duties.

The certification currency requirement is the 80-hour CHEK requirement that is to ensure

relevance in the competencies throughout the years.

Figure 26. Proposed Contracting Officer Certification Requirements. Source:

Linden (2020).

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -98 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The way the BtB programming is structured, it can be interpreted that this

certification process for acquisition fields is mainly opening the field to the hiring of more

civilian employees to manage the capability of contracting and program management rather

than provide some additional benefit to the uniformed individuals. If this is the case, there

is the possibility that the services will lose the ability to conduct these functional areas

themselves. Basically, the DoD is “farming” out the service of acquisitions, as in making

the field more accessible. One prevailing reason not to open the field too wide is that there

may be “a negative impact on a capacity that the organization wishes to retain and develop”

(Cohen & Eimicke, 2008, p. 96). It is too early to make an educated prediction on how the

BtB will impact the quality of uniformed individuals compared to their civilian

counterparts. Time will tell if the new design will increase or decrease advantages from a

career progression point of view. If the result of this BtB is that more civilians enter the

military acquisitions field, the accountability and monitoring of the programs will have to

be redesigned to ensure the interests of the military can still be carried out appropriately.

There must be assurances that there is little to no negative impacts on the careers of future

acquisition officers.

The BtB currently has very little impact on the projected UAOCP. Billeting and

promotion rates seem to be unscathed. However, there is currently no literature on the

impact to CAP and KLP eligibility once the BtB is implemented. There may not necessarily

need to be any updates, considering CAP and KLP designators are just describing particular

high-level positions. The focus on the “Basics” part of BtB, and it is extremely beneficial

in that the DoD will have the confidence that the acquisition corps is robust and ready at

any level. Unfortunately, the hurdles of cultural acceptance and short-term versus long-

term benefits acknowledgement would have to be traversed.

C. RECOMMENDATION

There is an adage that says, “Do not reinvent the wheel.” This research interprets

this statement to mean, “don’t start from scratch.” Instead, improve on what has already

been done. Understanding the previous strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to

the services’ individual Acquisition Officers’ career paths, allows for DoD policy makers

to develop a career path that harnesses the advantages and mitigates the disadvantages as

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -99 -

Naval Postgraduate School

much as possible. The following Universal Acquisition Officer Career Path that this thesis

proposes is obviously not a “silver bullet” for every potential Acquisition Officer, but it

could be a tool for future developments of a more inclusive (i.e., Joint) military Acquisition

Officer career path.

Considering the new DoD initiative and the results of this research, we developed

the UAOCP utilizing the results and parts of the DoD initiative. Throughout this research

which discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the current Service career paths,

many common themes between the services’ current career paths emerged. The Universal

Acquisitions Officer Career Path (UAOCP) presented below was created using those

common themes and adding some recommendations to improve upon the current career

paths. This UAOCP can be used as a guideline by all the services to create highly trained,

educated, and experienced Acquisition Officers. The UAOCP incorporates recent changes

introduced in the BtB initiative and allows acquisition officers the option to serve in

command positions or remain in Acquisitions until O-5.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -100 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Figure 27 is a diagram of the created UAOCP and what an Acquisitions Officer

career path could look like using this newly developed MODEL.

Figure 27. Universal Acquisitions Officer Career Path

The first difference between the current career paths and the UAOCP is the

Acquisitions Entrance Exam (AEE), which an officer would take as an O-2 within their

third year of service. This would be an exam designed to test the aptitude of officers who

would like to enter the acquisition field and based on the civilian accredited standards for

the field. This test is similar to what the BtB wants to implement; it is a comprehensive

exam on common practices that signifies the officer has achieved initial readiness to enter

into the contracting or program management fields (Linden, 2020). This would mean that

the prospective Acquisitions Officer would need to study and prepare on their own before

taking this exam, but this would also demonstrate the officer’s drive to enter the

acquisitions filed. After successfully passing the AEE, an officer would then be assigned

the new Acquisitions MOS, dependent upon their selection to O-3. The assignment of an

acquisitions MOS would require all the services to make the acquisitions MOS a primary

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -101 -

Naval Postgraduate School

MOS, signifying the lateral move of these officers into the acquisitions field. This would

mean that the officers would not bounce back and forth between acquisitions and their

initial primary MOS, as the Navy and Marine Corps currently do. Also similar to BtB the

UAOCP requires Acquisitions Officers to maintain 80 CHEK throughout their career, even

while serving in non-acquisition positions.

The next difference from the services’ current career paths is that at year 6,

acquisition officers would be screened for selection to an in-resident graduate school after

completing their first acquisitions tour. Officers should also ensure that rank appropriate

PME is complete before the master’s degree is complete. If not selected to a resident

program they should complete a master’s program and PME on their own before the O-4

promotional board to remain competitive. After graduate school and attaining a master’s

degree in an acquisition related field, officers would complete a second acquisitions tour.

After promotion to O-4, the officer would gain entry to the Acquisition Corps and would

then be screened on the Centralized Selection List (CSL) for placement in a Critical

Acquisition Position (CAP). While an O-4s, officers should ensure that they complete the

next level PME before the O-5 selection board. This point, around year 12 of service,

officers can either get selected to serve as commanders or serve an operational tour as a

Staff or Joint officers. The operational tour is important to broaden the overall experience

of officers, allowing them to learn and understand strategic level planning and cooperation

within the services. While serving in the operational tour, at around year 15 of service,

officers get screened for promotion to O-5, the Senior Service College, and O-5 command

positions.

After the operational tour as a Staff or Joint officer, Acquisitions Officers would go

to a third Acquisitions tour, where they would get the opportunity to serve in a CAP, if

they did not get that opportunity before. This secondary opportunity to serve in a CAP is

important to the career progression because of the command opportunities present,

meaning if an officer served as an O-4 commander, they would still get the opportunity to

serve in a CAP, and if they serve in a CAP early on, they still have the opportunity to be a

commander as an O-5. While serving on the fourth acquisitions tour, officers will be

screened for O-5 command and on the CSL for Key Leadership Positions (KLP). At this

point in an officer’s career, around year 18 of service, they could serve as an O-5

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -102 -

Naval Postgraduate School

commander or on a fifth acquisitions tour in a KLP. While serving in the fifth acquisitions

tour officers would be screened for O-6 and, subsequently O-6 command. By this time, if

not selected to O-6, an officer would have reached 20 years of service and be able to retire

with adequate acquisitions experience to get a job in acquisitions after retirement. Figure

27 is a diagram of this UAOCP.

Though the UAOCP emphasizes acquisitions tours, to gain the most experience in

acquisitions as possible, there is still the option to serve as a commander while still gaining

at least three tours in acquisitions. Presented in Figure 28 are some of the possible career

paths that an Acquisitions Officer could take using the UAOCP, that shows the different

paths an Acquisitions Officer could take while it still offers them the chance to command

and gain a breadth of acquisitions experience.

Figure 28. Possible Career Paths Using the UAOCP

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -103 -

Naval Postgraduate School

The initial purpose of this research was to answer the question, “What current

career path practices for PMs and KOs across the services should be adopted from one

Service to the others to maximize competencies and effectiveness in program management

and contract management in Joint acquisition programs?” Throughout this research, the

practice that seemed to give the most credence to gaining knowledge and experience in

acquisitions was the ability of Acquisitions Officers to serve back-to-back tours in the

acquisitions field. Another practice that seemed to allow acquisition officers to better

connect to the warfighter was serving in a non-acquisition position for a time. While these

practices may seem contradictory to each other, there is a way that each Service could

adopt them. The Navy and Marine Corps could adopt the practice of allowing the

acquisition officers to stay in the acquisitions field once they cross over, making it a lateral

move rather than a sub-specialty or secondary MOS. This would allow back-to-back

acquisition tours for the Navy and Marine Corps ensuring adequate knowledge and

experience is gained. Air Force Acquisitions Officers, on the other hand, could serve as a

junior officer for at least 2 years in non-acquisition tours as a broadening experience

allowing them to connect to non-acquisition airmen/warfighters.

D. AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

This research is just the beginning of possible changes in the services. Some

recommended areas for further research include:

• What will be the cost difference to the DoD between the single BtB

certification for KOs and the current DAU certification process? A cost-

benefit analysis should be conducted before full commitment to the new

process.

• Will the DoD-created certification, under the BtB program, be equally

accepted as, for example, the civilian National Contract Management

Association certifications?

• How will the certification be maintained by the uniformed Acquisition

Officer? Will the currently offered DAU Continuous Learning courses

still be accepted as CHEK courses?

• With the implementation of BtB will the coding of acquisition billets

not matter for certification anymore? If there is someone regionally or

locally who can certify CHEK’s, then does the coding of a billet no

longer matter?

• For the Navy and Marine Corps, will taking the initial test to enter

officers into the acquisition field, laterally move them from their current

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -104 -

Naval Postgraduate School

MOS into an Acquisitions field? Or will the individual officer continue

to rotate in and out of the acquisitions field? If they do, who in a normal

(non-acquisition) military unit will certify the CHEKs?

There are many other considerations before such drastic changes to the

acquisition’s certification process can be implemented. Minor changes can create lasting

positive or negative changes, which is why further research on this subject is important to

creating the best possible uniformed DD Acquisition Officers.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -105 -

Naval Postgraduate School

APPENDIX A. DAWIA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

CERTIFICATE STANDARDS & CORE PLUS DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT LEVEL 1

Type of Assignment

Representative Activities

Weapon Systems

 Participates in an IPT delivering a weapon system,

C2/network-centric system, or space system.

 Performs financial and status reporting and basic

logistics activities.

 Supports pre-award contract activities and workload

planning and scheduling

services



Assists in acquisition planning, assessing risk

(technical, cost and schedule), and contract

tracking and performance evaluation

Business Management

Systems/IT



Participates in a business process IPT,

fundamentals of enterprise integration, and

outcome-based performance measures.

Core Certification Standards for Program Management Level 1

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition Training

ACQ 101 – Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition

Management

Functional Training

ENG 101 – Fundamentals of System Engineering

CLB 007 – Cost Analysis

CLV 016 – Introduction to Earned Value Management

Education

 Formal education not required for certification

Experience

 1 year of acquisition experience with cost, schedule,

and performance responsibilities

Core Plus Development Guide for Program Management Level 1

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

Wpn Sys

services

Bus

Mgt/

CLC 011 – Contracting for the Rest of Us

√

CLL 011 – Performance Based Logistics (PBL)

√

LOG 100 – Life Cycle Logistics Fundamentals

√

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -106 -

Naval Postgraduate School

PMT 0170 – Risk Management

√

TST 102 – Fundamental of Test and Evaluation

√

 Education – Baccalaureate degree, preferably with a major in engineering,

systems management, or business administration

 Experience – One (1) year acquisition experience (addition to core certification

experience)

CERTIFICATE STANDARDS & CORE PLUS DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT LEVEL 2

Type of Assignment

Representative Activities

Weapon Systems

 Structures and guides systems engineering activities.

 Establishes a risk/opportunity program; structures and

conducts technical reviews.

 Works with contracting personnel.

 Maintains configuration control.

 Leads IPTs in support of developing and delivering a

weapon system, C2/network-centric system, or space

system.

services

 Structure incentives tied to desired outcomes for

service contracts, prepares plans for mitigating

risks, provides contract tracking and oversight.

 Performs most acquisition planning tasks as

established in Attachment 1 to AT&L services

Memo of Oct. 2, 2006.

Business Management

Systems/IT

 Leads IPTs, identifies and manages enterprise-level

business systems and issues, and applies

performance measures within the acquisition

community and program office context that directly

impact systems under development.

Core Certification Standards for Contracting Level 2

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition Training

ACQ 202 – Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A

ACQ 203 – Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part B ®

Functional Training

PMT 2520 – Program Management Tools Course, Part I

PMT 257 – Program Management Tools Course, Part II

CON 121 – Contract Planning

CON 124 – Contract Execution

CON 127 – Contract Management

EVM 101 – Fundamentals of Earned Value Management

ISA 1010 – Basic Information Systems Acquisition

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -107 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Education

 Formal education not required for certification

Experience



2 years in program management with cost, schedule,

and performance responsibilities.

Core Plus Development Guide for Program Management Level 2

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

Wpn

Sys

services

Bus

Mgt/

ACQ 315 – Understanding Industry ®

√

BCF 216 – Applied Operating and Support Cost

Analysis ®

√

CLE 004 – Introduction to Lean Enterprise Concept

√

CLE 022 – Program Manager Introduction to Anti-Tamper

√

CLL 006 – Public-Private Partnerships

√

CLM 025 – Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS)

Acquisition for Program Managers

√

CLM 031 – Improved Statement of Work

√

LOG 0020 – Defense Logistics Agency Support to the PM

√

LOG 105 – Fundamentals of System Sustainment

Management

√

PMT 101 – Production, Quality, and Manufacturing

Fundamentals

√

 Education – Master’s degree, preferably with a major in engineering, systems

management, business administration, or a related field

 Experience – Two (2) years acquisition experience, preferably in a system

program office or similar organization

CERTIFICATE STANDARDS & CORE PLUS DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT LEVEL 3

Type of Assignment

Representative Activities

Weapon Systems



Leads and provides oversight of IPTs delivering a

weapon system, C2/network-centric system, or

space system.

 Leads tasks supporting pre-award contracts,

financial management, risk management, systems

engineering, total ownership cost determination,

contract coordination, and communications.

services



Organizes and leads DoD professional,

administrative, and management support service

contracting as relates to developing clearly stated

and actionable requirements packages.

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -108 -

Naval Postgraduate School

 Coordinates with local contracting officers, and

ensures opportunities for socio-economic business

concerns.

 Performs all acquisition strategy requirements

actions noted in Attachment 1 to AT&L services

Memo of Oct. 2, 2006.

Business Management

Systems/IT



Oversees transformation integration, planning, and

performance, and investment management as

applies to the acquisition community and program

office(s), and system(s) under development.

Core Certification Standards for Program Management Level 3

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition

Training

Non required

Functional Training

ACQ 315 – Understand Industry ®

BCF 110 – Fundamentals of Business Financial Management

ENG 201 – Applied Systems Engineering in Defense

Acquisitions, Part I

EVM 263 – Principles of Schedule Management ®

LOG 104 – Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM)

PMT 355 – Program Management Office Course, Part A

PMT 360 – Program Management Office Course, Part B ®

Education

 Formal education not required for certification

Experience



4 years in program management with cost, schedule and

performance responsibilities

 At least 2 years in program office for systems

development and acquisition or similar organization

(dedicated matrix support to a PM, PEO, DCMA

program integrator, or supervisor of shipbuilding). These

2 years may run concurrent with the preceding 4 years

requirement.

 Level III DAWIA certification in another acquisition

functional

 2 years in program management with cost, schedule, and

performance responsibilities

 At least 2 years in program office for systems

development and acquisition or similar organization

(dedicated matrix support to a PM, PEO, DCMA

program integrator, or supervisor of shipbuilding). These

2 years may run concurrent with the preceding Level III

or 2 years requirement.

Unique Position Training Standards for Program Manager Level 3

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -109 -

Naval Postgraduate School



PEOs; PM/DPM of MDAP/MAIS: PM/DPM of significant nonmajor programs

(see note 6 below)

• PMT 401 – Program Manager’s Course ®

• PMT 402 – Executive Program Manager’s Course ®

Core Plus Development Guide for Program Management Level 3

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

Wpn

Sys

services

Bus

Mgt/

ACQ 265 – Understanding Industry ®

√

ACQ 370 – Acquisition Law ®

√

ACQ 452 – Forging Stakeholder Relationships ®

√

BFM 209 – Acquisition Reporting for MDAPs and MAIS ®

√

CLE 008 – Six Sigma: Concepts and Processes

√

CLE 301 – Reliability and Maintainability

√

CLL 022 – Title 10 Depot Maintenance Statute Overview

√

CLL 201 – Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and

Material Shortages (DMSMS) Fundamentals

√

ENG 202 – Applied Systems Engineering in Defense

Acquisition, Part II ®

√

ISA 320 – Advanced Program Information Systems

Acquisition ®

√

LOG 200 – Product Support Strategy Development, Part A

√

LOG 201 – Product Support Strategy Development, Part B

√

LOG 204 – Configuration Management

√

LOG 235 – Performance-Based Logistics

√

PMT 400 – Program Manager’s Skills Course ®

√

PQM 201A – Intermediate Production, Quality, and

Manufacturing, Part A

√

TST 204 – Intermediate Test and Evaluation ®

√



Education – At least 24 semester hours from among accounting, business

finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management,

marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management (DANTES

equivalency may be substituted)

 Experience – (2) additional years of acquisition experience, preferably in a

system program office or similar organization (in addition to core certification

experience)

Note: “®” Following a course tittle indicates the course is delivered as resident-based instruction.

Information on this chart from: https://icatalog.dau.edu/onlinecatalog/CareerLvl.aspx

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -110 -

Naval Postgraduate School

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -111 -

Naval Postgraduate School

APPENDIX B. DAWIA CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

CERTIFICATE STANDARDS & CORE PLUS DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

CONTRACTING LEVEL 1, 2 AND 3

Type of Assignment

Representative Activities

1. Operational

Contracting



Contracting functions in support of post, camp or

stations

2. Res & Dev

 Contracting functions in support of research and

development

3. System Acquisition

 Contracting functions in support of systems

acquisition to include all ACAT programs

4. Logistics and

Sustainment

 Contracting functions performed by the Defense

Logistics Agency or by other offices to sustain

weapon systems

5. Construction A & E

 Contracting functions in support of construction

and/or architect and engineering services

6. Contingency/Combat

Ops



Contracting functions performed in a contingency

or combat environment

7. Contract Admin

Office



Contracting function is primarily focused on

contract administration

8. Contract Cost/Price

Analyst



Contracting function is primarily focused on

advanced cost/price analysis

9. Small Business

Specialist



Contracting function is primarily focused on

advising small businesses or on strategies for

maximizing use of small businesses

10. Other

 Contracting functions that perform a variety of

assignments or are at a headquarters, secretariat,

or OSD

Core Certification Standards for Contracting Level 1

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -112 -

Naval Postgraduate School

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition Training

None required

Functional Training

CON 091 – Contract Fundamental ®

CON 121 – Contract Planning

CON 100 – Shaping Smart Business Arrangements

CON 124 – Contract Execution

CON 127 – Contract Management

CON 170 – Fundamentals of Cost and Price Analysis ®

CLC 033 – Contract Format and Structure for DoD e-Business

Environment

CLC 056 – Analyzing Contract Costs

CLC 057 – Performance Based Payments and Value of Cash

Flow

CLM 059 – Fundamentals of Small Business for the Acquisition

Workforce

CLC 058 – Introduction to Contract

Education

 The 2019 NDAA removed the requirement for the 24

semester hours in accounting, law, business, finance,

contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial

management, marketing, quantitative methods, or

organization and management

 Baccalaureate degree (Any Field of Study)

Experience

 1 year of contracting experience

Unique Position Training Standards for Contracting Level 1

 Contracting personnel assigned to support a MDAP/MAIS program

• ACQ 101 – Fundamentals of System Acquisition Management

Core Plus Development Guide for Contracting Level 1

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

CLC 003 – Sealed Bidding

√

CLC 004 – Market Research

√

CLC 005 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures

√

CLC 009 – Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned

Small Business Program

√

CLC 020 – Commercial Item Determination

√

CLC 024 – Basic Math Tutorial

√

CLC 028 – Past Performance Information

√

CLC 030 – Essentials of Interagency

Acquisitions/Fair Opportunity

√

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -113 -

Naval Postgraduate School

CLC 043 – Defense Priorities and Allocations

System

√

CLC 045 – Partnering

√

CLC 046 – DoD Sustainable Procurement

Program

√

CLC 054 – Electronic Subcontracting Reporting

System (eSRS)

√

CLC 055 – Competition Requirement

√

CLC 060 – Time and Materials Contracts

√

CLC 062 – Intra-Governmental Transactions

√

CLC 113 – Procedures, Guidance, and

Information

√

CLC 132 – Organizational Conflicts of Interest

√

CLG 001 – DoD Governmentwide Commercial

Purchase Card Overview

√

CLM 023 – DAU AbilityOne Training

√

CON 237 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures

√

CON 243 – Architect-Engineer Contracting ®

√

CON 244 – Construction Contracting ®

√

LOG 100 – Life Cycle Logistics Fundamentals

√

LOG 105 – Fundamentals of System

Sustainment Management

√

SPY 101 – Standard Procurement System and

federal Procurement Data System -- Next

Generation User

√

 Education – Non specified

 Experience – Non specified

Core Certification Standards for Contracting Level 2

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition Training

ACQ 101 – Fundamental of Systems Acquisition Management

Functional Training

Functional Training identified in Level I must have been

completed

CON 200 – Business Decisions for Contracting

CON 216 – Legal Considerations in Contracting

CON 280 – Source Selection and Administration of Service

Contracts ®

CON 290 – Contract Administration and Negotiation

Techniques in a Supply Environment ®

CLC 051 – Managing Government Property in the Possession of

Contractors

HBS 428 – Negotiation

Education

 The 2019 NDAA removed the requirement for the 24

semester hours in accounting, law, business, finance,

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -114 -

Naval Postgraduate School

contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial

management, marketing, quantitative methods, or

organization and management

 Baccalaureate degree (Any Field of Study)

Experience

 2 years of contracting experience

Unique Position Training Standards for Contracting Level 2



Contract Price and/or Cost Analysis or related job title

• CON 270 – Intermediate Cost and Price Analysis ®



Contracting personnel assigned to support a MDAP/MAIS program

• ACQ 202 – Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A

Core Plus Development Guide for Contracting Level 2

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

CLC 006 – Contract Terminations

√

CLC 008 – Indirect Costs

√

CLC 013 – services Acquisition

√

CLC 026 – Performance-Based Payments

Overview

√

CLC 027 – Buy American Statute

√

CLC 031 – Reverse Auctioning

√

CLC 039 – Contingency Contracting Simulation: Barda

Bridge

√

CLC 040 – Predictive Analysis and Scheduling

√

CLC 041 – Predictive Analysis and Systems

Engineering

√

CLC 042 – Predictive Analysis and Quality

Assurance

√

CLC 044 – Alternative Dispute Resolution

√

CLC 047 – Contract Negotiation Techniques

√

CLC 059 – Management of Subcontracting

Compliance

√

CLC 066 – Other Transactions (OTs)

√

CLC 103 – Facilities Capital Cost of Money

√

CLC 104 – Analyzing Profit or Fee

√

CLC 107 – OPSEC Contract Requirements

√

CLC 108 – Strategic Sourcing Overview

√

CLC 110 – Spend Analysis Strategies

√

CLC 112 – Contractors Accompanying the

Force

√

CLC 114 – Contingency Contracting Officer

Refresher

√

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -115 -

Naval Postgraduate School

CLC 120 – Utilities Privatization Contract

Administration

√

CLC 125 – Berry Amendment

√

CLL 011 – Performance Based Logistics (PBL)

√

CLM 031 – Improved Statement of Work

√

CLM 040 – Proper Financial Accounting

Treatments for Military Equipment

√

CLM 200 – Item-Unique Identification

√

CON 0070 – Source Selection

√

CON 234 – Joint Contingency Contracting

Course ®

√

CON 252 – Fundamentals of Cost Accounting

Standards ®

√

CON 320 – Advanced Indirect Cost Analysis ®

√

GRT 201 – Grants and Agreements Management

√

HBS 433 – Presentation Skills

√

HBS 440 – Team Leadership

√

HBS 441 – Team Management

√

LOG 235 – Performance-Based Logistics

√

PMT 0130 – Work-Breakdown Structure

√

SBP 101 – Introduction to Small Business Programs, Part

√

 Education – Graduate studies in business administration or procurement

 Experience – Two (2) additional years of contracting experience

Core Certification Standards for Contracting Level 3

(Required for DAWIA Certification)

Acquisition Training

ACQ 202 – Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A

Functional Training

Functional Training identified in Level II must have been

completed

CON 360 – Contracting for Decision Makers ®

1 additional course from the Harvard Business Management

Modules

Elective Requirement. Select on of the below courses:

ACQ 265 – Mission-Focused services Acquisition ®

ACQ 315 – Understanding Industry ®

ACQ 370 – Acquisition Law ®

CON 244 – Contraction Contracting ®

CON 252 – Fundamentals of Cost Accounting Standards ®

CON 320 – Advanced Indirect Cost Analysis ®

CON 334 – Advance Contingency Contracting Officer’s Course

CON 370 – Advanced Cost and Price Analysis ®

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -116 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Education

 The 2019 NDAA removed the requirement for the 24

semester hours in accounting, law, business, finance,

contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial

management, marketing, quantitative methods, or

organization and management

 Baccalaureate degree (Any Field of Study)

Experience

 4 years of contracting experience

Unique Position Training Standards for Contracting Level 3

 Contract Price and/or Cost Analysis or related job title

• CON 370 – Advanced Cost and Price Analysis ®

 Contracting personnel assigned to devoting at least 50 percent of their time in

support of a MDAP/MAIS program

• ACQ 203 – Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part B

Core Plus Development Guide for Contracting Level 3

(Desired training, education, and experience)

Type of Assignment

Training

ACQ 450 – Leading in the Acquisition

Environment ®

√

ACQ 451 – Integrated Acquisition for Decision

Makers ®

√

ACQ 452 – Forging Stakeholder Relationships ®

√

ACQ 453 – Leader as Coach ®

√

BFM 0040 – Budget Policy

√

CLB 007 – Cost Analysis

√

CLL 001 – Predictive Analysis and Scheduling

√

CLV 016 – Introduction to Earned Value

Management

√

EVM 101 – Fundamentals of Earned Value

Management

√

HBS 309 – Coaching For Results

√

HBS 406 – Coaching

√

 Education – Master degree in business administration or procurement

 Experience – Four (4) additional years of contracting experience

Note: “®” Following a course tittle indicates the course is delivered as resident-based instruction.

Information on this chart from: https://icatalog.dau.edu/onlinecatalog/CareerLvl.aspx

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -117 -

Naval Postgraduate School

LIST OF REFERENCES

Aufderheide, D., Maloy, J., & Corrigan, M. (2011). Air Force operational contracting

knowledge assessment: Analyzing explicit and tacit contracting knowledge

[Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate School]. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/10729

Air Force Personnel Center. (2007, July 31). The Air Force officer classification

directory.

https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/afrotc/docs/Documents/AFOCD.pdf

Air Force Personnel Center. (2012, August 1). The Air Force officer classification

directory. https://afrotc.siu.edu/_common/documents/af-officer-classification-

directory.pdf

Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition. (n.d.).

Acquisition corps. Secretary of the Navy.

https://www.secnav.navy.mil/rda/workforce/Pages/Career%20Management/Acqui

sitionCorps.aspx

Berger, J., Mason, T., McCann, R., Purcell, F. E., Jr., & Adabi, M. (2019, December 26).

FY 2020 NDAA signed into law with U.S. Space Force, cyber operations &

acquisition reforms. Lexology.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=b85d292f-5d37-4fda-9308-

d304f3235bf1

Carroll, M., & Hicks, K. (2018, December). Army acquisition officer educational path

optimization. Monterey, CA; [Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate School].

https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/61326

Christensen, D. S., Searle, D. A., & Vickery, D. C. (1999). The impact of the Packard

Commission’s recommendations on reducing cost overruns on defense acquisition

contracts. Acquisition Review Quarterly, 6(3), 251.

Cohen, S., & Eimicke, W. (2008). The responsible contract manager protecting the public

interest in an outsourced world. Georgetown University Press.

Defense Acquisition University. (n.d). Certification standards & core plus development

guide, program management level III. Defense Acquisition University iCatalog.

https://icatalog.dau.edu/onlinecatalog/CareerLvl.aspx?lvl=3&cfld=9

Defense Acquisition Workforce, 10 U.S.C. § 1701–1761 (2019).

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part2/chapte

r87&edition=prelim

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -118 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy. (2012, March 22). Department of

Defense COR handbook.

https://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/cpic/cp/docs/USA001390-

12_DoD_COR_Handbook_Signed.pdf

Department of Defense. (2018). Defense Acquisition Workforce Position Category

Description (PCD).

https://www.secnav.navy.mil/rda/workforce/Documents/StrategyPolicy/PCDs_Co

Combin.pdf

Department of Defense. (2017, July 14). Department of Defense Handbook for the

Training and Development of the Services Acquisition Workforce.

https://www.dau.edu/cop/ace/DAU%20Sponsored%20Documents/DoD%20Hand

book%20for%20the%20Training%20and%20Dev%20of%20the%20SA%20Wor

kforce.pdf

Department of Defense. (2019, September 13). DoD Acquisition workforce strategic plan

FY2016-FY2021.

https://www.hci.mil/docs/DoD_Acq_Workforce_Strat_Plan_FY16_FY21.pdf

Department of Defense. (2020a, January 23). Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition

Framework (DoD Instruction 5000.02).

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/DoDi/500002p.pdf

?ver=2019-10-25-134150-283

Department of Defense. (2020b, April 21). Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition (DoD

Instruction 5000.02T).

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/DoDi/500002T.pdf

?ver=2020-04-22-083324-963

Department of Defense Directive 5000.02. (2020, January 23). Operation of the Adaptive

Acquisition Framework.

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/DoDi/500002p.pdf

?ver=2019-10-25-134150-283

Department of the Air Force. (2012). Acquisition managers: Career field education and

training plan (CFETP 63AX & 1101). https://pdf4pro.com/amp/cdn/acquisition-

managers-63ax-amp-1101-af-2203e9.pdf

Department of the Air Force. (2014). Contracting: Career field education and training

plan (CFETP 64PX).

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2a

hUKEwipwLeckrzqAhUDvp4KHUttDaYQFjAAegQIAxAB&url=https%3A%2F

%2Fvt.instructure.com%2Fcourses%2F35942%2Ffiles%2F3237910%2Fdownloa

d%3Fdownload_frd%3D1&usg=AOvVaw123vQPB9mcB9ja-OOHvo1p

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -119 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Department of the Army. (2010, February 1). Officer professional development and

career management (Pamphlet 600-3). https://ssilrc.army.mil/wp-

content/uploads/2019/10/DA-PAM-600-3-Officer-Professional-Development-

and-Career-Management-3-April-2019.pdf

Department of the Army. (2018, September 17). Army acquisition procedures (Pamphlet

70-3).

https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN11426_DAPam7

0-3_FINAL.pdf

Department of the Army. (2019, April 3). Officer professional development and career

management (Pamphlet 600-3). https://ssilrc.army.mil/wp-

content/uploads/2019/10/DA-PAM-600-3-Officer-Professional-Development-

and-Career-Management-3-April-2019.pdf

Department of the Army. (2020a, March 4). Army acquisition corps.

https://asc.army.mil/web/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Acquisition-Corps-DA-

PAM-600-3.pdf

Department of the Navy. (2006, August 9). Marine Corps promotion manual, Volume 1,

officer promotions [MCO P1400.31C].

https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/135/MCO%20P1400.31C.pdf

Department of the Navy. (2019a, March 25). Department of the Navy (DON) Defense

Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Operating Guide.

https://www.secnav.navy.mil/rda/workforce/Documents/StrategyPolicy/DON_D

AWIA_OP_GUIDE_SIGNED_03.25.19.pdf

Department of the Navy. (2019b, March 29). Military occupational specialties manual

(NAVMC 1200.1E).

https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/wtbn/MCCMOS/

FY20%20MOS%20Manual%20NAVMC_1200_1E_Signed.pdf?ver=2019-04-17-

130202-033

Department of the Navy. (2019c, May 30). Marine Corps graduate education program

(MCGEP).

https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/MCO%201524.1.pdf?ver=2019-

06-03-083458-743.

Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs. (2020a, June 2). FY21

commandants’ career-level education board (MARADMINS 324/20). U.S.

Marine Corps. https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-

Display/Article/2204706/fy21-commandants-career-level-education-board/

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -120 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs. (2020b, June 10). Announcement

of Fiscal Year 2020 officer retention board number 2 (MARADMINS 344/20).

U.S. Marine Corps. https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-

Display/Article/2215255/announcement-of-fiscal-year-2020-officer-retention-

board-number-

2/#:~:text=The%20CD%20sub%2Dboard%20enables,initial%20period%20of%2

0obligated%20service

Deputy Commandant Manpower and Reserve Affairs. (2020c, August 6). FY21

Acquisition Primary MOS selection (8069 and 8061) board solicitation

(MARADMIN 455/20). U.S. Marine Corps.

https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-

Display/Article/2303567/fy21-acquisition-primary-mos-selection-8059-and-8061-

board-solicitation/

Everling, J., Rosa, L., Clark, A., & Ford, D. (2017). Modeling the Department of Navy

acquisition workforce with system dynamics. [Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate

School]. https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/58782

Ferrara, J. (1996). DoD’s 5000 documents: Evolution and change in defense acquisition

policy. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology.

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a487769.pdf

Fox, J. R. (2011). Defense acquisition reform, 1960–2009: An elusive goal. Center for

Military History, U.S. Army. https://history.army.mil/html/books/051/51-3-

1/CMH_Pub_51-3-1.pdf

Gambles, K., Johnson, Ellsworth K., I.,II, & Jones, E. A. (2009). Military proponency-

functional area (FA) 51. Army AL & T, , 25–29. Retrieved from

https://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/2009/4_OctNovDec/articles/25_Military_Propo

nency--Functional_Area_(FA)_51_200904.pdf

Garcia, A., Keyner, H., Robillard, T., & VanMullekom, M. (1997). The Defense

Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act: Five years later. Acquisition Review

Quarterly, 295–314. http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA487925

Gates, S. M., Phillips, B., Powell, M. H., Roth, E., & Marks, J. S. (2018). Analyses of the

Department of Defense acquisition workforce: Update to methods and results

through FY 2017 (RR-2492-OSD). RAND. https://www.rand.org/pubs

research_reports/RR2492.html

Government Accountability Office. (2000). Federal acquisition: Trends, reforms, and

challenges (GAO/T-OCG-00-7).

https://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/cg00007t.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2011). Defense acquisition workforce: Better

identification, development, and oversight needed for personnel involved in

acquiring services (GAO-11-892). https://www.gao.gov/assets/590/585429.pdf

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -121 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Government Accountability Office. (2013). Defense acquisitions: Goals and associated

metrics needed to assess progress in improving service acquisition (GOA-13-

634). https://www.gao.gov/assets/660/655605.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2018). Defense acquisition workforce: Opportunities

exist to improve practices for developing program managers (GAO-18-217).

https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690094.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2019a, March 25). Defense acquisitions:

Information on workforce, organizational structure, and budgeting for selected

programs (GAO-19-209). https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697838.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2019b, March 6). High-risk series: Substantial

efforts needed to achieve greater progress on high-risk areas (GAO-19-157SP).

https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697245.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2019c, August 15). Defense acquisition workforce:

DoD increased use of human capital flexibilities but could improve monitoring

(GAO-19-509). https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/700927.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2019d, October 2). Steps needed to identify

acquisition training needs for non-acquisition personnel (GAO-19-556).

https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/701178.pdf

Government Accountability Office. (2020). Reports & Testimonies - Recommendations

Database. https://www.gao.gov/reports-testimonies/recommendations-database/

Hine, T. (2019). FY 2020 NDAA Signed into Law with U.S. Space Force, Cyber

Operations & Acquisition Reforms. Lexology. https://www.lexology.com/library/

detail.aspx?g=b85d292f-5d37-4fda-9308-d304f3235bf1

Human Capitol Initiative. (2020). Workforce Metrics. https://www.hci.mil/about/

workforce-metrics.html

Johnson, E., Paton, B., Threat, E., & Haptonstall, L. (2005). Joint contingency

contracting [Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate School]. NPS Archive: Calhoun.

https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/34229

Kaul, M. D., & Wilson, B. J. (2013, December 1). Qualification requirement perceptions

of the United States Army acquisition workforce since implementation of the

Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) [Master’s thesis,

Naval Postgraduate School]. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/38962

Kendall, F. (2013, February). Moving forward. Defense AT&L, 42(1), 2–3.

https://www.dau.edu/library/defense-atl/DATLFiles/Jan_Feb_2013/Kendall.pdf

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -122 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Layton, E. (2007). The Defense Acquisition University: training professionals for the

acquisition workforce, 1992–2003 (1st ed.). Defense Acquisition University

Press. https://www.dau.edu/about/Documents/DAU%20History%20Book.pdf

Linden, K. (2020, April 3). DAU contracting certification training program: Foundational

training and single‐level certification signifying an Individual has achieved initial

readiness for a contracting career. Defense Acquisition University.

Lohier, J. M. & Johnson, B. J. (2019). The contracting officers and contract managers of

the future. Contract Management, 59 (9), 30–36. http://search.proquest.com/

docview/2282756421/

Marine Corps Systems Command. (n.d.-a). Acquisition MOS.

https://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/Command-Staff/Acquisition-MOS/

Marine Corps Systems Command. (n.d.-b). Marine Corps system command, equipping

our marines. Marines.mil. https://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/

Marine Corps Systems Command. (n.d.-c). Marine Corps system command, acquisition

career roadmap. Marines.mil. https://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/Command-

Staff/Acquisition-MOS/020213023002/

Mehta, A. (2017, August 2). This is the Pentagon’s new acquisition structure. Defense

News. https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2017/08/02/this-is-the-

pentagons-new-acquisition-structure/

Military.com. (2020, July 8). DANTES DSST exam list. https://www.military.com/

education/timesaving-programs/dantes-dsst-exam-list.html

My Army Benefits. (2020, August 31). Advanced civil schooling.

https://myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Benefit-Library/Federal-Benefits/Advanced-

Civil-Schooling-(ACS)?serv=122

National Contract Management Association. (2019). Contract management body of

knowledge (CMBOK) (6th ed.).

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Pub. L. No. 116–92, §1790,

133 Stat. 1198 (2019, December 20). https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s1790/

BILLS-116s1790enr.pdf

Naval History and Heritage Command. (2020). Supply Corps.

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/communities/supply-corps.html

Navy Personnel Command. (2019, October 21). Acquisition FAQ.

https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/acquisition/Pages/

default2.aspx

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -123 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Navy Personnel Command. (2020). Manual of Navy officer manpower and personnel

classifications, volume I, major code structures. Department of the Navy.

Ocasio, R., & Bublitz, R. (2013, September 1). Defense Acquisition Workforce

Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification: A comparative analysis of certification

versus qualification [Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate School].

http://hdl.handle.net/10945/37688

Office of Supply Corps Personnel. (2011) It’s your career. Navy Personnel Command.

https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/rlstaffcorps/supply/

Documents/It’s%20Your%20Career%201%20Nov%2011.pdf

Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense. (1991, October 22). Defense Acquisition

University (DoD Directive 5000.57). https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/blaw/DoDd/

corres/pdf/d500057_102291/d500057p.pdf

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. (2019,

September). Defense acquisition workforce education, training, experience, and

career development program (DoD Instruction 5000.66).

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/DoDi/500066.pdf

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. (2020a,

January 23). Operation of the adaptive acquisition framework (DoD Instruction

5000.02). https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/DoDi/

500002p.pdf?ver=2019-10-25-134150-283

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. (2020b,

September 2). “Back-to-basics” for the defense acquisition workforce

[Memorandum]. https://4edacm.dau.edu/assets/

Back_to_Basics_Memo_2_Sep_2020.pdf

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(2013, April 24). Implementation directive for Better Buying Power 2.0—

Achieving greater efficiency and productivity in defense spending

[Memorandum]. https://business.defense.gov/Portals/57/Documents/

Attachment%209_BBP%202%20Implementation%20Directive.pdf

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(2015, April 9). Implementation directive for the Better Buying Power 3.0—

Achieving dominant capabilities through excellence and innovation

[Memorandum]. https://www.acq.osd.mil/fo/docs/

betterBuyingPower3.0(9Apr15).pdf

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(2016, September 13). Department of Defense acquisition workforce strategic

plan, FY2016–FY2021. https://www.hci.mil/docs/

DoD_Acq_Workforce_Strat_Plan_FY16_FY21.pdf

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management -124 -

Naval Postgraduate School

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(2017, August 10). Operation of the defense acquisition system (DoD Instruction

5000.02T). http://acqnotes.com/acqnote/acquisitions/DoDi-5000

Pasindorubio, Z., Yu, R., & Carnazza, G. (2018). Marine corps acquisition optimization.

Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/61305

Phillips, J. (2019, February 6). Simulation and scenario-based training. Defense

Acquisition University. https://www.dau.edu/library/defense-atl/blog/Simulation-

and-Scenario-Based-Training

Reed, T. (2010). Army Contracting Command Workforce Model Analysis. Monterey,

California. Naval Postgraduate School. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/

a628348.pdf

Rendon, R., & Snider, K. (2019). Management of defense acquisition projects (Second

edition.). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.

Schwartz, M., Francis, K. A., & O’Connor, V. (2016). The Department of Defense

acquisition. Workforce: Background, analysis, and questions for Congress (CRS

Report R44578). Washington, DC. Congressional Research Service.

Schwartz, T. (2017, July 21). How to become a more well-rounded leader. Harvard

Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/07/how-to-become-a-more-well-rounded-

leader

Spotlight on DAU learning resources. (2008, March 4). Defense AT&L, XXXVII(2), 64–

65. https://www.dau.edu/library/defense-atl/_layouts/15/

WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/library/defense-atl/DATLFiles/2008_03_04/mar-

apr08.pdf&action=default

U.S. Air Force. (n.d.). Ongoing education: Pursue your greatness.

https://www.airforce.com/education/ongoing-education

U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center. (2020). Officer in the Army acquisition

workforce. https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/military-officer/

information

U.S. Army Modeling and Simulation Office. (n.d.). Intermediate level education/

advanced operations warfighting course. https://www.ms.army.mil/sp-div2/fa57/

ile-aowc.html

Zehnder, E. (n.d.). Parallel worlds - Interview with Colin Powell.

https://www.egonzehnder.com/cdn/serve/article-pdf/1513691169-

e72e764a20c3270895573d18bcfd25f7.pdf?dl=

Acquisition Research Program

Graduate School of Defense Management

Naval Postgraduate School

555 Dyer Road, Ingersoll Hall

Monterey, CA 93943