More billets for acquisition, contracting

[unhappycamper]

More billets for acquisition, contracting
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 1, 2008 7:38:37 EDT

In a move that could encourage more military officers to pursue careers in weapons management, Congress has agreed to allow more general and flag officer billets to be created in the acquisition and contracting fields.

Exactly how many would be created is left to the Defense Department.

For several years, Congress and the Defense Department have been encouraging officers to make a career of weapons management, but the field has held little attraction for midgrade officers who do not see the appeal of a job that involves understanding complex regulations on weapons research, development and production, and often arcane contracting processes.

Under provisions of the 2009 Defense Authorization Act, which became law Oct. 14, the Defense Department must craft a new acquisition management career plan for how to develop and assign military personnel. In the report accompanying the bill, lawmakers said they want to “ensure that a sufficient number of acquisition and contracting billets are reserved for general and flag officers with appropriate qualifications.”

The law authorizes five additional Army acquisition slots for general officers. It also gives the chairman of the Joint Chiefs the power to exclude five joint-duty billets for flag and general officers from counting against statutory limits on the overall number of senior officers, and orders that one of the excluded jobs be the head of the Defense Contract Management Agency.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/11/airforce_acquisition_110108/%2e