The Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress
Abstract
Congress and the executive branch have long been frustrated with waste, mismanagement, and fraud in defense acquisitions and have spent significant resources seeking to reform and improve the process. Efforts to address wasteful spending, cost overruns, schedule slips, and performance shortfalls have continued unabated, with more than 150 major studies on acquisition reform since the end of World War II. Many of the most influential of these reports have articulated improving the acquisition workforce as the key to acquisition reform. In recent years, Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD) have sought to increase the size and improve the capability of this workforce. The acquisition workforce is generally defined as uniformed and civilian government personnel, who are responsible for identifying, developing, buying, and managing goods and services to support the military. According to DOD, as of December 31, 2015, the defense acquisition workforce consisted of 156,457 personnel, of which approximately 90% (141,089) were civilian and 10% (15,368) were uniformed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 29, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1014172
Entities
People
- Charles V. O'connor
- Kathryn A. Francis
- Moshe Schwartz
Organizations
- Congressional Research Service