Transition to Jointness: An Analysis and Appraisal of Consolidating Service Acquisition Personnel into a Joint Acquisition Force

Abstract

The Defense Acquisition Workforce continues to be blamed for weapons system procurements gone wrong. Common and contentious issues include duplicity of functions across the services, cost overruns, cases of contract fraud, and the magnification of all of these issues by the media. In attempts to fix many of these problems, various laws were enacted over recent decades. Laws and regulations designed to make the acquisition process more efficient as well as to professionalize the acquisition workforce coincided with a changing strategic landscape and a draw down in the armed forces creating a trend toward jointness. This setting provided for the following problem statement: why has the defense acquisition workforce across the services not yet been reorganized into a consolidated, joint organization and would such an organization serve stakeholders better than the current system? The methodology for this paper included researching precedent-setting steps such as enactment of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA), and Acquisition Reform initiatives. The methodology continued with research on the current acquisition workforce: the Army Acquisition Corps (AAC), the Air Force Acquisition Corps (AFAC), and the Navy Acquisition Professional Community (NAPC); and the acquisition cycle: the Life Cycle System Management Model (LCSMM). Next, various joint organizational structures such as unified commands, an all civilian workforce, and an examination of the current workforce as it evolves toward jointness were examined and evaluated as potential structures for a joint acquisition workforce. Finally, a consolidated workforce regardless of the actual organizational structure was examined for effectiveness and ineffectiveness.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA398853

Entities

People

  • Jaimy S. Rand

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Procurement
  • Army Procurement
  • Business Administration
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Contracts
  • Financial Management
  • Governments
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Procurement
  • National Security
  • Naval Personnel
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Policy
  • Test And Evaluation
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.