"We know that the quality of our people is an essential ingredient to our success as an acquisition enterprise."
- Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, during remarks at CSIS, May 23, 2013
The Army Acquisition mission is to provide our Soldiers a decisive advantage by developing, acquiring, fielding, and sustaining the best equipped Army the world has ever known. Accomplishing that feat requires a dedicated workforce of career civilians and military professionals. This year, the Army celebrates 25 years of Acquisition excellence, marking the creation of the Army Acquisition Corps (AAC), the civilians and military specialists who develop and procure the myriad capabilities the Army employs for its mission. Led by the Army Acquisition Executive, program executive officers (PEOs) and program managers, this dedicated team supports the Soldier by developing, fielding, and sustaining the critical systems and services that enable our Soldiers to fight and win our nation's wars. Along with the larger Acquisition Workforce, the AAC is the premier developer of the materiel solutions needed for a strategically responsive force. Our acquisition professionals consistently manage the delicate balance of delivering capabilities while serving as good stewards of taxpayer resources. To celebrate this milestone achievement, I am highlighting the contributions of this workforce in this year's Green Book.
When conceived in the late 1980s, the Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) was envisioned to professionalize the workforce needed to achieve the best value for the taxpayer while fielding the best equipment. Such a workforce would incorporate uniformed personnel, to better understand military and operational needs for materiel and services. The AAC was created to bridge generating force processes with the operational force needs it serves. Since 1989, the AAC has performed this role with remarkable success. Professionalization of the Acquisition Corps created defined career trajectories for military and civilian acquisition workers, with established education, training, experience, and assignments pathways for the corps, promoting competence and skill among the workforce. As the Department of Defense recognized in the Better Buying Power initiative, a professionalized workforce has been instrumental to success in a constrained resources environment. There is simply no substitute for informed, rational business judgment at every level of our workforce. The AAC, by design, has expertly exercised such judgment throughout a critical time of Army transition.
The greater Army Acquisition Workforce has more than 38,000 members worldwide. It pulls together professionals from across Army organizations, including the Army Materiel Command, Program Executive Offices, Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Test and Evaluation Command, Medical Command, and countless other organizations. Army Acquisition professionals are engineers, scientists, logisticians, contract specialists, testers, program managers, and cost estimators, among other specialties. This broad array of skill sets is needed to effectively manage in a budget environment that demands we do more with less. While resources are shrinking, our threats are not. The Army's Research, Development, and Acquisition (RDA) resources have reached historic lows, and we must maximize the efficient use of these finite assets because our Soldiers are depending on us. The choices we make today will affect and shape the capabilities we provide to future generations of Soldiers.
Army Acquisition is emphasizing several goals: First, we're taking an eye to long range planning, making sure that we make acquisition decisions with sustainment costs in mind. We're also focusing on the quality of our dedicated contracting workforce, professionals who must amass years of experience to be optimally effective. Our Science & Technology portfolio is another area of focus, and one I personally advocated to protect.
As the Army is called to protect the nation against emerging threats, and Army Acquisition is called to support that mission with advanced technologies, equipment, and services, Acquisition must continue to encourage and develop our greatest resource -- our people. We are fostering that growth in our workforce with planned initiatives such as tuition assistance, rotations with industry, and increased recognition for outstanding members of our workforce. My personal mission is to ensure that the Acquisition Workforce grows the right skill set to meet our challenges, and ensure another 25 years and beyond of continued excellence in supporting the Warfighter and the taxpayer.
As I celebrate the accomplishments of the Acquisition Corps, I want to take a moment to recognize and remember one of its most exceptional members. Major General Harold J. Greene exemplified the very best of the Army. He was a soldier of incredible talent, tremendous intellect, and unwavering fidelity and devotion. An officer without pretense, he acted in the best interest of those entrusted to his command, earning the respect of his superiors, subordinates, and peers. He possessed a great sense of humor and forthright demeanor. Harry was an American hero who could have chosen many paths in life. But it was his love of country and his family's legacy of service that led him to join the greatest Army the world has ever known, and he was dedicated to ensuring that our Soldiers are equipped with the very best. He was proud to serve and dedicated his life to the Army.
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