Army to host second installment of acquisition lecture series

By Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, PEO C3T staff writerMarch 16, 2015

Army to host second installment of acquisition lecture series
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (March 16, 2015) -- Known for adopting new information technologies to meet the demands of the battlefield, now-retired Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle will offer insights for today's Army when he takes the stage on March 24 at the Excellence in Acquisition lecture series.

Boutelle led what is now known as the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) at Fort Monmouth, N.J. from 1997 to 2001, before joining the staff of the Army's Chief Information Officer/G-6 just weeks before September 11, 2001. Throughout his career, the general pushed for a network-centric force that would enable information superiority down to the lowest echelons and improve interoperability across the military. He oversaw the growth of Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below/Blue Force Tracking, the quick-reaction development of the technology that became Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 1, and pushed for increased bandwidth to meet future communications needs.

He introduced the convergence of voice, data and video to the Army, building an enhanced enterprise network infrastructure by establishing the Army Knowledge Online portal and the Defense Knowledge Online portal. Together they provided streamlined access to content for more than six million defense employees.

"I went through defense drawdowns and build-ups," Boutelle said. "What we really found in the drawdown was that we made huge increases in technology when we had no money. Yet, when we're flush with dollars and resources we tend to buy a lot of technology and field a lot of technology, but I don't think we necessarily create new technologies."

Boutelle will share his experiences during the second installment of the Excellence in Acquisition Lecture Series, which will take place 1 p.m. at the Myer Auditorium, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). He plans to discuss such topics as acquisition case studies, how the "center stage" of world order has shifted and what books are on his must-read list.

"Only in periods of emergency have we been able to bring something to Soldiers that they needed quickly," Boutelle said. "Understanding the current acquisition process and the needs and speed with which the Army must deliver capabilities, is absolutely paramount for us to defeat or neutralize any adversary."

Created by the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), the lecture series provides an opportunity for former Army acquisition leaders to share their expertise and engage in discussion with the workforce at APG.

"Each time period in history brings new challenges, but we can't forget to look back and leverage lessons learned from the past," said Maj. Gen. Daniel P. Hughes, program executive officer for C3T. "General Boutelle led our organization during a time of constrained budgets but was able to advance remarkable new capabilities. He knew early on how pervasive and reliable information could empower U.S. forces."

At the first lecture in the series, which kicked off on Sept. 30, 2014, Lt. Gen. (R) William Campbell reviewed examples of acquisition success stories during a period of declining budgets, discussed the recent history of Army acquisition reform and reminded the workforce members in attendance that although the acquisition process is often complex, it has also delivered and deployed the world's best and most technically advanced weapons systems.

"The real power behind the lecture series is the opportunity to listen to several of our past leaders and apply that to the bigger picture of Army acquisition today," Hughes said.

The lecture series will be held quarterly, focusing on the intersection of acquisition and the Army's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies. The event is free and open to the entire APG workforce.

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