Army to host third installment of acquisition lecture series

By U.S. ArmyJuly 20, 2015

Army to host third installment of acquisition lecture series
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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (July 20, 2015) -- Now-retired Gen. Paul Kern, who served as the key personal advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Political-Military Affairs, is well known for revitalizing the way Army Materiel Command approaches research and acquisition support and for commanding the Army Experimental Force as it laid the foundation for a networked battlefield.

Now, Kern will offer his insights to the workforce when he takes the stage on July 23 at the next installment of the Excellence in Acquisition Lecture Series.

Kern served in the Army for almost 38 years, holding several key leadership roles, including Commanding General Army Materiel Command; Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology; Commander of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized); and Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense.

In 2004, Kern was tapped by the Secretary of Defense to lead the military's internal investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Now he will share his experiences with the acquisition workforce during the third installment of the Excellence in Acquisition Lecture Series, which will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Mallette Auditorium, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). Discussion topics include understanding the current acquisition process and how that process fits into the larger Army picture.

"The Program Executive Office community is very important to the future of our Army; we have to get acquisition right," Kern said. "We as an acquisition community are building products for other people to use; we must work as a team with the total Army, and not just in acquisition but in every aspect of our jobs."

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.

During the most recent lecture in the series, held on March 24, Retired Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle, who throughout his career pushed for a network-centric force, urged the audience not to forget that they work for the Soldier first, and to take risks when necessary to provide troops with the critical capabilities they need to be successful.

During the first lecture series held last year, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) 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 Excellence in Acquisition Series, free and open to the entire APG workforce, focuses on the intersection of acquisition and the Army's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies. The goal is to leverage lessons of the past as the APG community continues to develop capabilities of the future force.

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