Behind the Frontlines: Enabling the Warfighter

Kristian Kleinbach brings a people-first perspective to leadership in a highly technical field. He strongly believes that in-person interactions are essential to maintaining professionalism and mutual respect, noting that workplace courtesy can erode when communication becomes entirely electronic. His approach emphasizes the value of face-to-face engagement in building stronger, more effective tea...

In a fast-moving production environment, Joseph Carson believes that no one succeeds alone. As a branch chief, he’s built his leadership philosophy around the belief that clear communication and true collaboration bring employees and stakeholders into alignment. When everyone understands the goal, and their role in achieving it, he believes that extraordinary results follow.

In a concerted effort to shape the future of secure military communications, nearly 120 leaders from the defense, intelligence and Army acquisition sectors convened at Naval Base Point Loma on August 11-12. The biannual meeting, hosted by the Joint Tactical Networking Center (JTNC) and National Security Agency (NSA) Waveform Communication Security Sub-Working Group (WCS SWG), centered on advancing...

As the Army modernizes its equipment to move and sustain its forces, it is simultaneously overhauling the systems that keep those forces hydrated and fueled. Under the Product Manager for Petroleum and Water Systems (PdM PAWS) ,part of the Project Manager Expeditionary Energy and Sustainment Systems (PM E2S2) portfolio, four key systems have reached crucial fielding milestones this year.

Getting troops and equipment across the battlefield is a vital part of every theater operation. Soldiers and their kits, as well as spare ammunition and other supplies, need to arrive quickly, with nothing left behind—or risk jeopardizing the mission. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and Humvee have done a great job at performing those tasks so far, but the battlefield is always changing. In some...

On August 12, 2026, two Army Acquisition Workforce members graduated from the Leadership Excellence and Acquisition Development (LEAD) program. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center’s (USAASC) Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office, LEAD is a 12-month leadership development program that is designed to develop future Army acquisition program managers by offering selec...

A new Advanced Civil Schooling (ACS) program marks a significant shift in how the Army develops technical expertise, offering selected acquisition officers a fully funded pathway to pursue advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees at civilian institutions. Unlike traditional ACS routes, this full-time, resident graduate study program creates a streamlined, modernizat...

by Thom Hawkins In 1957, Miles Davis and his ensemble scored the French film “Ascenseur pour l’echafaud.” While Davis did devise some harmonic themes in advance, the music was largely improvised and recorded over only two days. The director, Louis Malle, screened relevant segments of the film for the quintet, who translated the mood into musical accompaniment. The result is hauntingly beautiful an...

The past five years have brought the most significant transformation to Army acquisition in decades. After thirty years of evolution, the workforce continues to strengthen and prepare itself for the future.

As the Army accelerates its transformation for an increasingly contested operational environment, the acquisition enterprise is redefining how programs are developed, decisions are made and risks are owned. The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program exemplifies this shift—showing how speed and relevance are achieved not by avoiding risk, but by accepting and managing it. This emerging mindset is...

Watch an overview of the Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE). In this video, explore how the SRPE serves as a critical talent management tool for the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW). Unlike standard performance appraisals that look at past work, the SRPE is designed to evaluate the future leadership potential of civilian professionals (GS-12 through GS-15 and equivalents). Whether you are pr...

In modern conflicts, cyber space has emerged as a primary domain of warfare—an invisible but decisive battlefield that operates far from the traditional front lines. Ensuring constant cyber warfare superiority demands the ability to always be ready to pivot. The U.S. Army continues its momentum to adjust its portfolios and programs, when necessary, embrace more agile acquisition methods and devise...

Organizational leaders constantly talk about transformational structures, launch modernization campaigns and redesign processes to pursue efficiency, innovation or competitive advantage. Yet despite decades of research and countless books, studies and industry surveys have repeatedly suggested that most change initiatives either fail outright or never achieve the intended results. Employees resist...

The Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Fires has embraced this shift to rapidly develop, test and field some of the Army’s most vital capabilities such as hypersonic weapons and integrated air and missile defense. This includes managing and taking risks during program development to deliver to the warfighter quickly—programs like the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) system.

The “Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform” memorandum directs the U.S. Army to implement multiple directives including implementing “a comprehensive transformation strategy, streamline its force structure, eliminate wasteful spending [and] reform the acquisition process.” Now, a little over a year after the announcement of new initiatives, the U.S. Army has already undergone a multitude of e...

Faces of the Force profile feature on Maj. Douglas Richardson, U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, Director, Acquisition Career Management Office Training With Industry fellow of Microsoft.

From The Army Acquisition Executive: Brent G. Ingraham The character of warfare is changing at a pace few institutions were designed to match. Threats are cheaper, faster and more numerous. Technology that once took decades to mature now evolves in months. Our adversaries know this and are adapting accordingly.

If we project ourselves into the future and see that sustainment costs ultimately become operationally or fiscally unaffordable, will acquisition leaders still defend the decision to accelerate programs while accepting reduced analytical rigor? Or will the Army discover that it merely shifted risk from the present into the future where the consequences became harder, more expensive and potentially...

In the Army, leadership is fundamentally defined by ‘influence’. This distinction is the lifeblood of our organization, separating management and administration from the dynamic process of leading Soldiers through conflict and peace.

Faces of the Force profile on Ebonie F. McClintock-Bennett, Army Contracting Command Mission Installation Contracting Command Office of Small Business Programs procurement analyst.

Over 30 Army acquisition career development leaders met at a combination virtual and in-person conference at the United States Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) on June 3.

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITION CAREER MANAGEMENT RONALD J. RICHARDSON JR. The Army stands at a pivotal moment, one defined not by incremental change but by deliberate transformation. At the center of this evolution is a concept often discussed but not always fully understood: workforce optimization. This initiative, tied directly to broader acquisition transformation, is reshaping how the Army A...

Somewhere in the Pentagon, an Army senior leader recently made a program decision informed by live data, instead of slide decks. That moment reflects a broader transformation: as more information moves into digital models, decisions that once required weeks of staffing are now being made in hours. This pattern is becoming more common, but it is not yet the norm.

The Army has signed a new policy that fundamentally transforms the materiel release process, replacing decades of administrative friction with a risk-informed, enabling framework that delivers capabilities to Soldiers faster, without compromising the safety, suitability and supportability standards that protect the force.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement (DASA(P)) convened its DASA(P) Advisory Board on April 22-23, 2026, for a pivotal two-day summit at the Pentagon. The summit focused on accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) integration and workforce transformation across Army contracting.