Wartime setting Marks Aldridge's first address to a DAU graduating class: Sanctioning the status quo not an option - Program Management - Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology

Program Manager, Jan, 2002 by Collie J. Johnson

September 11 is now the "elephant in the drawing room" for DoD's leaders. Whether it be a change of command, a promotion ceremony, an awards ceremony, a conference presentation, a graduation--no matter what the occasion, all roads lead back to 9/11 and the cowardly terrorist attacks that shook the nation.

E.C. Pete Aldridge Jr., the USD(AT&L), didn't ignore the "elephant" as he addressed 235 graduates of DAU's Advanced Program Management Course (Class 01-3) on Dec. 14. Indeed, he stated in no uncertain terms his wartime expectations of the first "PMs in waiting" to graduate since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Think Anew and Act Anew

"I will expect you to think anew and act anew when you report for work. In a word, I expect innovation...I will expect you to scrub our initiatives and programs to identify all those activities or practices that slow the process."

Aldridge told the graduates that perhaps they will find that DoD is wasting too much time and resources with redundant documentation, unnecessary meetings, superfluous systems capabilities, convoluted oversight, or excessive coordination.

"If you spend the next 30 years in acquisition," he encouraged them, "there may never be a better chance to translate this particular sentiment into reality."

Aldridge said that within AT&L, the war will either prove a "springboard to transformation or it will sanction the status quo." He predicted it would not be the latter result.

Acknowledging that DoD's problems in Defense acquisition programs are many, he cited cost overruns, long cycle times, an ever-shrinking workforce, and a defense industrial base that has little incentive to do business with DoD. He spoke of a paralyzing focus on the hundred percent solution in systems development; weapons and infrastructure priorities that cannot seem to join DoD in the post-Cold War world; and a wartime need for high-tech research and development from a community that has suffered years of neglect, under-resourcing, and brain-drain.

Complacency Kills

Reflecting back to Sept. 10--one day prior to the attacks--Aldridge mentioned the speech he was delivering at an Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week kickoff ceremony. He had cautioned the AT&L workforce that day against complacency, pointing out that three of our nation's last five major wars came as surprises.

He could never have imagined his words would prove so prophetic. The next day he found himself amending those numbers to four of six.

"Each of you," he told the graduates, "will soon take your place behind one of the many oars that propel this massive ship toward its destination. Take care not to endanger our ship and crew to the complacency that often accompanies a desk-bound job."

Sizable Challenges

An effective leader, he said, will build initiative and creativity in subordinates by assigning objectives, and then abstaining from micromanaging the solutions. Putting his words into action, he threw out some sizable challenges for the graduates to reflect on between now and when they report to work:

Take Care of Your People

Aldridge told the graduating class to be "ferocious" in the standards by which they take care of their people. "Government service will never compete with private industry paycheck to paycheck, but there are many young people out there for whom material reward is not life's alpha and omega. You are probably among them."

Paralysis by Analysis

Aldridge agrees with the President's assertion that the conflict in Afghanistan has taught the nation more about the future of the military than a decade of blue ribbon panels and think-tank symposiums. "It just may mean an end," he said, "to the kind of 'paralysis by analysis' that has vexed the introduction of so many promising systems, concepts, and technologies over the years."

Hard Decisions

Every Service and every constituency of the nation's military, he told the graduates, must be willing to sacrifice some of their own pet projects. Aldridge, as does the President, believes that our war on terror cannot be used to justify obsolete bases, obsolete programs, or obsolete weapon systems.

Asymmetric, Technology-Dependent War

"If ever there was an asymmetric, technology-dependent war, the one we are currently waging is certainly it... When the nation's enemies are all around us, even within our own borders, leverage and force multiplication are no longer luxuries--they are requirements," Aldridge stated.

The key to achieving leverage and force multiplication, he believes, is technology. "Keep your eyes on the prize," he emphasized. "We seek nothing less than the redefinition of war on our terms."

Interoperability

Aldridge urged the graduating class to watch carefully for opportunities to initiate or enhance interoperability. "I will be looking to you to pursue networks rather than autonomous systems. What opportunities can you think of to purchase services instead of hardware? I expect you to more closely approximate available technology to mission needs. And I expect you to bring requirements 'creep' under control in systems development and acquisition."