Army Lt. Gen. Paul Kern Leading Sweeping Change in AAC Education and Training System

Program Manager, May, 2000 by Joann H. Langston

DSMC is proud to claim Army Lt. Gen. Paul Kern as a 1982 alumnus of its former 20-week Program Management Course (now renamed the 14-week Advanced Program Management Course). In fact, to our knowledge Kern is the College's first graduate to hold the title of Director, Army Acquisition Corps, the Army's highest military acquisition executive. But that isn't the only hat he wears. Kern is the Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) Paul J. Hoeper, advising Hoeper in his responsibilities as Army Acquisition Executive, Senior Procurement Executive, Science Advisor to the Secretary, and senior research and development official for the Department of the Army.

An Orange, NJ., native, Kern is a 1967 West Point graduate with extensive command and acquisition experience. Downsizing; rightsizing; streamlining; continuous learning; distance learning; cross-functional training; Simulation and Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements, and Training (SMART) - these are but a few of the issues in which he and his talented workforce have been deeply immersed since his appointment as Director and Military Deputy in July 1997.

As part of the Army headquarters team he has helped usher in sweeping change in the Army's acquisition practices, processes, and business procedures.

The Army is winning its war against an acquisition system that 10 years ago was characterized by outdated processes and numerous inefficiencies. They are doing so with managers like Kern, who are focusing on the problem at its most critical juncture: people and training In this article, Kern talks about many of the most pressing civilian and military issues facing the career acquisition workforce.

Q What adjustments have you made in streamlining the membership of the Army Acquisition Corps [AAC]? What are your specific plans in guiding this membership in 2000 and beyond?

A The Army's primary adjustment has been a broadening of the Acquisition Corps member's skill base. No longer can we rely on a massive corps of individuals specializing on one aspect of the acquisition business. We are attempting to create a group of multifunctional experts in order to more effectively deal with the reduced size of the corps. To that end, we are working within the personnel system to provide training and rotational job opportunities to give individuals a chance to broaden their skills base.

As a result of the requirement to streamline, the Acquisition Career Management Office has re-looked at the definition of the Acquisition Workforce [AWE] itself. Over the past 10 years, the Army Acquisition Corps has evolved into the professional body of men and women now serving in it, and this is another step in that evolution.

The Army invested considerable effort into establishing an acquisition workforce management policy that allows it to deal effectively with the changes mandated by streamlining. There has been no decrease in mission. We are faced with a retirement dilemma in the near future, estimating that by 2003 over 50 percent of the Army Acquisition Workforce will be eligible for retirement. Without a responsive, flexible management plan, the Army could potentially lose a large portion of its core acquisition knowledge base and not have adequate backfill. This comes at a time when we are challenged to implement the Chief of Staff of the Army's vision for Army Transformation in the 21st Century -- a vision whose execution will be highly dependent upon the performance of the Army Acquisition Corps.

In recognition of this problem, the Army Acquisition Corps is actively recruiting members earlier in their civilian and military careers. In our recruiting efforts, we emphasize our tremendous educational and training opportunities as well as challenging and rewarding job experience. We have established a culture that recognizes and rewards performance, excellence, and commitment -- an environment in which the most capable are challenged with the toughest jobs. In 2000 and beyond, our goal is to maintain our world-class workforce to the high standards that are expected.

Q

What plans (hopes, dreams, expectations) do you have for Army acquisition going into the new millennium? Do you have any specific restructuring or reengineering plans? Will you be focusing more on newer technology and training?

A

One of the Acquisition Corps' major roles is to ensure that the application of resources in developing concepts into weapons systems supports warfighters effectively across the full spectrum of future operations. The Acquisition Corps has been challenged to examine fresh new ways of doing business in order to reduce cycle times, leverage commercial technologies, and reduce acquisition costs. One of the Army's main goals in molding the acquisition workforce to accomplish these tasks is to convert it from a force accustomed to acquiring systems in an Industrial Age with Industrial-Age processes and metrics, to one that takes advantage of the power and capabilities of the Information Age.