Making the acquisition warrior fully mission capable: system program office leveraging web-based technology to strengthen its training program - Acquisition Training

Program Manager, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Col. Donald J. Vazquez, Capt. Brian C. Payne

Col. Donald J. "Bud" Vazquez

In the acquisition business we have always struggled with training. Not so much formal training, which tends to be plentiful and generic, but the informal training needed to specifically do one's current job, and to do it better. While formal training is much improved, the intervals between opportunities tend to be long, and Operations Tempo (OPSTEMPO) often takes precedence. The discipline for what could be called "continuation training" is largely ad hoc. The "menu" is often nice-to-know "gravy" instead of "meat and potatoes."

"Continuation Training" Lacking

In the flying world of today's Air Force, commanders know the status of each aircraft as well as which aircrew members are ready and trained for the missions. To address this lack of "continuation training," one System Program Office (SPO) in the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) at Hanscom AFB has developed and employed an innovative, Web-based program to track individuals' training levels. Just as the Air Force deems aircraft "Fully Mission Capable" based on maintenance parameters, ESC's Global Air Traffic Operations/Mobility C2 (GATO/MC2) SPO has extended this concept into the acquisition training arena.

A Tool to Track Mission Capable Status

We all know that we must balance formal training with informal, "On-the-Job" Training (OJT). In ESC/GA, we introduced these concepts to ensure we focused on the right kind of training, at the right time.

Evaluating its "weapons systems" (in this case, people) based on a combination of factors--including Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP) training, Professional Military Education (PME), formal education, and OJT--GATO/MC2 has developed an innovative Web-based tool to systematically track its employees' Mission Capable status vis-a-vis acquisition requirements. Using individual workstations, supervisors and members can instantaneously gauge their team and individual real-time status, respectively, in real time.

Improving Acquisition Training by Leveraging Technology

Training is crucial in any profession, but is particularly imperative in the unique and specialized world of acquisition, especially given declining entitlements. No amount of formal education will equip even the sharpest new troop to become a "seasoned" veteran. The Air Force could stand to improve the informal OJT of its acquisition officers.

In the world of lean SPOs and increasing demands on acquisition to become faster, better, and cheaper, we can and must construct an acquisition foundation upon which to undergird our workforce--or prepare to suffer the consequences. The Command and Control (GATO/MC2) System Program Office, often referred to as ESC/GA, has taken a lesson from the operational world and applied it to acquisition, leveraging Web-based technology to strengthen its training program.

Mission Capable in the Operational Environment

For individual Air Force weapons systems, such as the F-16, the pinnacle of performance occurs when the system is determined to be Fully Mission Capable (FMC). At this point, the weapon system can accomplish all of the missions that it's expected to perform.

If certain critical subsystems are inoperable, maintainers cannot rate the entire weapon system FMC. However, depending on the criticality of the dysfunctional component, an aircraft might still be mission-worthy in a Mission Capable (MC) or Partially Mission Capable (PMC) state. That is, while not at optimal performance, the weapon system can still fulfill at least some of its mission requirements.

There also exist MC rates at the squadron and wing levels. Depending on what percentage of the unit's individual aircraft are mission-ready, the squadron or wing is either FMC or MC. Thus, at any point in time a squadron commander can determine what proportion of assets are available for combat and to what degree these assets can perform. Fortunately the top-tier Air Force maintenance community keeps our aircraft operating better than any others in the world. As acquirers, we ought to "steal shamelessly" from their playbook.

Is There a Hole in the Current Acquisition Training Mix?

Just as there are maintenance and performance metrics for Air Force weapons systems, there are analogous training milestones for Air Force acquirers. This "maintenance" for the acquisition weapon system comes in the form of training people. Thankfully, the APDP currently exists to provide a broad training base in various acquisition-related disciplines, such as Program Management, Systems Engineering, and Test & Evaluation (13 in total). Professionals can obtain up to a Level III certification in each discipline.

Despite this solid but general training foundation, experience has shown that even some Level III-certified individuals are not immediately ready for acquisition combat, so to speak. These professionals still need to be trained on the particular systems, programs, and environment that comprise their current job. And the faster we get them ready, the faster we can win the acquisition battle!