{"id":56611,"date":"2017-07-31T16:04:26","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T16:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/07\/31\/pentagon-to-unveil-new-acquisition-structure-on-aug-1\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:11:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:11:54","slug":"pentagon-to-unveil-new-acquisition-structure-on-aug-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/07\/31\/pentagon-to-unveil-new-acquisition-structure-on-aug-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon to unveil new acquisition structure on Aug. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Pentagon is scheduled to deliver its new acquisition structure to Congress on Tuesday, a major step toward redesigning how the building researches and procures equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act instructed the Pentagon to devolve the undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics, or AT&L, into two separate jobs: undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, or A&S; and a new undersecretary for research and engineering, or R&E, essentially a chief technology officer. Those changes are expected to be in place by Feb. 1, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress purposefully allowed time for the Department of Defense to come up with its own road map on how the split should occur, which the department is supposed to deliver to Capitol Hill on Aug 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources say there were discussions about delaying that delivery, in order to allow newly installed Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan a chance to weigh in. However, all indications are that the department intends to hit its Tuesday deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that this report will not be the final say in the issue. Its purpose is to inform Congress of how the department will split the duties of AT&L and the broad organizational strategy, but does not need to detail the nuts and bolts of currently shared services. That also means that Shanahan and Ellen Lord, the longtime Textron executive-turned-AT&L nominee who may be confirmed this week, will have a chance to continue to give input going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interim, two-page memo to Congress<\/a> was delivered March 1, which contained few details about how the building is approaching the question of devolving AT&L into the new offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress, meanwhile, is trying to balance out how to give senior leaders a chance to weigh in and making sure the DoD meets the Feb. 1 deadline. And while the report will be happily received in Congress, there is skepticism about what the DoD will actually deliver and how closely it will hew to Congress\u2019 vision of how the new structure should look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Greenwalt, a longtime defense acquisition expert who spent two years as a staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee where he had a central role crafting McCain\u2019s acquisition changes, emphasized that the Pentagon\u2019s thoughts are recommendations and that Congress will have final say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it will be a back and forth between the Congress and administration in terms of how to make this work,\u201d he told Defense News. \u201cThe key thing for Congress is R&E should be driving innovation. A&S should be providing the oversight structure. The boxes shouldn\u2019t be transferred around, it should be a cultural shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCO, DIUx likely folded under R&E<\/b>
<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the majority of the changes to the AT&L structure will entail a reshuffling of offices already under central control, there are two notable offices that may be brought in house, whether they desire it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Strategic Capabilities Office, or SCO, and the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, or DIUx, were two pet projects of former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The SCO is focused on finding innovative solutions to near-term challenges, while DIUx is charged with creating ties between the DoD and the commercial technology sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, both offices have existed as quasi-independent entities. DIUx actually started as a report inside the AT&L structure before being relaunched a year ago following a lack of progress in its mission; it then became a direct report to Carter. The SCO, meanwhile, was created by Carter during his time as deputy secretary of defense and was formally introduced to the world by Carter during the fiscal 2017 budget rollout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Carter gone and Congress seeking to improve innovation inside the building, there is pressure from the Hill to see those groups folded into the new R&E portfolio. In a May 18 interview, Mary Miller, acting assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering, said SCO and DIUx \u201cwould naturally fit in the USDR&E, that\u2019s the intent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we set this undersecretary up as we believe we will, as we\u2019re hoping this turns out to be and it will be a select-in to this whole new culture we\u2019re establishing, we don\u2019t need to have special groups that were set up just to be different, because that will be the undersecretary mission,\u201d Miller said during the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greenwalt said that if the Pentagon crafts the R&E spot \u201cright,\u201d groups like DIUx, SCO, the various rapid capabilities offices and perhaps the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency should all fall under its control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it was pointed out to him that regardless what the Pentagon says, Congress could step in and demand those groups fall under R&E\u2019s control, Greenwalt smiled. \u201cRight. That\u2019s the back and forth,\u201d he said. \u201dWe\u2019ll have to see how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t