DOD Leaders: US Acquisition Reform Necessitates Culture Change
Summary
With a heightened focus on digital modernization in recent years, the Department of Defense is reshaping its approach to procurement and working to shift the innovation paradigm as it embraces new ways forward. Among the many changes the Pentagon is undertaking — from cutting-edge technology adoption to networks, contracting and beyond — is an effort to adapt the DOD’s culture and mold it into one that prioritizes speed and agency. “What we’re really recognizing is that the acquisition, engineering and security practices that we’ve used in the past and built around our traditional manufacturing processes — those are no longer serving us where we need to be in today’s environment,” said , chief software officer for DCIO Information Enterprise, in a panel discussion during a event. Vietmeyer said the release of the DOD’s in February 2022 confirmed that from the chief information officer perspective, the department had been successful in implementing the technology components of modernization, but it had trouble moving beyond that. And then how do we move from their lessons learned to help the fast followers that are coming behind?” U.S. Space Force Chief Data Officer similarly pointed to process barriers and a lack of access as key hurdles in the Space Force’s push toward modernization, but particularly when it comes to data.