Outstanding little podcast and I am in 100 percent agreement. The military must not lose the lessons learned from this war when it comes to working with and using contractors. So management ‘lessons learned’ must be institutionalized and be part of the military commander’s tool box of how to fight wars. It is also nice to know that contractors are finally getting this kind of attention at that level. Check it out. –Matt
DoD Works To Institutionalize Contracting Lessons From Iraq, Afghanistan
9/13/2012
By Jared Serbu
DoD acquisition officials say they’re working to instill the idea throughout the department that contracting is a military commander’s responsibility. Now, Estavez said, contracting guidance for Afghanistan comes straight from Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force.
“That’s because it’s part of his effort to win that fight in Afghanistan,” he said. “That needs to go into our military education process and our civilian education process. When our junior officers go through their paces, that has to become part of their process. They need to think, ‘When I deploy, contractors are going to be part of the process. They can help me win the fight or they can impede me. I need to manage them to help me win.’ We’ve been saying this at leadership levels, but we’re all transitory. We need to have that idea inculcated into the workforce for the future.”
Transcript here.Listen here.