Acquisition Book of Knowledge
By Anthony M. Taylor
Article published on: April 1st 2024
Read Time: < 6 mins
Combat Speed
Sgt. Maj. of the U.S. Army Michael A. Grinston unveils the new M10 Booker Combat Vehicle during the Army
Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, June 10, 2023. The new AR
70-1 will accelerate delivery of critical capabilities to Soldiers, such as vehicles like these. (Photo by
Bernardo Fuller, Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division)
“The newly published Army Regulation 70-1 represents a significant update for Army acquisition policy. For
the first time, it makes permanent in Army regulation a comprehensive suite of policies that will help to
accelerate the speed of acquisition and delivery of critical capabilities, encourage and empower our program
managers to employ flexible and creative acquisition approaches, and accelerate the Army’s digital
transformation. This policy change is a critical enabler in achieving positive acquisition outcomes.”
—Margaret Boatner, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for strategy and acquisition
reform, January 2024
In the midst of the Army’s most significant modernization
effort in decades, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology
(OASA(ALT)) plays a pivotal role in ensuring critical capabilities are developed and fielded to the warfighter.
To be successful, the Army Acquisition Workforce must have clear, consistent guidance that enables that
workforce to effectively navigate the complexities of the defense acquisition system.
The latest revision of Army Regulation (AR) 70-1 “Army Operations of the Adaptive Acquisition
Framework,” published on Nov. 28, 2023, is the guidance and critical enabler that allows the
OASA(ALT)’s acquisition leaders and practitioners to perform that pivotal role. As the Army’s
foundational acquisition regulation, AR 70-1 now permanently codifies the latest in defense acquisition policies
and innovative thinking, enabling speed, creativity, flexibility and the Army’s digital transformation
effort.
Enables Acquisition Speed
One of the tenets of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework is to simplify acquisition policy. Implementation of the
Middle Tier of Acquisition achieves this by bridging a gap in the defense acquisition system for mature
capabilities that can be prototyped and fielded rapidly, within five years of program start.
The Honorable Ellen Lord, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, described the
Adaptive Acquisition Framework as “the most transformational acquisition policy change we’ve seen in
decades.” The framework, she said, allows for “innovative acquisition approaches that deliver
warfighting capability at the speed of relevance.” (See “How Relevant Is Speed?” in the Spring
2021 issue of Army AL&T.)
That speed of relevance is now codified in AR 70-1, which guides the Army acquisition enterprise with both speed
of relevance and speed of service. This is evident in Army aviation’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft
program, which in October 2020 used the Middle Tier of Acquisition Rapid Prototyping Pathway to develop two
prototypes and then down-select to one vendor in December 2022, just two years later.
In contrast, it is estimated that the traditional Major Capability Acquisition pathway would have taken three
years. Additionally, the Middle Tier of Acquisition pathway enabled the Next Generation Squad Weapon program to
divide into two separate efforts: fire control, and weapons and ammunition. The new pathway transitioned from
rapid prototyping to rapid fielding in less than 3.5 years, a process that traditionally could have taken nearly
five years using the Major Capability Acquisition pathway. It is this combination of pathways that encourages
and enables flexibility and creativity.
Emphasizes Tailoring
AR 70-1 now codifies several streamlining initiatives that emphasize tailoring documentation requirements,
acquisition approaches and program review requirements to allow for flexibility and creativity. These qualities
are amplified not only by the combination of adaptive acquisition pathways but also by employing creative
approaches, such as the use of the Simplified Acquisition Management Plan (SAMP) and the Acquisition Category IV
(ACAT IV) program. Tailored reviews and focus on relevant acquisition approaches are necessary to define and
execute a program result in a customizable acquisition strategy. That is where the SAMP comes into play. The
SAMP helps to streamline and accelerate the acquisition process by consolidating program documentation,
previously found in multiple standalone products, into one document.
It is this combination of pathways that encourages and enables flexibility and creativity.
Adopted from the special operations community, which comprises approximately 3% of the U.S. Army, SAMPs can now
be used for the remaining 97% of the Army by the Army acquisition community. It is a fully tailorable and
adaptable document that provides a venue for integrating plans and approaches for engineering, cost,
sustainment, test and the overall acquisition approach in pathway but also provides the framework for
engineering application requirements. It provides overarching guidance on the application of systems engineering
as well as streamlining or tailoring the requirements of the System Engineering Plan (SEP) as it relates to a
standalone SEP or having it nested within the Simplified Acquisition Management Plan.
6 Pathways
There are six pathways within the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF). Additional information on the
pathways, decision points and phases (or equivalents), information requirements and other criteria are
identified in DOD Instruction (DODI) 5000.02 and with more specificity in the DODI that corresponds to
each AAF acquisition pathway as follows:
- For urgent capability acquisition (UCA), DODI 5000.81 and paragraph 2-7 of AR 70-1.
- For Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA), DODI 5000.80 and paragraph 2-8 of AR 70-1.
- For Major Capability Acquisition (MCA), DODI 5000.85 and paragraph 2-9 of AR 70-1.
- For software acquisition, DODI 5000.87 and paragraph 2-10 AR 70-1.
- For defense business systems (DBS), DODI 5000.75 and paragraph 2-11 of AR 70-1.
- For acquisition of services, DODI 5000.74 and paragraph 2-12 of AR 70-1.
Additional details and active links to overarching policies, functional policies, service and agency
policies, and acquisition guides for each AAF pathway can be found at aaf.dau.edu.
AR 70-1 is the culmination of how the Army acquisition community has revamped its internal
processes, business model and transformation across the organization to meet the demands of digital
transformation.
Conclusion
The wait is over! The Army’s cornerstone regulation for acquisition, AR 70-1 (Army Operation of the
Adaptative Acquisition Framework), is published and ready for use. It codifies the latest in defense acquisition
policy to accelerate the acquisition speed of development while placing emphasis on tailoring in key
requirements as well as creative and innovative approaches to acquisition documentation and processes. The
overhaul of these processes will usher the Army acquisition workforce into the era of digital transformation and
ensure critical capabilities are delivered to Soldiers at the point of need. It encompasses more than six years
of acquisition reform and is the apex acquisition document that provides regulatory guidance to a workforce of
more than 32,000 acquisition professionals.
For more information, go to the Army Publishing Directorate website for the new policy
https://armypubs.army.mil.
Author
Anthony M. Taylor, a former Army major (field artillery and acquisition), is a senior acquisition policy
specialist in the Policy Directorate in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Strategy and Acquisition Reform, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics and Technology. He holds an M.S. in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and
Technology and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University.
He is a Project Management Professional and DAWIA certified Practitioner in program management and in
engineering.