Implementation of the New Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Framework: End of Fiscal Year 2022 Update

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gates, Susan M.

Contributor:

Esteves, Fernando

Kempf, Jonas

Roth, Elizabeth

Language:

English

Other Title:

Implementation of the New Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Framework

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2024

Summary:

In fiscal year (FY) 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) implemented a new framework for managing the defense acquisition workforce (AW), which included over 180,000 military and civilian personnel as of the end of FY 2021. This workforce, which is responsible for providing a wide range of acquisition, technology, and logistics support for products and services to U.S. warfighters and support elements, has been the focus of policymaker attention for decades. The new framework involved the most significant changes to the management and oversight of the AW since the passage of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) of 1990, including consolidating the career-field structure into a smaller number of functional areas. In this report, the authors use quarterly data on military and civilian members of the AW and the positions they hold through the end of FY 2022 to describe some features of the implementation of the new DAWIA framework and some implications for the workforce and its management.