The U.S. Army is creating six portfolio acquisition executives, or PAEs, as part of an acquisition reorganization aimed at accelerating the delivery of weapons systems and technology to warfighters, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.
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According to Army officials, the move is designed to cut bureaucracy, reduce paperwork and accelerate the acquisition process by as much as 30 to 50 percent.
“We had previously created a system that was wildly risk averse and … the cost of that risk aversion was being able to get tools into the hands of our soldiers fast enough for them to actually be able to use it,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told Breaking Defense.
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What Are the Six Portfolio Acquisition Executives?
The new structure places the six PAEs under Army Transformation and Training Command and the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, or ASA(ALT).
- PAE Fires: Based in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, this PAE consolidates PEO Missiles and Space, Self Propelled Howitzer Systems and most of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, or RCCTO.
- PAE Command and Control and Counter C2: Located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, this PAE integrates Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors, or PEO IEWS; PEO Command, Control, Communications and Network; and most of PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
- PAE Maneuver Ground: This PAE at Fort Benning in Georgia includes PEO Soldier, PEO Ground Combat Systems and the Infantry Squad Vehicle program.
- PAE Maneuver Air. This PAE at Fort Rucker in Alabama consolidates PEO Aviation, aircraft survivability programs from PEO IEW&S and autonomy initiatives.
- PAE Agile Sustainment and Ammunition: Based in Picatinny, New Jersey, this PAE brings together the Joint PEO Armaments & Ammunition and most of PEO Combat Support & Combat Service Support.
- PAE Layered Protection Plus Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, or CBRN: This PAE at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri incorporates the Joint PEO for CBRN Defense and terrestrial sensors from PEO IEW&S.
Each PAE will be led by a two-star general or civilian equivalent, supported by a deputy, with one focusing on operational responsibilities and the other on acquisition.
“The requirements, teams, the system centers, programming, acquisition, the contracting and testing, will all now report to each of these PAEs, and they will report directly up to our ASA(ALT) who will report directly to me and chief, and we will be able to manage innovation as they push through different projects,” said Driscoll.
What Is the Army’s Pathway for Innovation & Technology?
The Army is also establishing the Pathway for Innovation and Technology, or PIT, office to quickly develop new technologies and scale successful ones across the service.
PIT will oversee portions of RCCTO, the Army Applications Laboratory and the Joint Innovation Outpost. It will also host non-traditional programs and support companies seeking to enter the defense industrial base.
