thedrifter
04-26-06, 07:32 PM
April 27, 2006
Acquisition specialty pays off Marines
Patuxent River Tester, MD
The Primary Military Occupational Specialty of Acquisition Professional Officer is paying dividends for the Marine Corps.
Recently, the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Aviation presented the 2005 Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River Semper Fidelis Award to the PMA-234 JATO (Jammer Technique Authorization Team). Part of the citation reads, "Navy and Marine Corps Squadrons fielded new capabilities in only a few weeks. An unprecedented feat when compared to the years it has historically taken to field similar capabilities...The immediate impact of the systems fielded by the JATO Team no doubt saved the lives of many American service members and Iraqi and Afghan citizens."
The award illustrates that the acquisition process not only affects the warfighter in the long term, but in the near term as well. Acquisition program managers are responsible for leading a program through major milestones, which cover cradle-to-grave aspects of weapons systems and equipment, said Col. Robert Martinez, commanding officer, Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River.
Until recently, officers seeking to advance in the acquisitions career field had to train for their primary MOS while working towards acquisition requirements. This often resulted in acquisition officers not getting promoted. With no primary MOS in acquisitions, the Marine Corps was challenged to provide enough qualified candidates to lead its acquisitions programs, said Martinez.
To improve the situation he said, the Commandant of the Marine Corps created the USMC Acquisition Professional Officer 9959 MOS in 2004. The Marine Corps Acquisition Command slate board selects qualified 9959 Marine officers where the Corps has a unique and vested interest.
Membership into the acquisition work force initially comes through the primary MOS monitor, who assigns officers to entry and mid-level acquisition billets. Billets are coordinated through co-occupational field sponsors (Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Systems Command for ground officer and the CO Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River for aviation officers), said Martinez.
He said, once assigned to an acquisition billet, officers may seek acquisition certification. Certification also depends on eligibility for membership in the Acquisition Corps. The requirements include, a bachelor's degree from an accredited education institution with at least 24 semester credit hours in accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods or at least 24 hours of studies in the individual's acquisition career field.
Ellie
Acquisition specialty pays off Marines
Patuxent River Tester, MD
The Primary Military Occupational Specialty of Acquisition Professional Officer is paying dividends for the Marine Corps.
Recently, the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Aviation presented the 2005 Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River Semper Fidelis Award to the PMA-234 JATO (Jammer Technique Authorization Team). Part of the citation reads, "Navy and Marine Corps Squadrons fielded new capabilities in only a few weeks. An unprecedented feat when compared to the years it has historically taken to field similar capabilities...The immediate impact of the systems fielded by the JATO Team no doubt saved the lives of many American service members and Iraqi and Afghan citizens."
The award illustrates that the acquisition process not only affects the warfighter in the long term, but in the near term as well. Acquisition program managers are responsible for leading a program through major milestones, which cover cradle-to-grave aspects of weapons systems and equipment, said Col. Robert Martinez, commanding officer, Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River.
Until recently, officers seeking to advance in the acquisitions career field had to train for their primary MOS while working towards acquisition requirements. This often resulted in acquisition officers not getting promoted. With no primary MOS in acquisitions, the Marine Corps was challenged to provide enough qualified candidates to lead its acquisitions programs, said Martinez.
To improve the situation he said, the Commandant of the Marine Corps created the USMC Acquisition Professional Officer 9959 MOS in 2004. The Marine Corps Acquisition Command slate board selects qualified 9959 Marine officers where the Corps has a unique and vested interest.
Membership into the acquisition work force initially comes through the primary MOS monitor, who assigns officers to entry and mid-level acquisition billets. Billets are coordinated through co-occupational field sponsors (Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Systems Command for ground officer and the CO Marine Aviation Detachment Patuxent River for aviation officers), said Martinez.
He said, once assigned to an acquisition billet, officers may seek acquisition certification. Certification also depends on eligibility for membership in the Acquisition Corps. The requirements include, a bachelor's degree from an accredited education institution with at least 24 semester credit hours in accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods or at least 24 hours of studies in the individual's acquisition career field.
Ellie