Should acquisition workers train like soldiers?

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: DEFENSEINSIDER - Brief article

* Civilian contracting and procurement officers who are assigned to support military units in combat zones should undergo rigorous pre-deployment training, suggested Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command.

"I think someone who's preparing to come out [to a war zone] has to go through sort of a road-to-deployment process just as do our units," Petraeus said in an interview with Frank Anderson, president of the Defense Acquisition University.

"I think it's hugely important to try to understand the circumstances in which what acquisition officers provide is going to be used," said Petraeus. "That means understanding the irregular warfare battlefield, the areas of operation, local circumstances in different places, recognizing that what works up in regional command east of Afghanistan may not be so suited for regional command south and vice...