Acquisition workforce nears crisis point.

• Author: Farrell, Lawrence P., Jr.
• Position: President's Perspective - Brief Article

In the words of Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, "We are dealing with a crisis." Dyer, chief of the Naval Air Systems Command, was alluding to a crisis that stems from the alarming demographics in today's defense acquisition community. At Navair, for example, workers average 48 years of age. The upshot, Dyer said, is that "a significant percentage of our knowledge is approaching graduation." Then he asked rhetorically, "How do we capture that knowledge?"

The problem that Navair confronts is not unique to that command. An aging workforce is a predicament affecting the entire Defense Department's acquisition community.

The reality is that, by 2005, more than 60,000 members of the Defense Department acquisition workforce will be eligible to retire.

In October 2000, a special task force sponsored by the offices of the deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and the deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, published a report, titled, "The Acquisition Workforce 2005."

The report concluded that, after a decade of downsizing, the current workforce is not equipped or trained to hire fresh talent. Recruiting and retaining younger workers, additionally, is hampered by the lack of flexibility in government personnel policies.

Between 1989 and 1999, the defense acquisition workforce was cut by 50 percent. The Defense and Energy Departments accounted for nine out of 10 jobs cut during that time. There are approximately 152,000 workers in defense acquisition jobs today, and about 124,000 are civilian. The problem affects both the civilian and uniformed segments of the workforce

Of particular concern is the loss of engineering and scientific talent. This problem affects both the government and the industry workforce. It should be noted, however, that certain 'glamour' programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter, are drawing an extraordinary amount of engineering applicants. But that is not the case for all defense programs.

Gen. Lawrence A. Skantze, USAF (Ret.), said the total number of Air Force acquisition officers fell from 14,286 in 1989 to 8,818 in 2001, and is scheduled to go down to 8,570 by 2005. Officer accessions in science and engineering continue to decrease. In 2000, the target was 621, and the actual number accessed was 512. ROTC and Officer Training School provided the major share, with the Air Force Academy contributing only 86. This is roughly 1 percent of the Academy's graduating class. By...