Page 1 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

September 8, 2006 

The Honorable Terry Everett 

Chairman 

Subcommittee on Strategic Forces 

Committee on Armed Services 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Defense Acquisitions: DOD Needs to Establish an Implementing Directive 

to Publish Information and Take Actions to Improve DOD Information on Critical 

Acquisition Positions 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

During the course of our work for you examining the space acquisition workforce, we 

learned that the Department of Defense (DOD) may not be periodically publishing a 

list of designated critical acquisition positions as required by statute. We are bringing 

this matter to your attention not only because it is a requirement to publish this data, 

but because having it is critical to effectively managing DOD’s current workforce. To 

ensure that an organization’s workforce is able to meet its mission, the organization 

must develop strategies to address management challenges such as any gaps that may 

exist in personnel resources. Strategic workforce management entails having 

accurate and comprehensive data concerning the workforce,1

 and especially 

concerning those positions deemed critical to the success of the organization’s 

mission. Operating without this critical information may result in flawed decisions 

regarding this part of the workforce and may put the organization’s ability to sustain 

its mission or function effectively at risk. 

The designation “critical acquisition positions,” according to the 1990 Defense 

Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA)2

, refers to certain senior-level 

military and civilian positions that carry significant responsibility and primarily 

consist of supervisory, oversight, and management duties in the DOD acquisition 

system. They are a key factor in ensuring that DOD acquisitions—some of which are 

 

1

GAO, Social Security Administration: Strategic Workforce Planning Needed to Address Human 

Capital Challenges Facing the Disability Determination Services, GAO-04-121 (Washington, D.C.: 

Jan. 27, 2004). 

2

 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991, Pub. L. No. 101-510, §§ 1201-1211 (1990) 

(codified as amended at 10 U.S.C. §§ 1701-1764). In 1990, Congress passed DAWIA in order to enhance 

the quality and professionalism of the defense acquisition workforce. DAWIA specifies the minimum 

qualification standards of those personnel performing functions integral to the acquisition process, 

formalizes career paths for personnel who wish to pursue careers in acquisition, and defines critical or 

senior management acquisition positions. 
very expensive and critical to the success of current combat operations—are 

effectively managed. In accordance with DAWIA and as was later codified in Title 10 

of the United States Code, the Secretary of Defense is required to periodically publish 

a list of critical acquisition positions. The service Secretaries are responsible to 

ensure that the individuals who hold these positions have the appropriate skills, 

experience, and rank to perform their duties effectively. According to a DOD 

instruction on the reporting of DOD acquisition personnel data, the services are 

required to provide data on their critical acquisition positions to the Defense 

Manpower Data Center (DMDC).3

 In the course of conducting a broader review of the 

space acquisition workforce at your request, we also we sought to determine whether 

DOD is publishing a list of these positions. 

 

We gathered information regarding critical acquisition positions during an 

engagement we are conducting for you on the space acquisition workforce. In 

response to your June 2005 request, we conducted a review of the Air Force portion 

of DOD’s space acquisition workforce. One of our objectives was to determine the 

extent to which the Air Force’s space acquisition workforce is managed using a 

strategic workforce planning approach. While conducting our work, we learned that 

DOD may not have published a list of critical acquisition positions, as required by 

statute. In order to address the broader issue of whether the workforce, including 

that segment that occupies critical acquisition positions, is managed under a strategic 

approach, we then investigated whether DOD had the ability to identify whether 

these critical positions were filled. To do this, we interviewed officials in the Office 

of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, 

Alexandria, Virginia; as well as a database management official at the Defense 

Manpower Data Center, Monterey, California. In keeping with the space cadre focus 

of our original request, we also discussed the issue with officials in the office of the 

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. We asked each of these officials 

for lists of space-related critical acquisition positions, compared the answers we 

received to each other and to Air Force Space Command’s space professional 

database, and examined these lists for internal consistency. We conducted our 

review from October 2005 through June 2006 in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. We expect to issue our final report on strategic 

management of the space acquisition workforce in September 2006. 

Results in Brief 

It is not clear that the Secretary of Defense has published a list of critical acquisition 

positions, as he is required to do by Title 10 of the U.S. Code. In reviewing the 

DAWIA requirement to publish the data, officials in the Office of the Under Secretary 

of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) said that the 

information on critical acquisition positions is publicly available through DMDC; 

however, they were unsure whether this availability constitutes compliance with the 

DAWIA requirement to publish the data. We believe that the information has not 

been published in a more direct method because the Secretary and Deputy Secretary 

of Defense have not established a specific implementing policy to direct AT&L to 

 3

DODI 5000.55 § 5.3.3. 

Page 2 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
create such a list and to publish it.4

 The Director of AT&L Workforce and Career 

Management stated that he planned to seek a legal interpretation of the DAWIA 

requirement in order to clarify whether AT&L needed to produce a paper document 

or DMDC’s information on these positions, which is publicly available, would satisfy 

the requirement to “publish” the information. In any event, however, we found that 

AT&L and DMDC data on these positions may not be accurate. We asked DMDC for 

information on critical acquisition positions, but DMDC officials told us that the 

services, including the Air Force and the civilian personnel data reporting system, 

were not providing them accurate information. For example, of those personnel who 

are reported, it is not clear how many work for organizations outside the military 

services, such as the joint staff or defense agencies.5

 Additionally, when we asked 

AT&L to list space-related critical acquisition positions, we received two different 

replies, each containing data that were nearly a year old. According to the AT&L 

June 2006 Human Capital Strategic Plan, AT&L will be undertaking a number of 

initiatives, including actions to improve the accuracy of the acquisition personnel 

data that reside at DMDC. Having accurate personnel information is critical to an 

organization’s analyzing its workforce and determining what actions need to be taken 

to improve it. Without accurate data on critical acquisition positions, DOD decisions 

regarding the management of these positions may be flawed. Moreover, without 

maintaining and periodically publishing a list of critical acquisition positions as well 

as maintaining a reliable methodology for identifying who occupies these positions, 

the Secretary of Defense cannot ensure that key positions in critical programs are 

filled by individuals of sufficient expertise and experience. Further, he cannot be in a 

sound position to assure Congress that these positions are adequately filled. 

We are making recommendations to publish DOD critical acquisition position data as 

required by statute, and to improve the accuracy of that data. In its comments, AT&L 

concurred with our recommendations. AT&L comments are reprinted in enclosure I. 

Background 

Congress enacted the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) as 

part of the fiscal 1991 Defense Authorization Act. DAWIA directed the Secretary of 

Defense to establish policies and procedures for the effective management of people 

serving in DOD acquisition positions6

 and delegated implementation of the law to the 

Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.7

 DAWIA also required 

that the Secretary of Defense designate which positions are critical acquisition 

positions, and periodically publish a list of the positions so designated.8

 

Within DOD, the Office of the Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and 

Logistics office (AT&L) is responsible for establishing DOD acquisition workforce 

policies and procedures and for maintaining a suitable management information 

system to ensure that the DOD acquisition workforce is effectively managed. To 

 4

 AT&L officials expressed uncertainty about what the requirement to publish entails. An 

implementing policy might include such a definition. 5

Defense agencies are not service-specific and typically conduct operations that are DOD-wide, such

as the Defense Logistics Agency, which provides certain DOD-wide logistics operations. 6 10 U.S.C. §1701. 7 10 U.S.C. §1702. 8

10 U.S.C. §1733 (b). 

Page 3 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
better manage the acquisition workforce, AT&L issued its Human Capital Strategic 

Plan in June 2006, which includes initiatives to improve its data management of the 

DOD acquisition workforce. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), also 

within DOD, is responsible for maintaining all automated records on DOD personnel, 

and it provides personnel, manpower, training, and financial data to the Office of the 

Secretary of Defense, including AT&L. DOD components report information on

critical acquisition positions to DMDC, but AT&L can also request this information 

from the DOD components. 

DOD Instruction 5000.55 implements a DOD-wide capability for monitoring, 

reporting, and tracking the composition, education, experience, and training status of 

the acquisition workforce. It also establishes uniform procedures for submitting 

manpower, personnel, and assignment information on selected civilian and military 

positions and personnel of DOD. DMDC is designated as the custodian of all the 

information to be collected according to the instruction. DOD components are 

required to establish and maintain accurate management information systems to 

record this data, and they are required to submit records on acquisition positions and 

acquisition personnel to DMDC. 

AT&L’s June 2006 Human Capital Strategic Plan contains initiatives to improve its 

ability to analyze its workforce. Goal 3 of the plan includes such efforts as reviewing 

data requirements and reviewing the accuracy of data submitted to DMDC. 

It Is Not Clear That DOD Has Published Critical Acquisition Positions 

It is not clear that DOD has published a list of its critical acquisition positions, though 

it is required to do so by Title 10 of the U.S. Code. DMDC officials told us that the 

information is available to the public through DMDC; however they indicated that 

they were not sure that this method meets the requirements of the statute. We 

believe that the information has not been published in a more direct way because 

DOD has not established a specific implementing policy to direct AT&L to create 

such a list and to publish it. For lack of an implementing policy, AT&L is still trying 

to determine what the requirement to publish entails. 

DMDC receives, from the services and other DOD activities such as defense agencies, 

position information that includes critical acquisition position designators. But 

DMDC and AT&L told us they believe that information is inaccurate. Officials told us 

that the services report only data about filled civilian positions to DMDC, and that 

DMDC receives no information to indicate how many total positions, including vacant 

ones, exist. DMDC also expressed uncertainty regarding how many of the personnel 

who work for defense agencies are reported. Thus, not only is the data list not 

published, but the information that is available regarding critical acquisition positions 

may not be accurate. 

In the course of our review of the space acquisition workforce, we asked AT&L to list 

space-related critical acquisition positions, and received two different replies, each 

containing nearly year-old data. We noted inconsistencies between the two AT&L 

lists. The Air Force portion of the first submission contained only data bearing 

Space Command Unit Identifier Codes, meaning that critical acquisition positions at 

the National Reconnaissance Office and other offices or commands were omitted. 

Page 4 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
Although the second submission, which AT&L provided two weeks later, contained 

more unit identifier codes, we noted that the total number and the number of Air 

Force positions both declined. Therefore, it appears that the data that is available is 

not a full, internally consistent, or accurate listing of space-related critical acquisition 

positions. 

We also asked the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition 

for information on Air Force critical acquisition positions because of our work for 

you on the space acquisition workforce. That office was able to identify critical 

acquisition positions within U.S. Air Force Space Command, but we believe the list 

was incomplete because Space Command’s space professional database shows that 

there are also senior-level space-related acquisition positions in other Air Force major 

commands. Since the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L relies on inputs from the 

services and DMDC to compile his list, gaps in Air Force data would likely indicate 

the existence of gaps in departmentwide knowledge. 

Without maintaining and periodically publishing a list of critical acquisition positions 

and assuring a reliable methodology for identifying who occupies them, the Secretary 

of Defense cannot ensure that key positions in critical programs are filled by 

individuals of sufficient expertise and experience, or be in a sound position to assure 

Congress that these positions are adequately filled. 

In June 2006, AT&L issued its Human Capital Strategic Plan, which includes a number 

of initiatives to improve its ability to analyze and manage the DOD acquisition 

workforce. The Director of AT&L Workforce and Career Management stated that the 

goal is to have the data reported as required by DOD 5000.55 and to move to a Webbased system to improve transparency of the DOD acquisition workforce. The 

Director stated that DOD components have raised concerns about the quality of the 

data that resides with DMDC. The Director also stated that in a few months AT&L 

will be issuing a report on the status of its human capital plan initiatives. 

Recommendations 

In order to ensure that DOD has data needed to effectively plan and manage its space 

acquisition workforce, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense take the 

following two actions: 

• Direct that the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L issue implementing 

instructions that establish the method by which information on critical 

acquisition positions will be published. 

• Direct the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L, as part of its Human Capital 

Strategic Plan, to include in its initiatives a review of the accuracy of critical 

acquisition position data that DOD components submit to DMDC; identify the 

causes of any inaccuracies; and take corrective actions to ensure that this 

information is accurate and complete. 

Page 5 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
Agency Comments 

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with our 

recommendations. These comments are reprinted in enclosure I. 

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Defense, the Army, the 

Navy, and the Air Force; the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the DOD 

components. Copies will be made available to others upon request. In addition, this 

report will be available at no charge on our Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

Major contributors to this report are Lorelei St. James, Assistant Director; Gabrielle 

Carrington, Linda Keefer, Julie Matta, Sally Newman, and Cheryl Weissman. Contact 

points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on 

the last page of this report. If you or your staff have any questions about this report, 

please contact me at 202-512-5431 or DAgostinoD@gao.gov. 

Sincerely yours, 

Davi M. D’Agostino 

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management 

Cristina Chaplain 

Director, Acquisition Sourcing and Management 

Page 6 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
Enclosure I 

Comments from the Department of Defense 

Page 7 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
(350898) 

Page 8 GAO-06-987R Defense Acquisitions 
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