A Deeper Look at the Army acquisition community

I sat with the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army (ASA) for acquisitions, logistics and technology (ALT), my old friend Young Bang, this week. For those not familiar with the Defense Department hierarchy, acquisitions (i.e., undersecretary of Defense (USD) for acquisitions, technology & logistics at the DoD level and ASA(ALT) at the Army level) wield incredible power with USD(ATL) being first among undersecretaries in the order of succession. Within the Army, ASA(ALT) leads 12 program executive offices (PEO). These twelve offices are responsible for designing, producing and fielding everything from the Army’s bullets, beans and business systems to the entire nation’s COVID vaccinations.