Million-Dollar Marines

Twice a year, the Naval Air Systems Command posts openings for some of the most prized acquisition jobs in the federal government. Marine Corps and Navy officers and Defense Department civilians compete for these jobs managing the multimillion-dollar development and procurement of weapons such as cruise missiles, maritime helicopters and sensors. The posts usually go to Navy officers or Defense civilians.

The Marine Corps wants to reverse that trend. After years of placing "muddy boot" managers-who have field experience but not much familiarity with contracting-into procurement roles, the service is now developing a cadre of professional acquisition officers.

Next fall, as many as 130 majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels will be selected as the Marine Corps' first full-time acquisition officers, who will spend large chunks of their careers in jobs buying and developing weapons. As a result, the service believes it will become more competitive in winning procurement jobs and have a greater say in how and which weapons are developed.

Lt. Col. Steve Brodfuehrer, executive officer for the Marine Aviation Detachment at Patuxent River, Md., welcomes the change, saying Marines in acquisition jobs have had to "walk the fence" between the operational and acquisition worlds. He says competing for top acquisition jobs requires experience managing weapons systems, while moving up in rank requires field experience.

Brodfuehrer, who plans to compete for one of the new acquisition openings, says creating an acquisition workforce would allow Marines to pursue a noncombat specialty without hindering their careers.

Marine officials say not having their own personnel in top program management jobs has made it harder to quickly field their weapons. They're concerned that a lack of acquisition clout in the Pentagon could cost them in the race for limited Defense dollars for big-ticket items, such as the V-22 Osprey rotorcraft.

"What this will do is bring a Marine Corps voice to major weapon systems acquisition," says Maj. Jeff Morgan, acquisition and graduate education officer with Manpower and Reserve Affairs at Quantico, Va.

Traditionally, Marine Corps officers serve three-year tours in acquisition and then are rotated back into jobs more directly involved with combat or training. That, they say, places them at a disadvantage in competing for jobs because members of other services and Defense Department civilians serve multiple tours in acquisition, learning the ins and outs of managing weapons programs.

"In the past, Marine officers have not been assigned to critical acquisition billets because their experience and qualifications were not competitive with other DoD acquisition professionals," says the Marine Corps notice announcing the changes.

Morgan stresses that Marine acquisition officers still would need some field experience to stay in tune with the needs of those on the ground. Several industry observers note that the Corps often was more innovative than the other services in buying weapons, because officers spent most of their careers working outside the acquisition world.

Stan Soloway, who served as Pentagon acquisition reform chief in the Clinton administration, praised the move as a way to create a more seasoned Defense procurement workforce. Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council in Arlington, Va., says as the military develops more joint weapons systems, it is imperative that all acquisition managers have the same training and experience.

Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Joseph Anderson, who served as vice commander of NAVAIR in the mid-1990s, says Marine acquisition officers would be more comfortable forming relationships with companies than those who have spent most of their careers in the field. "Industry will be much better off working with more knowledgeable people," he says.

Morgan says the new workforce will be "a little more qualified, a little more consistent and better versed" in acquisition rules. And he hopes it will land a few more Marine Corps officers in top acquisition jobs.