Secretary White draft letter on Army outsourcing initiative
Subject: Non-Core Competencies Working Group and The Third Wave
The Army must focus its energies and talents on functions we perform better than anyone else as core competencies, and seek to obtain other needed products or services from the private sector where it makes sense. We must also aggressively support the Competitive Sourcing Initiative of the President's Management Agenda.
This Army initiative, entitled The Third Wave, will differ from the previous two waves of public-private competitions in several key respects. It will be bigger and faster. It may involve privatization, divestiture, and other "alternatives to A-76," as well as traditional A-76 competitions. And it will involve, for the first time, functions other than base operations.
You will develop and present to me, by 20 December 2002, an implementation Plan for privatizing, divesting, outsourcing using "alternatives to A-76," competing using A-76, converting military spaces to civilian or contract, or transferring to other government agencies, all non-core functions that fall under your purview. The source of funding for military conversions will be those functions identified for divestiture. Your plan should focus on the total workforce (military, civilian employee, contract) in the operating forces and infrastructure. Your plan will include 100% of spaces eligible for private sector performance (i.e. non-core) unless an exemption is approved by the ASA(M&RA). (See 16 Nov 01 memorandum at Enclosure 1 for exemption procedure.) Enclosure 2 provides guidance for developing your plan.
You will develop your plan in conjunction with the Non-Core Competencies Working Group (NCCWG) (Enclosure 3). The Non-Core Competencies Executive Steering Committee and the DUSA will oversee the NCCWG and will resolve all issues.
Request you identify your NCCWG member to Mr. Jim Wakefield (james.wakefield@hqda.army.mil) by 25 September 2002. The schedule for Implementation Plan presentations will be developed by the NCCWG. Enclosure 4 provides the timeline.
(unsigned)
Thomas E. White
Enclosures
Distribution:
Principal Officials:
Headquarters, Department of the Army
Commanders:
US Army Europe & 7th Army
Eighth US Army
US Army South
US Army Forces Command
US Army Training & Doctrine Command
US Army Materiel Command
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Army Special Operations Command
US Army Pacific
Military Traffic Management Command
US Army Criminal Investigation Command
US Army Medical Command/The Surgeon General
US Army Intelligence and Security Command
US Army Military District of Washington
US Army Space and Missile Defense Command
US Army Reserve Command
US Army Military Entrance Processing Command
US Total Army Personnel Command
US Army Test and Evaluation Command
Superintendent, US Military Academy