Somewhere on a base in southeastern Poland, Amentum team members are answering calls from Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield about how to fix their U.S. donated equipment. Working with the U.S. military, the Amentum team uses encrypted programs and translators to chat with the Ukrainians, advising them on solutions in real-time. 

As the U.S. and other allies send equipment to Ukraine, help is a tele-maintenance remote expert away.

“The world and our technology are evolving at a rapid pace, and so should our ability to provide near-instantaneous support,” said the Amentum lead for its Sustainment and Analytics business line. “We don’t need to transport subject matter experts on-site, we can instead provide experts remotely – whether we need to advise on a vital repair to an M-1 Abrams tank, or simply conduct an audit on airframe systems.”

The work in Poland is part of a U.S. Army remote maintenance and distribution contract on which Amentum delivers equipment sustainment, remote maintenance assistance to support U.S. donated assets at forward operating locations, and managing the ordering, receiving, warehousing, and distributing of repair parts.

Currently, remote maintenance support is provided through phones and tablets using encrypted chatrooms. Soon, Amentum will integrate a new technology, introducing augmented reality headsets into its maintenance operations. The headset is fully calibrated for hands-free use so frontline workers can easily connect with remote experts in real time, from anywhere, using secure optimized video collaboration applications.

“The Amentum team has successfully integrated in the U.S. military operations cell,” said one on-site employee. “We realigned some job roles to gain efficiencies in information flow and synchronization of operations amidst multinational stakeholders.”

“We’ve also been evolving our transient maintenance capabilities as we go,” said another on-site employee. “An Amentum team was deployed out to another location in Poland and in just three days, conducted the equipment inventory, loading and unloading operations, and the vehicle maintenance to prepare the equipment for use at forward locations.”

In the first four months of the program, Amentum has filled 605 work orders, opened a 4,666 line supply support activity and maintained 100 percent accuracy, while supporting the movement of 534 pieces of equipment.

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By: Abdul Nuhu, Chief Engineer, Engineering, Science & Technology, Amentum

Introduction
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the Department of Defense (DoD) faces numerous challenges in transforming and modernizing its operations to maintain its military superiority. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has emerged as a powerful methodology that can significantly accelerate this transformation. By leveraging the benefits of MBSE, the DoD can enhance decision-making, streamline development processes, and optimize resource allocation, ultimately driving efficiency and innovation across its complex systems. This article explores how MBSE can expedite the transformation and modernization efforts in the DoD.

Enhanced Decision-Making
MBSE provides a holistic and integrated framework for capturing, analyzing, and visualizing system requirements, architecture, behavior, and performance. This enables decision-makers to have a comprehensive understanding of the system and its dependencies, facilitating better-informed decisions at every stage of the system’s lifecycle.

One key advantage of MBSE is its ability to facilitate quicker Analysis-of-Alternatives (AoA) and trade-off analysis. Decision-makers can use MBSE models to assess different design alternatives, evaluate their impact on system performance, cost, and schedule, and make decisions based on objective and quantifiable metrics. This approach allows the DoD to optimize system designs, balance competing requirements, and allocate resources effectively.

Furthermore, MBSE enables effective collaboration and communication among multidisciplinary teams. By utilizing a common modeling language and a shared repository of system models, stakeholders from different domains can collaborate seamlessly. This collaboration improves the exchange of information, promotes shared understanding, and reduces the risk of miscommunication. Decision-makers can leverage the collective expertise of the team, leading to better decisions that reflect a broader range of perspectives.

MBSE also supports decision-making in the context of system sustainment and evolution. By maintaining an up-to-date model of the system, decision-makers can assess the impact of proposed changes, such as upgrades or modifications, before implementation. They can evaluate the effects on system performance, interoperability, and lifecycle costs, ensuring that decisions are made with a clear understanding of the potential consequences.

Streamlined Development Processes
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is an approach that utilizes models as the central artifact for system development, enabling a streamlined and efficient development process. By representing system requirements, designs, and behavior in a model-based format, MBSE offers several benefits that can significantly enhance development processes.

Traditional development processes often involve complex and lengthy documentation, leading to misinterpretations and communication gaps. In contrast, MBSE employs graphical models that are easily understood by different stakeholders, such as engineers, designers, and customers. These models serve as a common language, facilitating effective communication and fostering collaboration throughout the development lifecycle.

The Models also allow for visualizing system architectures, components, and their relationships, providing a holistic view of the system. This enables early detection of design flaws, potential conflicts, and performance bottlenecks, enabling proactive decision-making and reducing the likelihood of costly rework. Through simulation and analysis capabilities, MBSE enables the assessment of system behavior under various scenarios, optimizing system performance and ensuring its adherence to requirements.

MBSE promotes reusability and modularity. Models can be structured hierarchically, allowing for the encapsulation of components and subsystems. This modular approach enables the reuse of model elements across different projects and system variants, reducing development time and effort. Moreover, changes made to one part of the model can be automatically propagated to dependent parts, ensuring consistency, and minimizing errors.

Models also provide traceability links between system requirements, design elements, and test cases. This facilitates impact analysis, change management, and verification/validation activities. Additionally, MBSE enables the incorporation of compliance standards and regulations into the models, ensuring that system development remains aligned with applicable guidelines and facilitating the certification process.

Optimized Resource Allocation
MBSE offers significant potential to optimize resource allocation for the Department of Defense (DoD). MBSE enables the DoD to develop comprehensive and integrated system models that capture all relevant aspects of a given defense system. These models can include requirements, architecture, behavior, interfaces, and performance parameters. By having a holistic view of the system, decision-makers can make more informed choices about resource allocation. They can identify areas of redundancy, eliminate unnecessary components, and optimize the allocation of personnel, equipment, and budgetary resources.

Decision-makers can analyze the impact of different resource configurations on system performance, cost, and schedule. They can perform “what-if” analyses to assess trade-offs and identify the most efficient allocation strategies. By conducting these simulations in a virtual environment, the DoD can minimize risks and costs associated with physical prototyping and testing.

The use of standardized modeling languages and frameworks enables a common understanding of system requirements and constraints. This promotes effective communication and coordination among different organizations and disciplines within the DoD. Improved collaboration reduces the likelihood of resource conflicts and ensures that resources are allocated in a coordinated and synergistic manner.

Additionally, MBSE supports iterative and incremental development processes, allowing the DoD to adapt resource allocation strategies over time. As the system evolves and new information becomes available, decision-makers can update the system models and reassess resource allocations accordingly. This flexibility enables the DoD to respond to changing mission requirements, technological advancements, and budget constraints effectively.

Interoperability and Integration
The DoD relies on a vast array of interconnected systems and platforms. MBSE plays a pivotal role in enabling the DoD to achieve interoperability and seamless integration across its complex systems. By leveraging MBSE methodologies, the DoD can streamline communication, collaboration, and decision-making processes throughout the lifecycle of its systems, resulting in enhanced interoperability and efficient integration.

One of the key advantages of MBSE is its ability to provide a unified modeling language and framework for capturing system requirements, designs, and behaviors. This standardized approach ensures that all stakeholders, including different branches of the military, government agencies, and contractors, can communicate effectively and share a common understanding of the system architecture.

Through MBSE, the DoD can create a digital representation of its systems, encompassing various domains such as hardware, software, communications, and human factors. This holistic representation allows different systems to be modeled and simulated together, enabling the identification of potential integration challenges early in the development process. By detecting and resolving interoperability issues at the design stage, costly rework and delays during system integration can be minimized.

MBSE also enables virtual testing and verification of system interoperability. This approach allows the DoD to assess the behavior and performance of complex systems under different operational scenarios, ensuring seamless integration and interoperability in real-world situations. By conducting virtual tests, the DoD can reduce the risks associated with live testing, save time, and optimize resource allocation.

MBSE promotes a collaborative environment. through shared models and information exchange, teams can work together to identify and address potential interoperability challenges proactively. This collaborative approach fosters coordination among different agencies and contractors, facilitating seamless integration of systems across the DoD.

Agility and Adaptability
MBSE has emerged as a powerful approach that enhances the ability of the Department of Defense (DoD) to be more agile and adaptable in its operations. MBSE revolutionizes traditional systems engineering practices by utilizing models as the primary means of capturing, analyzing, and communicating system requirements, designs, and behaviors. This shift from document-centric to model-centric practices enables the DoD to respond swiftly to evolving mission requirements and technology advancements.

Through the use of models, system engineers can simulate and evaluate different design alternatives, allowing for early detection of potential issues and the exploration of innovative solutions. This iterative approach promotes agility, as it enables the DoD to quickly adapt and refine systems based on feedback and changing needs.

MBSE supports better collaboration and communication among multidisciplinary teams. By providing a common visual language, models break down silos between stakeholders and foster a shared understanding of system requirements and behaviors. This collaborative environment enhances the ability to integrate diverse perspectives, resolve conflicts, and make informed decisions, ultimately leading to more effective and adaptable solutions.

MBSE improves the traceability and transparency of system development. Models capture the relationships between system components, requirements, and design decisions, enabling comprehensive traceability throughout the entire lifecycle. This traceability not only enhances accountability but also facilitates the identification of potential impacts when changes occur. As a result, the DoD can rapidly assess the consequences of modifying a requirement, subsystem, or operational scenario, allowing for more informed decision-making and quicker adaptations.

MBSE also supports the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and autonomous systems. By modeling these technologies and their interactions with the overall system, the DoD can evaluate their feasibility, performance, and potential risks before implementation. This proactive approach enables the DoD to capitalize on technological advancements and stay ahead of adversaries, reinforcing its ability to adapt to dynamic operational environments.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement
MBSE plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and continuous improvement within the Department of Defense (DoD). By employing a holistic and systematic approach to managing complex defense systems, MBSE enables greater collaboration, efficiency, and adaptability throughout the entire lifecycle of these systems.

One key aspect of MBSE is its ability to facilitate early and iterative design exploration. By employing modeling and simulation techniques, MBSE allows defense engineers and stakeholders to experiment with different design alternatives and assess their performance and viability before committing to physical prototypes. This not only reduces development costs and time but also encourages innovative thinking and the exploration of new ideas. Engineers can easily visualize, analyze, and refine system architectures, components, and interfaces, fostering creativity and enabling the identification of novel solutions to complex defense challenges.

MBSE also promotes interoperability and integration across various defense domains. The DoD operates a vast array of systems, subsystems, and technologies that must work together seamlessly. MBSE provides a common language and framework for capturing, representing, and exchanging system information and requirements among different stakeholders and disciplines. This enables better collaboration, coordination, and integration of efforts, leading to improved system performance and efficiency. By breaking down organizational and technical silos, MBSE encourages innovation through cross-pollination of ideas and knowledge sharing.

Another important aspect of MBSE is its focus on continuous improvement and lifecycle management. Through the use of digital models and data-driven analysis, MBSE enables proactive decision-making and performance optimization throughout the lifecycle of defense systems. By capturing and analyzing real-time data from operational systems, MBSE helps identify areas for improvement, predict maintenance needs, and inform future design iterations. This iterative feedback loop drives a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and enhancement within the DoD, ensuring that defense systems are constantly evolving to meet changing requirements and emerging threats.

Conclusion
In conclusion, MBSE fosters innovation and continuous improvement within the DoD by promoting early exploration of design alternatives, enabling interoperability and integration, and facilitating data-driven decision-making throughout the lifecycle of defense systems. By embracing MBSE, the DoD can harness the power of digital modeling, simulation, and analysis to drive innovation, enhance system performance, and maintain technological superiority in an ever-evolving defense landscape.

To learn more about Amentum’s experience and team of experts, click here.

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It is no secret that predictive analysis helps businesses make informed decisions, avoid risk, enhance security, and improve efficiency.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is no different. The DoD has adopted a Data Strategy to become a more data-centric organization. In the opening of the strategy document, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist called on all defense leaders to “treat data as a weapon system and manage, secure, and use data for operational effect.” The DoD’s data strategy emphasizes the importance of data for survival on the modern battlefield. When information exists in silos it is unable to be leveraged to our military advantage.

Navigating the data environment is a challenge in three ways:

1. Managing large amounts of data and using it for a competitive advantage is arduous. Data must be categorized, stored, moved and deconflicted. Data must have integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility. The vast amounts of data coming from sensors is overwhelming to the point that humans cannot process it fast enough to recognize patterns.
2. The Army’s data environment is constantly evolving, both from an overall strategy perspective and down to the unique requirements of each individual organization as to how to execute their data fabrics, data models, and unified data sets.
3. Choosing the right solution is daunting. Organizations struggle with the fundamental decision on whether to make vs. buy. There are hundreds of commercial off-the-shelf and government off-the-shelf tools available. There are several data “OEMs” who build customized solutions or adapt/adopt 80 percent solutions.

Partnering with a firm who has developed proven approaches can help counter these data challenges.

Amentum’s Data Analytics Center of Excellence(CoE) is comprised of people, processes/platforms and tools that coalesce into expert advisory services that help operationalize data. Our Data Analytics CoE acts as a dual-purpose collaborative center for analytics-led transformation across Amentum (internal enterprise) and for our customers (external-facing). Our internal initiatives focus on our corporate processes and corporate data. Our external-facing offerings make use of customer-centered design approaches which include working closely with key customers and end-users to ensure alignment with program objectives and maximize value for end-users. Two ways we leverage predictive analysis includes the following:

1. Data Analysis for Workforce Management (internal enterprise)
2. Predictive Combat Power (external-facing)

Data Analysis for Workforce Management focuses on providing predictive staffing. One of the biggest challenges across the DoD is hiring the right talent. Amentum adopted a data analytics application that aggregates data from all our programs into a single Common Operating Picture that pulls from all of our Programs of Record, i.e., our hiring system, HR system, and requisition system. Our data analytics and visualization tool amalgamates the data inputs, producing simple-to-use data interpretation and visuals that our strategic recruiters and program managers use to conduct turnover forecasting and reduce the impact of programmatic vacancies. The output of the analytics informs sourcing priorities for recruiters to those positions that are at highest risk of a vacancy.

Amentum’s time to fill (average) for programs that have not yet moved to this model is 29 days. However, programs now using the combination of our Data Analytics for Workforce Management tool have achieved as low as 10 days, a nearly 65% reduction, both well below the industry average of 47 days.

Predictive Combat Power and Maintenance for battlefield equipment and supplies is incredibly important for forward operating bases (FOBs) or any forward deployed scenario. Our team implemented a Predictive/Prognostic Maintenance (PPMx) solution for an Army Aviation customer. We deployed an artificial intelligence and machine learning-based solution that uses historical data on asset classifications, repairs, vendors, and maintenance plans to predict current asset conditions and failure causes. Our customers will be utilizing this solution to better monitor asset health, optimize maintenance schedules and costs, and gain better insights and understanding of operational risk and planning. They can realize efficiencies by looking at RUL (Remaining Useful Life) charts of assets, minimize time to diagnose asset failures (when an incident does occur), and prevent future failures. Using our PPMx tool, our team was able to predict repair costs and predict future failures. Additionally, we have adapted and adopted this solution for several of our facility maintenance contracts in which we have realized more than $848,000 in cost savings for our customers.

In closing, service providers who have made investments in predictive analysis both internally and externally are well equipped to address complex data challenges for the Army and DoD. Our team has the expertise to cover the gamut of services on behalf of our customers to include assisting them in developing tools that enhance our services offerings.

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“We thank ISOA for recognizing the 55,000+ men and women of Amentum for the work that they execute each and every day. We are proud to perform this remarkable work in challenging environments throughout the world with the dignity, grace, and appreciate that such missions require.” said Ken Fox, VP Operations, while accepting the award.

This award was presented to us in recognition of our efforts in support of global security and COVID efforts around the world:

• Providing advanced O&M support to U.S. Embassies & Consulates at high-threat 12 locations in 7 countries including Ukraine & Russia
• Supporting the Afghanistan withdrawal
  – Working with the Department of State to evacuate more than 1,100 employees, family members, U.S. citizens and third country nationals
  – Closing five different Army Aviation bases in Afghanistan and relocating 4,900+ lines of DOD equipment to Kuwait
• Fulfilling our commitment to our Afghan allies who worked shoulder to shoulder with us by operating Camp Liberty, NJ as part of Afghanistan Refugee / Operation Allies Welcome effort
  – Mobilizing a joint Navy, Air Force, and Amentum mass-vaccination effort to contain a measles outbreak among the displaced Afghan population
  – Delivering culturally sensitive dietary and living accommodations
• Supporting the COVID-19 response by expanding the capacity of hospitals / medical center support and then supporting vaccine trials under Operation Warp Speed

Congratulations to the Amentum teams who do this work everyday around the world.  Our clients and Amentum succeed because of their selfless and tireless work.

Pictured:

• Top: Ken Fox, VP Operations, accepts the Vanguard award on June 9th, 2022
• Bottom: Amentum’s Dr. Karl Spinnenwebber, President Mission Readiness, through Liberty Village at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ where Amentum is providing resettlement and processing support to thousands of our Afghan allies(U.S. Air Force photo)

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The battlefield is changing, and it is imperative that we do everything we can to ensure the warfighter is prepared for complex situations. Current training relies on legacy technologies that prohibits a realistic and accurate training for our soldiers. Emerging technology solutions can significantly improve the training experience and better prepare soldiers with clear overmatch capabilities.

Amentum’s solution revolutionizes Army force-on-force training through a modern, edge-compute enabled sensor platform. The Weapons as a Sensor Platform Internet of Things (WaaSP IoT) incorporates devices directly on targeting systems to ensure data is accurate and secure across training, operations, and maintenance. The WaaSP IoT architecture enables selective adoption of new technologies when timing and finances best support the end user. WaaSP IoT also supports accurate and realistic training measurement through our core research-based approach to data collection, evaluation, and feedback. Methodologies can be integrated that help trainees to learn more effectively and perform more consistently. The system is mobile and mounts directly on weapons and can operate in remote environments.

The United States Congress recognized the game-changing significance of this technology. During the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act process, the House of Representatives included Synthetic Training Environment (STE) as an Item of Special Interest. The language highlights the importance of STE in preparing the warfighter for real-world scenarios and improving overall readiness of units. The House expressed interest in seeing the Department of Defense (DoD) pursue STE options and plans to follow DoD’s plans closely.

At Amentum, we take great pride in working hard to support the warfighter and guarantee readiness. For years, we have been the hallmark for how soldiers maintain overmatch – providing a deep understanding of design, testing, developing, and fielding of U.S. Army systems at home and abroad.  The resulting value to the U.S. Army is a live training solution that advances the future of U.S. Army modernization and lethality which can be delivered at the speed of Army readiness. With a 116-year history of partnership with the U.S. armed forces, Amentum is committed to soldier and unit readiness and stands ready to support in all domains, land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace.

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by Dr. Lucas Marino and Dr. Kaitlynn Castelle

Digital twins provide one-to-one models at various levels of system recursion across relevant disciplines, allowing comprehensive, real-time representation of an asset’s supporting artifacts, products, and properties. They are often more than simply a collection of digital artifacts and data gathered during product development and use. Digital twins:

• Provide user-relevant views generated through digital thread connections to sources of 3D product model visualization and a configuration item’s associated data,
• Link to Logistics Supportability Analysis Record databases and underlying data sets, as well as to monitoring data, behavior models, and operational profiles,
•  Support delivery of capabilities for displaying or simulating condition and behavior of the physical systems through models and data,
• Require management of underlying data and connectivity to authoritative data sources.

Digital threads provide the analytic framework to connect platform data models, associated logistics, technical and performance data, software, and functional support. A system, subsystem, or component’s digital thread:

• Provides configuration item traceability to each integrated logistics support (ILS) element depending on the application or use case. Acting as a fingerprint, it supports association of everything relevant to what it is, tracked through version-controlled records and historical logs to support development traceability, version history, and technical variance documentation across the lifecycle.
• Links digital twin capabilities of a product’s artifacts, allowing association of each configuration item to ILS element-relevant information. Examples include:

1. supply support lists
2. technical manuals
3. general or special purpose drawings or diagrams (e.g. engineering schematics, interfacing diagrams, SUBSAFE mapping, fixture drawings)
4.  maintenance standards
5. test procedures
6. test pressure diagrams
7. maintenance area details including connections, dimensions, zincs, linear feet of cable, conduit are all potential data elements in this respect.

Key Points for Implementation
Consider the following advice for remaining agile while delivering digital engineering capabilities to sustainment functions:

Remember Who the Customer Is: This is not negotiable; digital models are only useful to those who can use them. Operational users need easy-to-use tools to efficiently leverage digital twin technology with realistic simulations. Users need connections to logistics and technical data that are open, interoperable, adaptable, and available in the cloud and at the edge. Success requires a fully engaged team effort, from the technical product team down to the waterfront maintainers and operators.

Define the Relationships and Outcomes: Technology moves faster than acquisition and procurement rendering deeply decomposed requirements and specifications for these systems problematic. Agile product development provides the flexibility needed to explore innovations as teams work toward previously undefinable solutions and outcomes. Close relationships with highly engaged end-users benefit the long-term view of product data sustainment and development of new digital engineering capabilities to support future state planning yards and maintenance activities. A long-term view of product data sustainment should involve proactive experimentation and trial demonstration of data retrieval, access, transformation, consumption, management, integration, and sustainment across the enterprise.

All Digital Transformations are Unique: Realization and implementation of this technology can be challenged by cultural barriers and aversion to change, aging IT infrastructure, lack of talent, rigid contracts, and weak stakeholder collaboration and flexibility. However, you must remain focused on the unique value that your transformation provides. The convergence of unified disparate analysis tools, databases, and networks will ultimately improve life cycle management and enhance visibility and access for product support of major weapon systems.

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Taking a holistic approach at examining the various external factors that affect Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) can augment a company’s success. One of the ways you can analyze the market is using a PESTLE Analysis, a strategic planning tool that examines external political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that may contribute to the success or failure of a business. It is often used when performing a market analysis for expansion into a new or adjacent market or domain.

A PESTLE analysis is not typically applied to a service, offering or product. However, looking at SETA contracting as a market or domain allows Amentum to better understand the key issues or potential external risks that impact these types of contracts. In a way, a PESTLE analysis of our SETA offering is a function of risk management because it identifies external factors that impact those we serve; our customers and our SETA workforce. Thus, we are able create resiliency in our resources and processes for successful execution. Let’s break it down:

Political: The political climate, regardless of political affiliation, disrupts DoD operations, changes posture plans, drives policy, and affects funding. When budgets and funding are not approved, Congress must enact a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund continuing operations. The passage of a CR usually indicates there was a political standoff. According to the Congressional Research Service in its August 2019 report, “DoD has started the Fiscal Year (FY) under a CR for 13 of the past 18 years (FY2002-FY2019) and every year since FY2010.” Program officers and acquisition corps program managers cannot start new acquisitions or start new programs under a CR. Political factors such as these impact the SETA workforce greatly, especially SETA contracts that support defense weapon systems and new start programs and technologies.

Economic: The economy has a major impact on SETA contracting. Economic factors in a PESTLE analysis include items such as economic growth, disposable income, and labor costs. The economy drives the DoD budget as lawmakers continue to look for ways to reduce the national debt. The pendulum seems to swing between the belief that there are too many contractors supporting DoD to not enough. There have also been initiatives focused on strengthening and “right-sizing” the DoD’s workforce. Whether the pendulum swings one way or another, the economy constantly changes the cost of service. Analysis of economic factors should be done often because it impacts whether the SETA workforce should surge or drawdown. Since DoD budget increases are not sustainable, contractors must be prepared to help customers justify programs and find cost savings.

Social: When analyzing social factors, we look at age profile, generational shift, education level, social mobility and employment patterns. It becomes clear that social PESTLE factors are determined by the people — and SETA contracts are about people. Ensuring a qualified SETA workforce boils down to attracting and acquiring talent through best practices in recruiting, hiring, training and retaining.
Age Profile and Generational Shift: According to a 2017 study by the MITRE Corporation, “Understanding Defense Acquisition Workforce Challenges,” the number of experienced acquisition professionals in DoD is declining and are being replaced by a younger generation facing a steep learning curve. Their study also showed that more than 50 percent of the DoD’s acquisition workforce would be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years. A retiring workforce coupled with lateral career moves outpacing new hires has left major DoD weapons programs with a dwindling acquisition workforce and an increasing need for SETA support contractors. To ensure that the SETA workforce can adapt to these factors, contractors must remain flexible to customer’s staffing needs. We cross train our SETA staff and ensure vertical/horizontal information sharing to alleviate knowledge transfer challenges as employee cohorts either enter the workforce or enter retirement.

Education and Security: Often times, attracting the right talent to support government contracts is especially challenging due to contract required education minimums and the necessity of security clearances.

Social Mobility: Location of the customer and workforce is also a factor. Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is an example of social mobility factors at play. Centered in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic, APG competes with the Baltimore, Washington D.C., Wilmington, Del. and Philadelphia metropolitan areas to attract and retain talent. Our workforce has many options in terms of where they want to live and work.

Technological: Technological factors that affect the SETA workforce are highly dependent on the type of SETA workforce employed. Some customers use SETA contracts in the traditional sense to support the acquisition process, such as the DoD 5000.02 or Other Transaction Authorities. Some research organizations use SETA contractors in a more technical capacity providing technical analysis and engineering. Other customers use a more expansive definition of SETA contractors. For example, according to DARPA’s guidance on Contractor Relationships, Inherently Governmental Functions and OCI’s: “The term SETA contractor used at DARPA is more expansive than the DFARs definition. DARPA SETA contractors provide support to a program as technical, management, financial and or administrative specialists.”

Regardless of the type of SETA expertise, these workforces have continued to expand over the past decade in response to advancing technological developments. As DoD systems become increasingly complex, leveraging machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation, there is an increased need for experts who understand how to procure and evaluate new technologies.

Technology competence is another factor. Businesses are adopting new technologies and tools to streamline and automate processes and workflows. A SETA workforce must practice continual learning and open-mindedness to adopting new tools of the trade. This has become increasingly important as businesses have shifted to a digital work environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legal: SETA contracting is governed by a legal document known as the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). According the FAR 37.203 “The acquisition of advisory and assistance services is a legitimate way to improve government services and operations. Accordingly, advisory and assistance services may be used at all organizational levels to help managers achieve maximum effectiveness or economy in their operations.” One of the main legal factors affecting SETA contracts is Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI). An OCI happens if a systems developer is also providing SETA advisory services for the same customer. OCI legislation is designed to create contracting structures that are fair and seek to protect the competitive process by preventing unfair advantages and impaired objectivity.

Environmental: COVID-19 has been a forcing function in the way DoD and SETA contracts operate. At this stage in the pandemic, businesses and the government alike have witnessed several pros and cons to teleworking. While some positions are necessarily in-person positions, others are not. The recent experience with remote work could provide the empirical data needed to identify positions that can operate remotely without compromise to the mission. For example, the CARES Act allows the terms and conditions of contracts to be modified to allow contractors to adjust work locations for employees who are unable to work on federally approved worksites.

In summary, applying market analysis tools to a service, offering or product is a viable method to understand macroeconomies that drive our SETA workforce and our customers. It can serve as a risk management and planning tool, adding resiliency to our offering. At Amentum, we continuously conduct these types of analyses to help us quickly pivot and easily tackle issues that are beyond our control. As a result, during COVID our SETA workforce was able to stay mission focused and continue delivering excellence.

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Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. Whether via iterative and incremental technological advances, or rapid disruptive new technologies, one thing is certain: even the latest technology can become obsolete in a matter of years or months. Changes in technology affect the way the Army fights adversaries and paces the threat.

But in addition to changing the way we fight, technology has also changed the way we buy. The rapid pace at which technology advances has been a driving force in acquisition reform. The Army is transforming from legacy acquisition to a technology driven process that aligns with Agile and iterative product/capability development. A recent example is the Army’s Tactical Network (TN). Project Manager TN has streamlined the process for developing and delivering tactical network capability. As one Capability Set (CS) is fielded (i.e. CS 21), development of the next CS (i.e. CS 23) is underway, and so on.

Additionally, we have seen an increase use in Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) and Consortia such as the Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC), Consortium for Command, Control, and Communications in Cyberspace (C5), DoD Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC), Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD), Sensors, Communications, and Electronics Consortium (SCEC) and several others.

Eventually all this technology needs to make it into the hands of our Soldiers via the Total Package Fielding (TPF) process. The act of fielding new technology to theaters of operation is prescribed by Army Regulation (AR) 700-142 Chapter 5, Section II and AR 700-127. Our ability to provide smooth and complete fielding to any unit is tied explicitly to our understanding and execution of the fielding process. Even within a prescribed process we can streamline, innovate and be agile. We think of fielding as a value chain. As we examine each step in the process, we can look for ways to economize and encourage agility. The following are some of the ways Amentum has added value to the TPF process and addressed common challenges to help deliver capability to the warfighter.

Leverage Worldwide Footprint: Companies that support hundreds of sites across the Contiguous States and the District of Columbia (CONUS) and Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) can leverage deployed resources such as logisticians and technicians where possible to reduce costs. This helps to align TPF with Army modernization initiatives while increasing staff utilization and lowering the cost of deployment.

Process Management: The key to success in fielding activities is derived from strict adherence to the process. We can break this down into Process-Oriented Tasks and Cost-Driven Tasks. All process-oriented tasks demand understanding of the critical path that creates success. Leveraging workflow management tools can help reduce costs by creating process efficiency. We use these tools to create automated workflows that, as an example, could gain approvals from customers faster or generate an audit to support billing. Cost-driven tasks include travel, inventory, and shipping. For example, one best value approach for a cost-driven task such as mission travel is to phase in personnel at the site based on participation in scheduled activities and travel to the next mission or returned to home station when complete.

Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI): The RFI was launched in 2002 in response to urgently needed equipment and gear by units in Afghanistan. The RFI helped to ensure that all soldiers were outfitted with the most advanced equipment available. It implemented Lean Six Sigma concepts to minimize duplicative fielding of equipment. Lessons learned from the RFI and Lean Fielding showed significant cost savings and reduced errors during the fielding process. For example, units are often inundated with “mandatory” equipment that becomes extraneous and burdensome down the road. Our team leverages lessons learned from the RFI and decades of fielding experience to inject innovation and agility into the fielding process.

Use of Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Fielding: The MTA path allows for rapid fielding of production quantities of systems that require minimal development within 5 years. Technologies that have mature Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) can be rapidly prototyped and fielded within 5 years of program start. Amentum has assisted customers with these types of acquisitions, through SETA support and acquisition support contracts.

Streamline Dependencies: Travel dependencies during fielding can cause delays. We have streamlined the approach to process travel requests and send staff on Temporary Duty Assignments (TDY). This has become increasingly important with COVID-19 concerns.

Analyze the Mission: One of the ways we can add efficiency to the fielding process is to analyze mission locations. Using our worldwide footprint, we have phased fielders in and out rather than keep them in a TDY status for long periods of time. This works well for equipment that doesn’t require long integration. Additionally, when staffing up for a mission, it is beneficial to source and hire talent near where the work will be performed. We take advantage of placing people near the Army’s Field Support Brigade Hub’s, thus reducing travel and other TDY costs. This is especially important since fielding locations are often planned and predictable.

New Equipment Training: NET is performed as a part of the Total Package Fielding process. Successful NET is critical to ensure Army units learn how to leverage new weapons and computer systems. NET Instructors must 1) understand the Soldiers’ mission, 2) understand the equipment/weapon or system, and 3) be able to articulate and contextualize use cases for the equipment. Throughout our corporate history, we have learned that Soldier and unit training is critical to survival on the battlefield. We implement NET tracking tools that automatically create training history and visibility into audit trails. These tools provide innovation in two main ways: 1) they provide transparency for PM Offices and Army stakeholders, allowing them to track TPF and NET objectives, and 2) these tools give units the confidence to know that their soldiers are trained. Paper based attendance rosters are a thing of the past. The right administrative tools allow data to be collected and harvested so unit Commanders have Situational Awareness (SA) of their staff’s equipment competency.

Just as advancing technology drives acquisition innovations, we must look for ways to be innovative and agile throughout the Total Package Fielding process by aligning the deployment of equipment with the way the Army acquires and trains Soldiers – making them better, faster, more resilient, at the speed of technology.

Amentum has several fielding and logistics contracts that support critical Army network equipment, C5ISR platforms and systems, logistics agencies and regional sustainment centers. We provide full lifecycle management, Integrated Logistics Support, and Total Package Fielding.

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The Afghanistan Operations Security team, under Security Director Glen Lewis, visited the AUAF campus to deliver and transfer the two vehicles. The delivery operation was both safe and successful, and the vehicles, no longer required for Amentum service, immediately increased the safety of AUAF students and facility.

“The American University of Afghanistan is delighted to receive the two armored vehicles from Amentum,” said Kevin Wann, AUAF Director of Security. “They will strongly enhance the AUAF fleet – the university has received two very well maintained and highly dependable vehicles!”
A note from Leslie Schweitzer, Founder and Chairman of Friends of the AUAF, stated, “AUAF is most grateful to Amentum for the vehicles that are certainly so important to our security. Thank you and much appreciated to those at your company that made this possible.”

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Through a well-formulated process, the contractor team conducted multiple working group sessions with stakeholders. Feedback from the resulting requirements analysis and initial application produced an easy-to-use final application that was rolled out to support the customer’s wider-spread deployment of TAK. TAK enhances collaboration within the Border Patrol and across the homeland security enterprise.
For additional information please see the DHS S&T article, “Snapshot: The Growing Impact of the Team Awareness Kit.

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