Acquisitions Leader Urges Innovation, Technical Excellence

Courtesy Photo | Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall speaks to an audience of more than 1,000 defense department acquisitions personnel at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, June 23, 2015. Kendall focused on the Pentagon’s Better Buying Power 3.0 plan, which emphasizes cost consciousness, technology innovation, and enhanced professionalism in acquisitions. U.S. Air Force photo by Michele Eaton  

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

06.23.2015

Courtesy Story

Defense.gov         

The Defense Department’s top acquisitions official commended the Air Force for its efforts to streamline and save money in a challenging fiscal environment during his speech yesterday at the Air Force Institute of Technology here.

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall spoke to approximately 1,000 DoD acquisitions personnel at AFIT’s campus. The speech was carried live by videoconference during the Defense Acquisition University Acquisition Insight Focus-sponsored event.

Kendall emphasized the need for the U.S. military to achieve dominant capabilities through technical excellence and innovation and to continue to strengthen a culture of cost-consciousness and professionalism.

DoD Can ‘Get Better’

“We can all get better at what we do,” Kendall said. “This is about building capacity within our departments.”

Better Buying Power 3.0 is aimed squarely at improving the acquisitions process, he said.

Kendall said the program provides a framework for keeping programs affordable, incentivizing productivity and innovation in government and industry, eliminating unproductive processes and bureaucracy in acquisitions, promoting effective competition, improving acquisition tradecraft, and enhancing professionalism in the total acquisition workforce.

“Keep working on your professionalism,” he said. “Keep looking for your opportunities to learn more and have more responsibility. Keep in mind the importance of cost. Keep in mind the importance of technical excellence.”

Kendall added, “There’s nothing magical about this.”

Story by Michele Eaton, 88th Air Base Wing

• Date Taken: 06.23.2015
• Date Posted: 07.03.2025 09:54
• Story ID: 503735
• Location: WASHINGTON, US