As the Army continues to modernize in an increasingly complex operational environment, the integration of acquisition, logistics and technology functions has become increasingly vital. While the Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Integration Office (ALT-IO) has supported this mission within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) since 2007, its move to the Director of Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office represents a deliberate effort to unify acquisition proponency across the enterprise.
“This is really about becoming one voice, one proponent for the acquisition community at large,” said the DACM Office’s Proponency, Analysis and Communications former division chief, Jason Pitts. “Now we are all inside one common voice advocating for contracting professionals.”
For the Army Acquisition Workforce, the change aligns operational contracting and workforce development more closely, improving coherence across force structure, doctrine, training and personnel systems.
ALIGNING WORKFORCE AND OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY
Although ALT-IO now resides in the DACM Office, its mission remains unchanged.
“There is no change in mission focus—only reporting chain,” emphasized ALT-IO Branch Chief Jethro Mann, noting that ALT-IO continues to execute ASA(ALT) AR5-22 Force Modernization Proponent responsibilities, now delegated to the DACM Office.
“ALT-IO defines, develops and integrates the Army’s operational contracting capability and delivery of commercial support to current and future operations,” he explained.
To fulfill this mission, ALT-IO remains responsible for:
“We are focused on operational requirements, making sure units are manned and equipped and with the proper doctrine and training,” Mann added. “Our focus is to ensure that they’re able to execute the Army’s on-the-ground contracting mission in warfighting.”
The realignment brings together two previously separate functions within the acquisition enterprise—workforce development and operational contracting. “This move merges acquisition workforce proponency and acquisition warfighting proponency,” Mann explained. “They [DACM and its workforce proponency role] operate at the strategic level, while we focus on the operational level.”
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALT-IO AND ITS ENTERPRISE ROLE
ALT-IO emerged during the Army’s transition from installation-based contracting to a more expeditionary contracting model in the mid-2000s, a shift that led to the establishment of organizations such as Expeditionary Contracting Command (discontinued in 2017) and Army Contracting Command (ACC). As operational contracting requirements expanded, ALT-IO became the Army’s dedicated proponent for operational contracting, responsible for doctrine, force structure and ensuring https://legalclarity.org/total-army-analysis-explained-purpose-process-and-reforms/ accurately reflected contracting requirements.
At the same time, workforce proponency evolved along separate paths, creating challenges in coordinating talent management and force-development decisions. ACC presents a unique workforce-management challenge because the majority of Army contracting expertise resides within a single command.
“You won’t find basically one job set, one skill set [in] contracting where 90% of the MOS [military occupational specialty] is in one command,” Pitts said. “Some existing authorizations are in DASA(P) [deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement] and the Corps of Engineers, but mostly all reside within Army Contracting Command. So those folks have unique challenges in terms of career development structure.”
By creating a coordinated talent-management forum with ACC, DASA(P), the Corps of Engineers and the proponent, Army leaders can better align workforce development with field requirements.
“[Now] we can engage in real talent management issues, understand what the field needs from us so that we can start getting achievable results and make things better for noncommissioned officers and contracting officers across the Army,” Pitts said, noting that in the past, some workforce and proponency issues were addressed through separate organizations rather than a single coordinated approach. “We couldn’t do that if they had to go to different people to get those answers.”
ALT-IO has also adapted to resource reductions over the past decade.
“Due to force structure reductions over the past decade, our capability has narrowed to focus primarily on doctrine, organizational design, training and leader development,” Mann said. “Yet, we remain fully mission capable within these areas.”
From an initial structure of 16 personnel, the organization now consists of seven subject-matter experts whose work remains tightly aligned with the Army’s DOTMLPF-P framework—doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy—which governs how capabilities are developed and sustained across the force.
“Our mission is to generate, synchronize and integrate operational contracting concepts, doctrine, training, leader development and force design capabilities,” Mann said. “All of it is focused on enabling responsive commercial support across the full spectrum of Army operations.”
ALT-IO remains closely connected to doctrine-development efforts and coordination with organizations such as the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command, helping ensure operational contracting capabilities remain aligned with sustainment requirements and evolving warfighting needs.
WORKFORCE IMPACT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
At the tactical and operational levels, the transition is not expected to disrupt contracting formations.
“Apart from who we now report to, this transition is invisible to the field,” Mann said. Operational units—brigades, battalions and contracting detachments—will continue to rely on ALT-IO for doctrinal guidance, force structure and capability development.
At the enterprise level, however, the alignment enables workforce and operational structures to be evaluated together. “Now when we look at structure, we’re looking at them together seamlessly,” Pitts said. “Making the right decisions for the entire community.”
The alignment is already shaping training and professional development efforts within the 51C contracting career field.
As the Proponent Sergeant Major for the contracting career field, Jalila Wahid said the change gives 51C Soldiers a clearer connection to the broader acquisition enterprise.
She explained that the consolidation does not alter tactical-level contracting support but instead creates “more of an opportunity to align tactical requirements with Army-level acquisitions.”
Wahid said the unified structure improves communication between proponency and higher headquarters, while giving both organizations greater opportunity to provide input earlier in Army restructuring decisions—something previously limited. The realignment also strengthens relationships with training institutions such as The Army Acquisition School (TAAS) and the 51C Senior Leader Course, improving visibility into how noncommissioned officer (NCO) development supports operational requirements.
Looking ahead, Wahid believes opportunities may expand for 51C NCOs as the career field adapts to a more integrated environment.
She emphasized the value of in-person instruction, noting that the field “developed a much broader perspective through direct, in-person learning” before the shift to online certification models. She also sees potential for expanding opportunities for NCOs in program management, a skill already taught in TAAS but rarely applied in NCO assignments.
“It is always beneficial to have a force that’s versatile, and capable of doing many things at once,” she said, adding that the consolidation is “only going to be beneficial to the field” and will ultimately strengthen the ACC’s warfighting capabilities.
The DACM Office is also introducing greater flexibility into acquisition training programs.
For example, Pitts said the nine-week Army Acquisition Transition Course at TAAS was redesigned to create room for emerging acquisition priorities without changing its overall model. By removing repeated material and consolidating overlapping lessons, instructional time was freed up that now allows the course to incorporate ASA(ALT)’s evolving strategic topics like faster capability delivery, smarter industry engagement and thoughtful risk integration.
Previously, courses were structured to provide what was needed from a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, or DAWIA, perspective, but there was no flexibility to train emerging topics.
“When the Acquisition Transformation Strategy came out and the Army wanted us to deliver capabilities faster, assume a little risk, work with senior leaders on how to get a capability into the warfighter’s hands faster, we didn’t have any wiggle room in the curricula to flex that,” Pitts said.
The revised course includes additional space to address evolving acquisition priorities and will launch as a pilot in July.
From a strategic standpoint, the integration strengthens coordination among ACC, the DACM Office and other acquisition stakeholders while helping ensure decisions reflect the needs of the broader contracting community.
“You want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for everybody, not just one command,” Pitts said. “We’re trying to figure out how to [best] integrate this capability.”
CONCLUSION
The integration of ALT-IO into the DACM Office reflects a deliberate effort to unify workforce and operational contracting proponency under a single framework.
As the Army prepares for joint multidomain operations, this alignment strengthens coordination across workforce development, force structure and operational requirements while positioning the acquisition enterprise to better support the warfighter. While a formal assessment in 2027 will provide deeper insight into long-term effects, the structure now in place demonstrates a forward-looking approach to improving readiness, enhancing coordination and sustaining operational effectiveness across the acquisition community.
For more information, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/dacm-office/.
Editor’s Note: It is with a heavy heart that the Behind the Frontlines Team must share that Jason Pitts recently passed away. Our condolences to the Pitts family and his colleagues.
CHERYL MARINO is a writer-editor at the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, providing contract support for Behind the Frontlines and TMGL, LLC. Prior to USAASC, she served as a technical report editor at the Combat Capabilities Development Command Center at Picatinny Arsenal. She holds a B.A. in communications from Seton Hall University and has more than 25 years of writing and editing experience in both the government and private sectors.