§ 1749 — Field Training For Acquisition And Sustainment

(a) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment shall establish a training program that supports cross-functional personnel and contractors of the Department of Defense involved in any phase of the acquisition and sustainment lifecycle in making important decisions with respect to acquisition or sustainment, including requirements validation, the development of an acquisition strategy, awarding contracts, and ongoing management of performance and governance. (b) The training program established under subsection (a) shall— (1) create deployable training teams to coach the cross-functional personnel and contractors described in subsection (a) and facilitate such personnel and contractors successfully completing a phase of an acquisition or sustainment effort with the same training team to the maximum extent possible; (2) to the extent practicable, ensure that the same training team under paragraph (1) provides the support described under such paragraph with respect to a phase of an acquisition or sustainment effort until such phase is completed or otherwise ends; (3) provide to the cross-functional personnel and contractors described in subsection (a) short, intermittent lessons on innovative acquisition and fielding procedures, flexible contracting frameworks, and business negotiation skills that are timed to align the topics of the lessons to relevant activities under a phase of an acquisition or sustainment effort; (4) (A) the acquisition of commercial products, commercial services, and commercially available off-the-shelf items (as such terms are defined in sections 103, 103a, and 104, respectively, of title 41); (B) technology procured “as-a-service” or as a consumption-based solution (as defined in section 834 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 4571 note)); and (C) using the middle tier acquisition pathways under section 3602 of this title and the pathways under section 3603 of this title; and (5) include a process for collecting feedback on the training program and performance of the training teams to improve the training program. (c) Each training team created under the training program— (1) at not less than one individual from the private sector or academia with expertise in conducting commercial transactions; and (2) has excellent facilitation skills and can coach the cross-functional personnel and contractors described in subsection (a) on applying the best practices to the formulation of acquisition and sustainment programs and contracts; (d) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall ensure that each member of the acquisition workforce who participates in the training program established under subsection (a) can meet up to 80 hours of a continuous education requirement established under section 1723 of this title by participating in the training program. (e) During fiscal year 2025, the Secretary of each military department shall carry out not less than one pilot program— (1) under which the military department shall receive support under the training program established under subsection (a) with respect to acquisition and sustainment efforts of high importance or urgency to the military department; and (2) which the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment shall use to develop the training material and procedures for the training program. (f) starting in fiscal year 2025, and for fiscal years 2027 through fiscal year 2031— (1) not less than 25 percent of civilian faculty members authorized under section 1746 of this title shall be detailed on a reimbursable basis to the training program established in (a) 3 for a minimum of half of their time; and (2) not less than 25 percent of all contract or agreement obligations in support of Defense Acquisition University shall be reserved for the training program established in (a),3 including the training of civilian faculty members to facilitate programs under the training program. (g) Not later than November 1, 2026, the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment shall provide a report to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives on the training program required under subsection (a), including— (1) the number and qualifications of civilian faculty members detailed to the training program under subsection (f)(1), including any training requirements they receive to facilitate programs under the training program; (2) an identification of contractor or university support for the training program pursuant to subsection (f)(2); (3) a budget for the training program that meets the requirements of subsection (f); (4) the status and success of the pilot program; and (5) any additional information or recommendations with respect to the training program that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment determines appropriate.