10 U.S.C. § 1749 — Field training for acquisition and sustainment

(a) Training program. Within 180 days after this section’s enactment, the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment must establish training supporting Defense Department cross-functional personnel and contractors involved in any acquisition or sustainment lifecycle phase. The program must help them make important decisions, including validating requirements, creating an acquisition strategy, awarding contracts, and managing performance and governance.

(b) Elements. The program must (1) create deployable teams to coach those personnel and contractors and, as far as possible, help them complete a lifecycle phase with the same team; (2) as practicable, keep that team supporting a phase until it is completed or otherwise ends; (3) provide short, intermittent lessons on innovative acquisition and fielding procedures, flexible contracting frameworks, and business negotiation skills, timed to relevant phase activities; (4) emphasize (A) commercial products, commercial services, and commercially available off-the-shelf items, as defined in 41 U.S.C. §§ 103, 103a, and 104; (B) technology bought as a service or as a consumption-based solution, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 4571 note; and (C) middle-tier pathways under § 3602 and pathways under § 3603; and (5) collect feedback on the program and team performance to improve the program.

(c) Team requirements. Each team must include at least 1 private-sector or academic person experienced in commercial transactions, and must have excellent facilitation skills and the ability to coach the covered personnel and contractors in applying best practices to acquisition and sustainment programs and contracts.

(d) Certification. The Under Secretary must ensure that each acquisition-workforce member participating in the program can satisfy up to 80 hours of the continuing-education requirement under § 1723 by participating.

(e) Pilot. In fiscal year 2025, each military-department Secretary must conduct at least 1 pilot program. The department must receive program support for high-importance or high-urgency acquisition and sustainment efforts, and the Under Secretary must use the pilot to develop training materials and procedures.

(f) Funding. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the Under Secretary may use Defense Acquisition University funds for civilian faculty, contracts, and related travel and expenses. For fiscal years 2027 through 2031, at least 25% of faculty authorized under § 1746 must be detailed to this program for at least half their time, and at least 25% of all contract or agreement obligations supporting the University must be reserved for the program, including training faculty to facilitate it.

(g) Report. By November 1, 2026, the Under Secretary must report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on the program. The report must include the number and qualifications of faculty detailed under (f)(1), including training they receive; contractor or university support under (f)(2); a budget meeting (f); the pilot’s status and success; and any other appropriate information or recommendations the Under Secretary determines.