FORT LEE, Va. - Defense Contract Management Agency leaders are encouraged to continue to empower their workforce to make the right decisions to save customers and the Department of Defense money.
That was the message Alan Estevez, the principal deputy under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, stressed during his visit Nov. 6. Estevez gave senior leaders from around the agency an update on Better Buying Power 3.0 during the Commanders Forum held here at the Army Logistics University Nov. 3-6.
“For every dollar I give DCMA, I get two dollars back as a return on investment,” said Estevez. “DCMA provides the best equipment to the best military on this planet. You should be proud of what you do every day. You are the independent eyes and ears of DoD.”
During his speech, Estevez spoke about the defense budget, and research and development.
“We’re working on the fiscal year 17 budget now,” he said. “There is a balance between force structure, readiness and modernization.”
Estevez said as budgets become lean, the DoD community must remember that sequestration is still in effect. While budgets have shrunk, he continues to be impressed with the acquisition workforce.
The deputy under secretary said he had been to Afghanistan quite a few times and that he was proud of the acquisition community for improvements made to support warfighters, including the rapid acquisition of mine-resistant ambushed protected vehicles and various sensors.
He encouraged the group to empower their employees to also analyze service contracts carefully as much as they analyze buying items.
“People should put just as much cost analysis into a service contract as they do for buying things,” he said. “We need to make sure we know where the money is going.”
Estevez asked senior leaders to make sure everyone understood how to implement best practices related to commercial pricing. He also emphasized that BBP 3.0 is a guide to control costs, yet incentivize productivity and innovation between industry and the federal government.
“Better Buying Power is not a slogan, but it’s a substance,” said Estevez.