Acquisition Boot Camp Changes on the way Published March 4, 2011 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Electronic Systems Center University will be making some major changes to Acquisition Boot Camp (ABC) this spring. Traditionally, ABC has been offered quarterly and was a weeklong workforce development event. Monday and Tuesday have been dedicated to Basic Level Boot Camp, with Wednesday and Thursday dedicated to Intermediate Level. Both Levels then met together on Friday to work on a final project. In the new Acquisition Boot Camp, both the Basic and Intermediate Levels will be separate, week-long events. Basic Boot Camp features topics facilitated by functional experts, such as: Acquisition Basics, Ethics, Basics of Financial Management, Defense Contract Management Agency, Understanding Your Contract, Life-Cycle Logistics and Introduction to Risk Management, among others. New classes for Basic Boot Camp will include: Effects Integrated Product Teams, Day-to-Day Expectations of Functional Players, Stakeholders and Acquisition Program Baselines. Instructors will continue to use a "fire hose" approach during the Basic Level, providing a lot of information during one-to-two hour classes. Each class session will continue to offer a question-and-answer period at the end of each presentation. The target audience for this level of training is employees who have been in an acquisition-coded position from one to six months. However, people who would like a refresher course are also invited when space is available. Intermediate Level Boot Camp's target audience is acquisition-coded professionals with a minimum of six to twelve months experience. Again, however, people who would like a refresher course are invited to enroll on a space-available basis. The Intermediate Level Boot Camp will continue to feature classes on Risk Management, Earned Value Management, Systems Engineering, Cost Estimating, and Source Selection. However, facilitators will use a different instructional approach. Each topic area will include an introductory briefing followed by an experiential component in the form of an exercise. Students will practice or prepare something related to the information they received. Intermediate Level Boot Camp will also offer some new topics: Engineering Change Proposals, Political Elements of Acquisition, the Program Objective Memorandum Process, Preparing for an Acquisition Strategy Panel and Leadership Skills training. "We are particularly excited about the Leadership component, currently scheduled for 14 hours over two days," said Mike Condon of the Acquisition Excellence Directorate's ESC University. Lt. Col. Jim Parco, PhD, a professor with Air Command & Staff College, and Dave Levy, PhD, a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, will facilitate a workshop on thinking deeply about leadership. The facilitators have co-authored two books on leadership and travel extensively to present to various Air Force organizations, other government agencies and many civilian organizations. Doctors Parco and Levy offered a five-hour Leadership seminar at Hanscom in January. The 40 attendees provided very positive feedback, but indicated more time was needed, according to Mr. Condon. ESC University may allow employees to register for the Leadership component of Intermediate Boot Camp, as space permits, to maximize attendance. Watch for more information and registration on the CenterNet or contact Mr. Condon at (781) 377-2703.