Foreword

As a former commandant of the Defense Systems Management College (DSMC), I truly value and appreciate the importance of effective U.S. military program management. I have seen firsthand the value of acquisition professionals in contract management, program management, logistics/supply management, and numerous related functional areas when planning, developing, and executing complex defense major systems programs.

This book provides a comprehensive and insightful perspective on the challenges, lessons learned, and best practices of managing large complex U.S. military programs.

The principal authors and coeditors, Gregory A. Garrett and Rene G. Rendon, are two highly decorated former United States Air Force (USAF) officers. Both have extensive Department of Defense (DoD) operational and acquisition management experience, combined with tremendous education, industry experience, and professional certifications. They have done an outstanding job of researching, writing, and editing this text.

The book, written by 15 contributing authors, consists of six functional areas, which are comprised of the key competencies of effective U.S. military program management: (1) requirements management, (2) program leadership and teamwork, (3) risk and financial management, (4) supply chain management and logistics, (5) contract management and procurement, and (6) special topics.

I believe this book will serve as a valuable reference tool for anyone who wants to better understand the enormous challenges involved in managing U.S. military programs, whether you are in DoD or the defense industry.

My hat’s off to Garrett and Rendon for their excellent work developing an extraordinarily important textbook that will add real value to our DoD acquisition management community!