Army’s acquisition shops shakeup not ‘finalized,’ decision expected in weeks

WASHINGTON — US Army plans to restructure and consolidate the offices charged with developing requirements and buying weapons remain under consideration internally but could be announced within weeks, according to a service spokesman.

“No decisions have been made … I want to be very clear about that. These decisions have not been finalized,” Army spokesman Steven Warren told reporters today.

In April, Breaking Defense first reported tentative service had plans to pare the 13 Program Executive Offices (PEOs) managing weapons programs, possibly down to nine shops, and downgrade some of the billets.  Days later, the service confirmed some details of that reporting when it began unveiling its new Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) that included cuts to weapon programs and the merger of Army Futures Command (AFC) with Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

However, changes to the PEOs were not included in that public directive. Warren explained that is because those additional moves are still under review and being “fed” by ATI changes that include a massive overhaul to areas like ground combat vehicles.

Operational planning teams — led by general officers and staffed with senior field grade officers — are now working up recommendations about what the final PEO structure may look like, Warren said.

However, that process is far enough along that lawmakers are weighing in. For example, Politico reported on a memo from the New Jersey delegation questioning the pending PEO shakeup that the letter said could lead to seven “capability executive offices.”

When asked about the letter, Warren repeated that no decision have been finalized.

“All of this still needs to be briefed to the Army senior leaders. … We still need to do Congressional engagements … to address some of these concerns, and then we’ll finally roll that out,” he added. “So, I wouldn’t expect to roll out, frankly, you know, for several more weeks.”