The Ammunition Community of Practice (Ammo CoP) has been recognized by the Army Knowledge Management Awards (AKMA) Program. The AKMA provides Army-level recognition for initiatives in knowledge-based capabilities and solutions to those who have had tangible success related to Army KM goals and objectives. One winner is chosen in each of the three Army KM Dimensions: People/Culture, Process, and Technology. The Ammo CoP was submitted under the Process dimension. The Ammunition CoP resides on the Acquisition Community Connection (ACC) and its purpose is to share knowledge throughout the ammunition enterprise. DAU partnered with the Defense Ammunition Center, McAlester, Oklahoma to assist with building and hosting the Ammo CoP. The community was deployed in November of 2008 and now has more than 1,200 members.

The Army Knowledge Management award will be presented by LTG Sorenson, G6/CIO, at the LandWarNet luncheon on August 20 in Ft. Lauderdale. DAU extends its congratulations to the Defense Ammunitions Center; see the award-winning Ammo CoP at https://acc.dau.mil/ammo.

On 20 July 2009 The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) deployed the initial version of the Defense Acquisition Portal (DAP) for the Under Secretary of Defense (AT&L). It can be seen and used at https://dap.dau.mil The DAP is a publically accessible system, providing the latest portal and collaboration technology to assist the Department of Defense’s government and industry acquisition workforce. The DAP enhances the breadth and scope of the acquisition process beyond the previous AKSS (Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics Knowledge Sharing System), replaced by the DAP. The DAP includes all of the elements and forces affecting the Big Acquisition Process, including Human Capital Initiatives. There is a new tab dedicated to the Acquisition Workforce, providing information on career management, Human Capital Initiatives and the 4th Estate. This information includes services on career planning, leadership training, overarching guidance documents and links to information on professional organizations. There is also a major new feature in DAP called "Acquisition Career Gateways" where each of the fourteen identified acquisition career fields has its own area providing: a career certification guide; formal course enrollment procedures; continuous learning and job specific courses; Ask-A-Professor Q&As; Performance Support/Consulting services available through DAU; and highlighted career field information through blogs by career field experts. The Search feature has been completely reengineered to make it much easier to find the specific kind of learning or job support asset needed. A major goal of the DAP is to provide quick access portal “services” to the workforce in their local work environment. An example of this is the “DAP Quick Links” service on the DAP front page which has the option to make this service an iGoogle gadget. More options will follow in future phased upgrades to the DAP which will focus on additional personalization and “push” capabilities, including a “My DAP” option.

The significant policy revisions associated with the re-issuance of DoD Instruction 5000.02 in December 2008 prompted a complete review and revision of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG). The revised DAG will be finished and online several months from now. While that task is being completed, we have created an Interim DAG. The Interim DAG has the same business practice and policy content as the final, but with fewer internal and external navigation options. Our objective is to provide you with the information you need to manage your programs while we make the DAG more user friendly. If you have questions regarding the interim DAG, please contact guidebook@dau.mil. [7 Jul 2009]

Applications for the 2009 USD(AT&L) Workforce Development Award are now being accepted. This award program recognizes DoD AT&L organizations that have made exemplary contributions to the career-long development of their workforces. Applications must be received by August 1, 2009. The award application form, instructions, and additional information are available at www.dau.mil/devaward.

On 22 May 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation entitled "The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act". The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act is meant to strengthen accountability standards for Defense Department purchases for military operations. Go to (AKSS and RDT sites) to view briefing that summarizes "The Act".

The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Civilian Personnel Policy) has been designated by Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) as the lead in expanding the opportunities for Department of Defense (DoD) civilians to fill Global expeditionary augmentation requirements.

For more information and to apply for one of these positions, click here.