The requirement to educate, train and sustain a deployable contingency acquisition workforce and senior leaders to manage this force has long been recognized by DoD. Ongoing contingencies have stressed the military and civilian acquisition workforce, necessitating the deployment of personnel with limited experience in the execution of contracts in a contingency environment. Similarly, senior planners, program managers, and operational leaders deployed to the area of responsibility have limited experience in managing the large number of contractors accompanying the force. To correct this deficiency, the Department is striving to effectively educate and train operational military leaders, both officer and enlisted personnel across all grades, on operational contract support to include the management of contractors deploying with forces.

In keeping with the Secretary’s and the Chairman's vision for OCS education and training, several parallel efforts are underway to incorporate OCS into a holistic learning framework depicted below that includes education, individual and collective training, exercises, lessons learned, and an on-line body of knowledge primarily aimed at non-acquisition personnel.