2026

Careers will be made and broken during the coming year.

There will be a lot of uncertainty in the acquisition workplace. Uncertainty about rules and processes and uncertainty about careers.

For some, the uncertainty will present the opportunity of a career lifetime.

Who are the "some"?

• Those who are curious., thoughtful, and ingenious

• Those who get what it's all about and move out sharply in hot pursuit

• Those who study, learn, and are able to explain to others.

Study what? Learn what? Be able to explain what to others?

• Concepts

• Principles

• Rules

• Processes

• Procedures

• Methods

• Techniques

Who are the some?

Those who move out sharply! Those who do!

Thanks, Vern. Apart from the FAR rewrite, do you have any specific events in mind?

I have difficulty in being as succinct but to me "career" implies something thats reaches beyond 2026. I get the challenges for the next year but to me a career depends on a long term vision which for a Federal employee, and most especially for those in the acquisition workforce, is impacted by politics and the changes, whether slight or considerable, brought about by the politics. So my thought might fit in "get what it is all about" yet I offer this.

Those who are flexiable and nimble with a long term vision.

3 hours ago, FrankJon said:

Apart from the FAR rewrite, do you have any specific events in mind?

No, but expect the unexpected.

What I will be watching for is what contracting personnel actually do after the RFO is complete. What procedures will they adopt, and whether those procedures make acquisition more timely and effective?

I just read a GAO decision about the issuance of a $75.5 million task order for IT support services against a MATOC under FAR 16.5. MATOCs were the product of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1995.

The request for task order proposals was issued in July 2024, the agency got six proposals, the award decision was protested, and the GAO sustained the protest in December 18, 2025 See Solvere Technical Group, B-423785, 14-page decision:

We recommend the agency reevaluate Solvere’s proposal under the personnel approach element of the technical factor and under the cost factor consistent with the solicitation and the above discussion. Following the reevaluation, the agency should make a new source selection decision. Alternatively, in light of the evaluators’ expressed concerns with Solvere’s purported overuse of TBD personnel, the Navy may wish to amend the solicitation to better reflect its requirements and evaluation preferences.

A year and a half to solicit, receive, and evaluate six proposals and settle a protest, and it's still not done. So much for reform, innovation, and streamlining.

Clouds appear to be gathering on the international scene, and developments will put pressure on the acquisition workforce. How the workforce responds will affect future legislation, regulation, and managerial reaction, and thus the future of the workforce.

The workforce has been through a hard time and times are still tough. Strength, resilience, and ingenuity are the themes of the days to come.

There’s no better advice for those interested in advancing their career. Right now there’s a mass of confusion out there. The workforce is largely risk adverse. It looks for regulations to be broken down into detailed instructions and precise steps to be take. The majority want to physically see what works so they can copy for their assigned tasks. So not much has happened thus far with the RFO.

A few hopefully will see the light. They will do as Vern states - study, learn, and explain to others. I’ll add they will seize the opportunity to apply the revised process to newly selected contracting assignments. They do this before all the policy, analysts, and writers of procurement instructions spend months producing something. They then become the “experts” others turn to including the policy writers.

The bulk of the workforce needs led with examples and told the steps to follow. I think that’s largely due to the risk adverse environment created. 25 years ago, Performance Based Acquisition was in vogue. Despite the push to adopt it, not much initially happened because people waited for someone else to take the lead. The company I worked for had knowledge and experience in helping craft the Seven Steps process. Once the word got out we could assist, we had to turn away work due to the demand. The 1102 community wanted someone to tell and show them how to proceed.

Another example concerns when the government tried Zero Based Budgeting. Few at the operational level knew what it was about. A newly hired young employee became interested and read, studied, and asked questions. Despite her age, she quickly became recognized as the expert. She saw what’s needed to be done to succeed from that experience and advanced applying that same inquisitive nature to everything she did. She rose to an SES position within record time.

To address Carls point, it’s more than just being nimble and flexible. It’s grasping beneficial concepts, studying and inquiring, developing insights and understandings on what needs done to apply, and taking the lead in doing the work as well as continual application throughout your career.

6 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

No, but expect the unexpected.

I'm a prophet. Just announced: "Service acquisition leaders: Why this time will be different for defense acquisition"

https://breakingdefense.com/2026/01/defense-acquisition-reform-dale-white-robert-collins-army-seiko-okano-navy-stephen-purdy-space/

Excerpt:

For the first time in the 55 years of modern acquisition history, we’re not asking our acquisition workforce to minimize risk and avoid blame. We’re asking them to own the fight.

Critics are already circling, dismissing this as another reshuffling of org charts with tough talk about “accountability,” focusing on punishing laggards. They’re wrong. This isn’t about punishment — it’s about liberation. And for those of us who’ve spent careers navigating the labyrinth of modern acquisition, it’s the opportunity we’ve been waiting for....

To the acquisition professionals out there: this is our moment. For years, we’ve operated in a system that treated us like potential failures to be managed rather than potential heroes to be unleashed. That era ends now.

Great article, Vern. Thanks for posting it. I hope a few read it, get motivated, and change their outlook on their jobs a little differently.

This excerpt is a compelling message for those seeking employment and for managers seeking the best hires:

Something remarkable happens when you create high-accountability, high-authority positions: the right people compete for them. We see this in pockets today such as the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office, SOCOM’s acquisition apparatus, or DARPA. These organizations don’t struggle to recruit talent — they have to turn people away.

30 minutes ago, formerfed said:

...high-accountability high-authority positions...

... the right people compete for them ...

The "right people". The deep-learners, hard-chargers, risk-takers, and OODA loopers.

We also need buy-in and trust from senior leadership. During my active duty time at Ft Hood one of the Director's monikers was Empowerment. But we were never really empowered due to policies on top of policies. See that warrant hanging on the wall, that is all it is....a wall piece. So 100% agree with everything stated thus far, but there also needs to be trust in your workforce in order for it to work.

55 minutes ago, dave2025 said:

So 100% agree with everything stated thus far, but there also needs to be trust in your workforce in order for it to work.

True, but trust is not enough. You must commit to its nourishment and well-being.

THE WHITE HOUSE, January 7, 2026

Executive Order: Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting

The White House

Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.

9 hours ago, dave2025 said:

We also need buy-in and trust from senior leadership. During my active duty time at Ft Hood one of the Director's monikers was Empowerment. But we were never really empowered due to policies on top of policies. See that warrant hanging on the wall, that is all it is....a wall piece. So 100% agree with everything stated thus far, but there also needs to be trust in your workforce in order for it to work.

8 hours ago, Vern Edwards said:

True, but trust is not enough. You must commit to its nourishment and well-being.

This reminds me of something I read from a senior manager. He stressed how important empowerment, training, and trust is. The gauge he uses for his personal management performance on these areas is his golf score. When he has sufficiently trained and empowered his subordinates, he can take off a lot of time for golfing. He doesn’t need to worry about the job not being done and his golf improves.