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Cara L. Abercrombie, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition


bob7947

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Cara L. Abercrombie currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Defense Policy and Arms Control at the National Security Council. Prior to this, Abercrombie served as the Acting Deputy Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the first President of the Defense Security Cooperation University. A career member of the Senior Executive Service, Abercrombie has held numerous positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since 2003, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, Principal Director for East Asia, and Special Assistant to Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel. She is a 2022 recipient of the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. At the outset of her career, she managed Eurasia programs for the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs. Abercrombie received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and her M.P.A. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. A native of Peekskill, New York, she resides in Arlington, Virginia.

 

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@Retreadfed "Procurement" experience? I don't see it! Put your critical thinking hat on.

She seems to have a lot of executive-level experience in certain defense functions, but I don't see any "procurement" (or acquisition) experience in her official bio.

She's a typical late-term presidential appointee. She's sure to be confirmed by the Senate, she won't rock the boat, and she won't do any permanent harm.

Were you being ironic? Sorry if I'm slow on the uptake.

 

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Well, she was the Acting Deputy Director at DSCA--Foreign Military Sales.  The foreign nation identifies the contractor they want to use, sends the U. S. the money, and the U. S. processes the paperwork at the other end.  Other than that, she has an Ivy League pedigree.

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My first read earlier was - where is any real procurement experience or demonstration of acquisition qualifications for that position? 

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2 hours ago, C Culham said:

Her equals.....congressional staffers that draft acquisition statutes.

…and from my experience with construction/design-build/A-E draft legislation, that’s not saying much either.

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Few, if any of us, have been impressed with the current nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition.  I decided to look at the acting (of course) Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition.  I found several blurbs on her background:

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Ms. Tanya M. Skeen, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, is currently performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (ASD(A)). In this position, she advises the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)), the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense on matters relating to the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition System, acquisition program management, and the development of strategic, space, intelligence, tactical warfare, command and control, and business systems.

Ms. Skeen most recently served as Executive Director for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. She was responsible for acquiring and delivering DoD’s affordable and sustainable fifth-generation strike aircraft, as well as the F-35 Global Sustainment Strategy for three U.S. Services and seven partner countries.

Prior to that position, she served as the Program Executive Officer of the Army Rapid Capabilities Office. In this position, Ms. Skeen was responsible for expediting the fielding of critical combat capabilities to the warfighter and enhancing materiel responses to meet Combatant Commanders’ needs. She led the mission to rapidly develop, acquire, integrate and equip selected capabilities; implement streamlined acquisition methods, processes and techniques; and act as an agent of change by challenging traditional approaches.

In earlier assignments, Ms. Skeen served as Deputy Director of Test and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, where she was responsible for policy, resources and oversight of developmental and operational testing, and the Air Force head of foreign materiel acquisition and exploitation. She assisted the Director in overseeing a $4 billion Air Force test infrastructure and the programming and execution of the Air Force test portfolio with an annual budget of $1.9 billion.

She also served as the Program Executive Officer Chief Engineer at the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office where her responsibilities included technical oversight and approval of a multi-billion dollar portfolio. Ms. Skeen has also served as the Program Director for multiple ACAT-1 equivalent programs, including the Unmanned Aerospace System Command and Control Open Architecture Standards Initiative and the Air Force Common Mission Control Center for multiple domain weapons system command and control.

A native of Kent, Ohio, Ms. Skeen was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1990 following graduation from Purdue University where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In the Navy, she served as a Technical Instructor and Assistant Director at the Nuclear Power Training Command and also received her Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. After leaving the Navy, Ms. Skeen held numerous private sector positions in engineering and flight test of air, space, and ground weapons systems.

Ms. Skeen is the recipient of the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, the Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumnae Award, the Purdue University Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Award, the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award, the Exemplary Civilian Service Award, the Department of Defense Value Engineering Award, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Annual Award for Acquisition Process Improvement, and the Navy Achievement Medal.

           and here is the second blurb from an earlier position

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Tanya M. Skeen, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Deputy Director of Test and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. She is responsible for policy, resources and oversight of developmental and operational testing, and is a focal point for foreign materiel acquisition and exploitation. She assists the Director in overseeing a $4 billion Air Force test infrastructure and the programming and execution of the Air Force test portfolio, with an annual budget of $1.9 billion.

Ms. Skeen is from Kent, Ohio, and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1990 following graduation with highest distinction from Purdue University in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In the Navy, she served as a Technical Instructor and Assistant Director at the Nuclear Power Training Command and also received her Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida in 1994. After leaving the Navy, she joined the private sector developing the next generation X-35 Joint Strike Fighter followed by several positions in flight test where she was responsible for test planning, execution and data analysis for nearly every aircraft in the current Air Force inventory including B-2, F-117, F-15, F-16 and F-22. Additionally, Ms. Skeen was responsible for significant test range infrastructure upgrades for Red Flag testing as well as multiple programs that directly improved test range productivity. Following her private sector positions in flight test and other development programs, she returned to federal service in 2009 as the Program Executive Officer Chief Engineer at the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. Her responsibilities at the AFRCO included technical oversight of a multi-billion dollar portfolio and serving as the Program Director for programs including the Common Mission Control Center for multiple simultaneous mixed aircraft command and control.

EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical And Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
1994 Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. December 1990 – November 1993, Naval Nuclear Power Instructor, Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, Orlando, Fla.
2. November 1993 – February 1995, Assistant Director of the Officer Department, Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, Orlando, Fla.
3. August 1995 – April 1996, B-2 Environmental Systems Design and Test Engineer, Northrop-Grumman, Palmdale, Calif.
4. April 1996 – February 2000, X-35B Flight Controls, Aerodynamics, Propulsion Design Engineer, Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, Palmdale, Calif.
6. July 2000 – December 2001, Senior Flight Test Engineer, EG&G Special Projects, Las Vegas, Nev.
7. December 2001 – July 2003, Senior Flight Test Analyst, Modern Technology Solutions Inc., Las Vegas, Nev.
8. July 2003 – August 2004, Flight Test Software Development Engineer, Modern Technology Solutions Inc., Montgomery, Ala. 
9. August 2004 – July 2009, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Subject Matter Expert, Modern Technology Solutions Inc., Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. 
10. July 2009 – November 2014, Program Executive Officer Chief Engineer, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. 
11. November 2014 – present, Deputy Director of Test and Evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 

She appears to have more acquisition experience in industry and government than the current nominee.  If you read her experience, you will have some of the same thought as I have.

I'll add one more blurb when she was named to her current position.

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The Department of Defense (DoD) has named Tanya Skeen acting assistant secretary of defense for acquisition at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition [ASD(A)].

Skeen comes to ASD(A) from the DoD’s F-35 Joint Program Office, where she served as the executive director of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, also called the Lightning II Program.

“What a bittersweet moment for me! F-35 is the most amazing and impactful program in the world delivered by the best team I have ever had the honor to work beside,” Skeen said on LinkedIn. “The F-35 warfighters and our U.S. and allied teammates owe a debt of gratitude to this incredible group of professionals at the Joint Program Office.”

Previously, Skeen served as a program executive officer of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office; deputy director of test and evaluation, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; and program manager and chief engineer at the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

“Huge thanks to my departing Executive Director, Tanya Skeen, as she leaves the F-35 Joint Program Office after an exceptionally successful 3.5 year tour,” Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, program executive officer and program director at the F-35 Joint Program Office, said in a farewell post for Skeen on LinkedIn. “You drove change for our people and for our program…and we’re in a better place today thanks to your efforts.”  (italics added)

Maybe experience is a detriment.  What do you think?

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1 hour ago, bob7947 said:

Maybe experience is a detriment.  What do you think?

Relations between the F-35 Joint Program Office and the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, have been (in the past) problematic. Maybe she was tainted by that troubled relationship? Maybe Lockheed Martin folks whispered in the ears of Administration officials? Maybe in her dealings with the multiple military services that are customers of the F-35 program, she upset somebody in another service, or even within her own service? 

To answer your question, though: yes. It can be.

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." -- Randy Pausch

 

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2 hours ago, bob7947 said:

Ms. Tanya M. Skeen, a career member of the Senior Executive Service,

I don't think this is unusual.  When there is a vacancy in an appointee position, a career civil servant will frequently be appointed to act in that position.  When an appointee is confirmed, the careerist will return to some permanent career position.  So my question is where will she go next?

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The questions for the president are: (1) What do you want the candidate to do once they are in office? (2) In light of bureaucratic inertia and  resistance, what can reasonably be done in the time available?

Maintain the status quo? Reform? Revolution?

Th next question is: In light of the goal, what are the necessary qualifications?

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