Comment:  The backbone of the acquisition workforce that stays in the career and advances in acquisition skills is the civilian workforce.  When my tenure in acquisition began at WP AFB contracting, to my joy and surprise, the skills there were in the people who did this in WWII and were now rolling up their sleeves doing Viet Nam war priority efforts.  The persons who do the signing and finalizing of and are empowered to commit the Government in contracts are the Warranted Contracting Officers whose background, experience and training are what makes acquisition go.   These folks have to be developed and grown to assume such responsibilities.   

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/purdy-space-force-needs-more-acquisition-experts-to-implement-reforms/

Nov. 21, 2025 | By Courtney Albon

Quote:

Space Force leaders say that while they’re eager to implement the Pentagon’s newly announced acquisition transformation strategy, civilian personnel cuts and a prolonged government shutdown have depleted the acquisition and contracting workforce, adding to pressures on the cadre that could make it difficult to hit the ground running on reform. 

“We’re in a really interesting time, and a troubling time,” the Space Force’s acting acquisition executive Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said Nov. 20 at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. “We have a strong, motivated force, but there have been an incredible amount of pressures on them in this past year. … We are in a situation where we barely have enouch acquirers to do all the work that we have now.”

Quote:

The Space Force has made some progress addressing the immediate impact of workforce cuts. The service has sought and obtained waivers from Hegseth’s office to hire replacements and, in some cases, rehire individuals. Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, SSC’s commander, told reporters in September that he is working to rebuild USSF’s acquisition workforce so that, even if it’s leaner than it once was, it’s better positioned to implement new reforms.

On the training side, the service has announced a first-of-its-kind initial qualification course for acquisition officers. The 10-week course is a deep dive into program management, testing, and contracting, and provides mentorship opportunities with industry experts and Space Force leaders. Its Office Training Course, which is for all of the service’s officers, also includes time spent learning the acquisitions process.