The Pentagon is ready to present Congress with its plans for splitting the position of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics into two positions, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said Wednesday. “We’re going to start engaging with the Congress here within the next 10 days,” he told the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee. “We just briefed Secretary [of Defense James] Mattis on our initial plan to make the split,” Work said, and “he has given us permission now to come forward.” The Pentagon was directed to replace the AT&L position with two new positions, an undersecretary for research and engineering, and an undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment. The R&E job is “supposed to be the chief technology officer of the Department,” Work said, and the position will focus on “a lot on rapid prototyping.” He also said he hopes to have the transition completed ahead of the Feb. 1, 2018 deadline.
See also: Heaping Change Upon Improvement, from the March 2017 issue of Air Force Magazine.