Ireland Degges
The U.S. Army is currently undergoing a major modernization journey to prepare the service branch for the challenges of both the present and future battlefield. As warfighting continues to be transformed by new technologies, the Army has recognized the need to accelerate its acquisition processes to deliver these tools to the warfighter as fast as possible.
Driving these efforts forward is Young Bang, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. His responsibilities in this role encompass all areas of Army acquisition, and he serves as an advisor to Doug Bush, assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, as well as other Army officials.
His work has yielded successful results for the Army acquisition community. Bush, who delivered a keynote address at the Potomac Officers Club’s 8th Annual Army Summit last week, said that Bang’s leadership has “revolutionized” the way the Army approaches software.
“We are changing policies, restructuring programs and reorienting the Army’s entire software enterprise effort to an industry standard agile approach that seeks to create industry software in smaller parts that can be quickly turned over to users and iterated on,” Bush elaborated.
Earlier this year, Bang offered a look into Army acquisition priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit in February, where he provided his insights on AI, its role in the DOD’s future and Army strategies for adopting this technology.
He highlighted Project Vista, which aims to engage small businesses with the Army, as one way the service branch is shifting its approach to technology acquisition.
More recently, Bang shared that the Army is “toying with the notion” of an AI bill of materials, which would help reduce supply chain vulnerabilities related to AI algorithms.
“Just like we’re securing our supply chain — semiconductors, components, subcomponents — we’re also thinking about that from a digital perspective. So we’re looking at software, data and AI,” he said.
Bang will continue discussing the Army’s acquisition efforts at ExecutiveBiz’s Army Acquisition Priorities: Balancing Readiness and Modernization Forum on November 8. As the event’s keynote speaker, Bang will share his insights on acquisition and its crucial role in modernization.
Don’t miss your chance to hear from Bang in person! To learn more and register to attend the forum, click here.
