Section 809 panel members speak at lunch and learn

The Section 809 Panel concluded its mission in July of 2019, providing recommendations to help DOD streamline and codify its acquisition regulations. Three of the panel’s esteemed members shared their experiences and insights at a recent PEO EIS Lunch and Learn session, August 29, 2019 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Leading the event were former panel commissioner and Principal Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), retired Lt. Gen. Ross Thompson, along with former professional staff members Larry Asch and Nick Tsiopanas. Program Executive Officer (PEO), Chérie A. Smith and Deputy PEO Brendan Burke attended the session and participated in the discussion as well.

Thompson kicked off the event and elaborated his role and additional background about the panel. “I was appointed as the commissioner on the Section 809 Panel in August 2016, which was chartered by Congress to streamline defense acquisition and advise senior government and industry leaders on strategy, program management, technology, contracting, budgets, process improvement and workforce development,” he said. “The Section 809 Panel has published four reports that contain a total of 98 recommendations. These concepts include both evolutionary and revolutionary recommendations to better leverage innovation in the dynamic marketplace and get capabilities to warfighters faster.” The panel's work is summarized in its roadmap, with specifics of all the recommendations.

During the presentation, Tsiopanas discussed methods to increase the use of existing commercial buying authorities. “Despite the original intent and numerous revisions to statutes and regulations, selecting sources for commercial products and services have continued to take too long and involve unnecessarily complex procedures,” he said. “So we highlighted a couple of FAR [Federal Acquisition Regulation]  regulations to help circumvent and expedite these issues by using the FAR Part 12 [commercial items], FAR Part 13 [simplified acquisition threshold] and FAR Subpart 13.5 [simplified procedures for certain commercial items]. We also recommended new methods to increase the speed and benefits for services by leveraging FAR 13.5, which can be used for services.”

Wrapping up the lunch and learn session, Asch gave an overview of strategies to streamline service contract approval process, optimize acquisition of consumption-based solutions, and ways to create direct contracts with independent consultants. “Highly qualified independent consultants do not always want to become full-time employees or navigate the complexities of becoming a government contractor or subcontractor. These professionals often choose to work as independent contractors in the gig economy, finding work through online talent marketplaces,” he explained. 

At the conclusion of the event, Smith expressed her gratitude and gave each presenter a command coin to thank them for their time and efforts. The lunch and learn series is part of the PEO’s growth and development line of effort, and organizers invite internal and external speakers to discuss a broad variety of topics.