Specifications and qualifications for the initial award of MOS 51C, the high-priority specialty for NCOs who perform acquisition and contracting duties, have been revised by the Army Acquisition Support Center.
The revised qualification regimen requires soldiers to complete an appropriate level of contracting certification, as required by the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, or DAWIA, which is the federal law governing the acquisition corps of the military services.
MOS 51C is a relatively new MOS, having been established to support the Army Contracting Command and the reform efforts of 2007-2008 that followed in the wake of several contracting scandals in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NCOs, staff sergeants and above, who are assigned to this specialty typically perform acquisition and contracting services in support of deployments, operations, joint operations, exercises, contingencies and sustainment operations.
The revised specifications and qualifications for the initial award of 51C were announced by Human Resources Command April 10 in MilPer Message 15-110.
Under the highly regimented professional development track for this MOS, certification meeting the requirements of DAWIA is obtained through a combination of training at the Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va., education and experience.
The certification standards are published annually, and updated as needed by the university.They can be viewed at http://icatalog.dau.mil/.
Soldiers who meet the standards can apply for DAWIA certification and contingency contracting accreditation and are tracked through the Career Acquisition Management portal at https://rda.altess.army.mil/camp/.
51C soldiers who meet the training and experience standards, but not the educational standards, may apply for contingency contracting accreditation that is valid for 36 months.
Level I and Level II accreditation for contingency contracting requires that NCOs:
Level I: complete 12 months of acquisition experience, complete certain DAWIA contracting courses at the Defense Acquisition University and 24 hours of college business courses from an accredited institution.
Level II: complete 24 months of acquisition experience, complete certain DAWIA contracting courses at the DAU, and complete at least 60 hours of college credit, with at least 24 of those being business-related.
Under the revisions issued April 10, contracting NCOs must meet DAWIA certification standards as follows:
- For Level I, no later than 24 months from being awarded 51C, or by April 10, 2016, whichever is later.
- For Level II, no later than 24 months from being promoted to sergeant first class, or April 10, 2016, whichever is later.
- For Level III, no later than 24 months from being promoted to master sergeant, sergeant major or command sergeant major, or April 10, 2016, whichever is later.
Soldiers who fail to meet the DAWIA accreditation and certification standards described above will be considered unqualified to serve in MOS 51C. They will be identified with the Immediate Re-enlistment Prohibition code 9P (loss of MOS qualification), and be processed for mandatory reclassification.
