The New Defense Acquisition Workforce Awards: Recognizing the Importance of Software

Software is a critical and enduring capability, but is the Department of Defense (DoD) acting quickly enough to embrace this reality? Software is a major component of business systems and weapons systems; in fact, software is an inescapable part of the daily lives of the entire defense workforce. Consequently, the development and deployment of modern software rapidly and securely to the field and across the DoD-wide enterprise is a key enabler for the United States to maintain the defense technological advantage over its adversaries. As announced in the January-February issue of Defense Acquisition (Page 44), Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, recently added “software” as a new category in the 2019 Defense Acquisition Workforce Awards. The category was added to recognize individuals and teams who are adopting modern software development approaches to meet the growing and ever changing digital challenges.