PEO EIS’s Newly Renamed Acquisition Innovation Directorate Aims to Make Acquisition Easy

Effective Feb. 1, 2022, PEO EIS’s Director, Acquisition and Systems Management/Strategic Initiatives Group (DASM/SIG) has a more concise and descriptive name: the Acquisition Innovation Directorate (AID).  

Under the leadership of Aric Sherwood, AID will help EIS’s six project managers and directors by determining which project management office (PMO) should oversee a new program requirement and by working with that PMO to develop the acquisition strategy and documentation.

The AID team — composed of more than a dozen acquisition and program management specialists — has two primary areas of focus: acquisition support and strategic initiatives. Acquisition support provides guidance on all acquisition-related matters, from documentation review to transitioning new program starts for execution. Strategic initiatives leverages team members’ executive-level contracting and technical expertise to help plan new operational initiatives.

Some of the key initiatives that AID will be focused on in coming months include the Army Case Execution System, Army IgnitED, the Enterprise Services Infrastructure, and the Army’s alternative email solution. The directorate also will develop tools for PMO leadership, including a checklist of required documents for shaping programs in the acquisition pathway and supporting PMs’ execution of those programs.

“Our directorate’s new name better reflects what we do and the value we provide to our PMOs,” said Sherwood. “By prioritizing innovation and lightening the day-to-day administrative workload for our project managers and directors, the AID team will enable PMO leaders to focus on managing their portfolios and successfully delivering needed capability to Soldiers.”

Sherwood became director of the former DASM/SIG last fall after serving in an interim role as acting assistant program executive officer for networks, cyber and services. The DASM/SIG was formed by the merger of EIS’s DASM and SIG offices last summer.