While life cycle logisticians don’t necessarily need to be a DAWIA certified contracting professional, at the same time good life cycle logisticians and product support managers also recognize that a working knowledge of contracting management is essential to our long-term success. So, you might ask, what courses should we consider taking to expand the depth and breadth of our contracting knowledge? Glad you asked!

I would start by taking CLC 011 Contracting for the Rest of Us continuous learning module. Next, I would recommend taking each of the following three web-based self-paced distance learning contracting courses:

·         CON 121 Contracting Planning and

·         CON 124 Contracting Execution and

·         CON 127 Contract Management

These three new contracting courses (which literally just deployed last week and replaced the old CON 115 Contracting Fundamentals course) total just under 40 total hours (a great way to complete a sizeable portion of your 80 hours of continuous training requirement while learning important contracting information at the same time).

I would also recommend visiting the Compare Contract Types site on the DAU Acquisition Community Connection, as well as checking out the Contracting Community of Practice (CON CoP) and the many other contracting continuous learning modules and contracting ACQuipedia articles available. Given the plethora of continuous learning modules available, might suggest you narrow your search a bit by visiting the Life Cycle Logistics Career Field Core Plus Guide to see specific contracting training recommendations for each level.

Food for thought as you  update your own Individual Development Plans or think about ways to be a better Life Cycle Logistician.