The newly published July 2021 edition of the Defense Acquisition Research Journal (ARJ) is now available online for your reading pleasure. With a theme of “Optimizing Operations”, this latest issue contains multiple articles of specific interest to the life cycle logistics and product support community. Articles include:

• “Distributed Operations in Response to COVID-19: Assessing Workforce Perceptions of Productivity and Success,” Shows how the Department of Defense workforce transitioned to distributed, maximum telework operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This study shows the effects of maximum telework on an organization in the areas of personnel productivity and project success.

• “A Simulation-based Optimization Approach to Logistic and Supply Chain Network Design”. The authors evaluate how simulations can overcome problems with over-simplifications made in logistics and supply chain analysis, such as constant per unit transportation costs regardless of the size of the shipment or the route taken. They propose a practical approach to optimizing supply chains in the face of uncertainty.
• “Quantifying the Effects of Aircraft Engine Upgrades on Operating and Support Costs.” The authors explore how new engines for fixed wing Air Force aircraft empirically affect operating and support costs, and conclude that better fuel efficiency more than offsets maintenance costs, resulting in a net savings.
• Research Agenda 2021
• Call for Authors
• Professional Reading List--The featured work in the Defense Acquisition Reading List book review is Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say—and What You Don’t
• Current Research Resources in Defense Acquisition—focuses on another timely subject—Remote Work