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life cycle logistics

OTA and MTA: A Study in Contrasts

I shared a few thoughts earlier this week in a LOG Blog post entitled “Sustainment Considerations for Other Transactions”, which got me to thinking: be careful not to confuse Other Transactions (OT)…

OTA and MTA: A Study in Contrasts

  1. Home
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  3. OTA and MTA: A Study in Contrasts
Bill Kobren
I shared a few thoughts earlier this week in a LOG Blog post entitled “Sustainment Considerations for Other Transactions”, which got me to thinking: be careful not to confuse Other Transactions (OT) or Other Transaction Authorities (OTA) with the Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA).

It’s important to keep in mind that MTA and OTA are related concepts, but are not synonymous. As the AAF website indicates, “MTAs can use Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs), but OTAs are just one tool in the toolbox. There’s a common misunderstanding that MTAs and OTAs are synonymous, however, MTA is an acquisition pathway (see DoD Instruction 5000.02, Para 4.2), whereas OTA is a contracting approach.”

As a side note, this DAU LOG blog post represents the sixteenth in this periodic “Study in Contrasts” series. Intended as a means to clarify both the differences and linkages between commonly used terms in our defense acquisition, product support, and life cycle logistics lexicon, previous posts in this long-running series (including this one) have included:

  1. CLS, ICS and PBL - A Study in Contrasts (7 Aug 2013)
  2. O&M, O&S and O&S - A Study in Contrasts (30 Aug 2013)
  3. Product Support Manager and Product Support Management - A Study in Contrasts (6 Sep 2013)
  4. Product Support and Sustainment - A Study in Contrasts (18 Nov 2013)
  5. Specifications and Standards - A Study in Contrasts (2 Dec 2013)
  6. Sustainment and Sustainability - A Study in Contrasts (16 Jan 14)
  7. Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and Integrated Product Support (IPS) - A Study in Contrasts (12 Feb 14)
  8. Life Cycle Costs (LCC) and Total Ownership Costs (TOC) - A Study in Contrasts (14 Mar 2014)
  9. Core and the 50-50 Rule – A Study in Contrasts (4 Sep 2018)
  10. Obsolescence and DMSMS – A Study in Contrasts (7 Sep 2018)
  11. CLPs and CEUs – A Study in Contrasts (9 Sep 18)
  12. Aligning Product Support and Sustainment Terminology (15 Oct 2019)
  13. ILAs and Post-IOC Sustainment Reviews: A Study in Contrasts (13 Nov 2019)
  14. Medical Logistics and Life Cycle Logistics: A Study in Contrasts (10 Mar 2020)
  15. A Data Strategy and an IP Strategy: A Study in Contrasts (16 Oct 2020)
  16. OTA and MTA: A Study in Contrasts (29 Oct 2020)