Billets officially designated with a valid AQD by the budget submitting office (BSO) and duly recorded in TFMMS.  Orders to acquisition coded billets shall include mention of the primary DAWIA certification required and the formal timeline established by DoD Functional Area Guidance.

Certain communities value acquisition as an important element of an officer’s career path.  Acquisition career path officers in the following communities are considered permanent members of the DON Acquisition Workforce (AWF) whether or not their billet is currently coded:  Unrestricted Line-Warfare Qualified Officers (11X0 and 13X0) with a formal, signed agreement to pursue an acquisition career path, Engineering Duty Officers (14X0), Aerospace Engineering and Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers (15X0), Supply Corps Officers (3100) with ACX or AKX additional qualification designation, Civil Engineering Corps (5100), and Marine Corps Military Occupational Specialty Aviation (8059) and Ground (8061).

Experience gained in an acquisition coded billet will be credited at 100% in the functional area associated with the billet assignment.  The experience is calculated by the DON eDACM system and is updated each month, based on acquisition assignment data provided by authoritative personnel systems.

Acquisition-related experience may be credited up to 50% in a specific functional area for assignments in non-AWF positions, if acquisition duties were performed for a substantial amount of time and match one of the DoD Acquisition Position Category Descriptions  

Industry rotational assignments may be credited with up to 12 months of acquisition experience (e.g SECDEF Fellows, SECNAV Tours with Industry, Supply Corps Tours with Industry).

Acquisition career path officers (listed above) should submit an experience assessment request for non-coded billet time using eDACM, preferably after discussing with their respective OCM.  OCMs shall follow acquisition experience crediting parameters set forth in Section 5 of the DON DAWIA Operating Guide.
 

Substituting Education for Experience

When a DAWIA standard states that four (4) or more years of acquisition experience is required, formal education credentials can help individuals earn up to 12 months of experience credit.  Terms:

• Individual holds an acquisition-related graduate degree from an accredited institution (also considered – graduation from USNTPS, Nuclear Power Training).

• Once credited for one (1) career field certification, education may not be re-used to meet multiple certification requirements.  However, the substitution may be used for one certification and then for Acquisition Professional Membership (APM).

Acquisition Professional Membership (APM)

The FY20 NDAA terminated the Defense Acquisition Corps.  However, the DON continues Acquisition Professional Membership (APM) to help officers meet DoD Joint Officer Management (JOM) requirements for eventual FO/GO assignments.  Officers must meet current eligibility standards and are encouraged to apply for APM before officially detailed to Critical Acquisition and Key Leadership Positions.  Membership is requested via eDACM.  Eligibility is validated and may be audited at any time. Approval flow and authorities vary by command.

Acquisition certifications are entered in your service record as an Additional Qualification Designator (AQD). AQDs appear on your OSR/PSR cover sheet and on your ODC. 
 

SELRES AWF members may earn certification at the tier required by the billet only.  Application is via eDACM.  SELRES are not authorized for subsidiary career field certifications.