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MBA Professional Report The purpose of this project is to use a case-study approach to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of other transaction (OT) agreements and the OT Consortium Model to acquire innovative renewable energy solutions. OTs are typically used for prototypes; however, the fiscal year (FY) 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expands the use of OT authority per statute 10 U.S.C. § 2371. Our research includes interviews with Defense Innovative Unit–Experimental personnel to highlight their experience with innovative businesses previously reluctant to pursue federal contracts. Additionally, our research leverages best practices from the Army Contracting Command–New Jersey, as well as industry partners, such as the Consortium for Energy, Environment, and Demilitarization and the National Security Technology Accelerator consortium, to compile recommendations for the Department of the Navy's acquisition strategy for renewable energy. The results of this case study include recommendations on the best use of OT agreements to drive innovation into the procurement of renewable energy solutions in accordance with Better Buying Power 3.0 initiatives. http://archive.org/details/analysisofothert1094551627 Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Lieutenant, United States Navy Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the current and potential applications of unmanned systems in military logistics. In seeking to evaluate uses of unmanned systems, initially, we aimed to define current and proposed unmanned applications in civilian-sector logistics and current military logistics challenges. Then, justifying uses of unmanned systems in the commercial sector and military, we analyzed the potential advantages and risks of these systems by using archival analysis and case studies. Finally, we addressed recommendations on the current and future uses of unmanned systems in military logistics. Unmanned technology is an area open to development. There has been extensive use of unmanned vehicles in military operations such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and armed attacks. Changing economic conditions and advances in technology indicate that there may also be opportunities to employ unmanned systems to support logistic operations. http://archive.org/details/analysisofunmann1094551689 Captain, Turkish Army Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

MBA Professional Report Budgetary concerns over the last decade have put increased pressure on federal agencies to improve efficiency and create cost savings. Accordingly, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other watchdog groups have increasingly scrutinized government source selections; GAO reports and procurement experts alike indicate opportunities for improvement in this area. To aid in this improvement initiative, our research focuses on the contract management process, with special emphasis on the source selection methods of tradeoff and lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA). Specifically, our data analysis explores the relationship of source selection methods to the contract outcomes of procurement administrative lead times (PALT) and contractor performance assessment reporting system (CPARS) ratings. The results of our analysis showed no statistically significant relationship between source selection method and contract outcomes. However, other variables, namely the number of evaluation factors and number of offers received, were shown to have a significant effect on PALT. At the conclusion of this MBA Professional Report, we present suggestions for further research to build upon these findings. http://archive.org/details/relationshipofso1094547987 Captain, United States Air Force Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Award fee contracts are applicable when objective criteria are neither feasible nor effective. They were heavily used to incentivize contractor performance in the procurement of major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs) until 2005, when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Report 06-66. The report caused the Department of Defense to shy away from using award fee contracts, resulting in a usage decrease by 46% in 2007 and 85% in 2008. The purpose of this research is to determine whether a relationship exists between award fee contracts and contract success as measured by earned value management (EVM) or contractor performance ratings. Data was collected from a sample of contracts from a major Navy command. Six contract observations were identified as successful contracts, with one contract being labeled a failure. Further analysis showed a positive correlation between award fee decisions and contractor performance ratings on the successful contracts. Although the findings are encouraging, they were not statistically significant due to the small sample size. http://archive.org/details/awardfeesndirrel1094545943 Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Major, United States Army Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.