In the wake of a major corruption conspiracy, the U.S. Navy reformed husbanding service procedures to increase competition, auditability, and accountability with the goal of reducing expenditures. The first policy change, Off-Ship Bill Pay (OSBP), formalized a process for procuring, rendering, and paying for husbanding services to increase oversight. The second policy change increased the use of multiple award contracts (MACs), in which multiple vendors are awarded a contract over a region, increasing competition for individual port visits. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of these policy changes on the cost of husbanding services. Multiple regression was used to account for port visit characteristics that affect cost such as ship type and the number of days in port. MACs demonstrated a reduction effect on the cost of port visits. Further, OSBP appears to have a negligible effect on port visit cost after the initial learning curve for both Navy personnel and vendors.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that acquisition career fields realign their certification requirements to be based on the nationally recognized standards of an accredited third party. This study offers recommendations for improving the DoD program management (PM) training standards by providing traceability between the DoD PM competencies and the Project Management Institute (PMI)’s standards for project, program, and portfolio management. The study elaborates on the extent of alignment, finding that 96% of the DoD PM competency elements align to PMI standards. Areas of misalignment identify opportunities to augment DoD PM training and highlight areas where DoD PM training deviates from industry standards.

The development, testing, and fielding of combat uniforms for soldiers offer acquisition professionals an opportunity to analyze how programs progress through the U.S. defense acquisition system. This case centers on the U.S. Army’s decision to change the camouflage patterns on combat uniforms and equipment for soldiers. The case is broadly applicable to project managers, business managers, engineers, testers, and logisticians involved in project management, while specifically targeting defense acquisition professionals. Emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking and analysis skills in the areas of stakeholder management, resource management, and decision making in a complex environment. The case is developed in two distinct parts. Part I provides an analysis of the Army’s development of a plan with an increased chance of success in meeting desired objectives. Part II analyzes how the Army decided to change the camouflage pattern on combat uniforms through an informed, knowledge-based process.

This is a study of the challenges that acquisition professionals confront in formulating the Department of Defense’s preferred acquisition–incremental development. The research surveys acquisition professionals to recommend the components of an acquisition strategy associated with a typical acquisition program undergoing program/project milestone review and approval. This work provides insights into how program managers use typical programmatic decision inputs (requirements, technology maturity, risk, urgency, and funding) to formulate the components of an acquisition strategy. The results suggest that acquisition policy should perhaps require a justification for most programs of record if an incremental development approach is not planned. Adoption of the recommended acquisition policy changes would make the defense acquisition system more responsive to the warfighter by fielding improved capability as quickly as possible and reducing risk of the eventual delivery of the full required capability.

Instructor’s manual: protecting American soldiers: the development, testing, and fielding of the enhanced combat helmet (ECH). Project Management Journal, 49(1), 1-29; available upon request

A transversely isotropic visco-hyperelastic constitutive model is provided for soft tissues, which accounts for large deformations, high strain rates, and short-term memory effects. In the first part, a constitutive model for quasi-static deformations of soft tissues is presented, in which a soft tissue is simulated as a transversely isotropic hyperelastic material composed of a matrix and reinforcing fibers. The strain energy density function for the soft tissue is additively decomposed into two terms: a neo-Hookean function for the base matrix, and a polyconvex polynomial function of four invariants for the fibers. A comparison with existing experimental data for porcine brain tissues and bovine pericardium shows that this new model can well represent the quasi-static mechanical behavior of soft tissues. In the second part, a viscous potential is proposed to describe the rate-dependent short-term memory effects, resulting in a visco-hyperelastic constitutive model. This model is tested for a range of strain rates from 0.1 /s to 90 /s and for multiple loading scenarios based on available experimental data for porcine and human brain tissues. The model can be applied to other soft tissues by using different values of material and fitting parameters.

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P-31 and Al-27 NMR spectroscopies are used to characterize the distribution of soluble aluminophosphate species in aqueous solutions of tetramethylammonium (TMA) hydroxide, phosphoric acid, and aluminum chloride. Solution compositions range from 0.1 to 1 mol % P, P/Al = 0.1-5, P/(TMA)20 = 0.37-10. For solutions of 1 mol % P, a phase diagram is constructed for various concentrations of TMAOH and Al, The phase diagram is divided into three regions: a high-pH region (pH greater-than-or-equal-to 6), a medium-pH range (2 less-than-or-equal-to pH less-than-or-equal-to 10) in which stable solid phases exist, and a low-pH region (pH less-than-or-equal-to 2). In the low-pH region, soluble aluminophosphate complexes form between P species (H3PO4 acid dimers, H3PO4 molecules, and H2PO4- ions) and Al species (Al monomers as [Al(H20)6]3+ cations, and Al dimers as [Al2(OH)2(H20)8]4+ cations). Specific P-31 NMR and Al-27 NMR peaks are assigned to P and Al nuclei in aluminophosphate complexes which are stable in the low pH range. In the high-pH region, soluble aluminophosphate Complexes form between HPO42- ions and Al species. Also at high pH, P-31 NMR spectra display a series of sharp resonances (from -2 to 5 ppm) assigned to P atoms in aluminophosphate Complexes. Al-27 NMR spectra of the same solutions display broad features centered at 5 ppm assigned to octahedrally coordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P, at almost-equal-to 45.5 ppm to pentacoordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P, and at almost-equal-to 65 ppm to tetrahedrally coordinated Al bonded through oxygen to P. Pentacoordinated Al complexes are observed only when the concentration of P exceeds the concentration of Al and then only in neutral pH. Independent Al-O-P bond counts from P-31 and Al-27 NMR spectra of aluminophosphate solutions of high pH (greater-than-or-equal-to 6) indicate that each octahedrally coordinated, pentacoordinated, and tetrahedrally coordinated Al nucleus is bonded primarily to only one phosphate ligand.

Si-29 and Ga-71 NMR spectroscopies are used to characterize the distribution of species present in highly alkaline solutions of alkylammonium gallosilicates. The solution compositions ranged from 0.1 to 2 mol % SiO2, silicate ratios (R = [SiO2]/[M2O]; M+ = TPA+ or TMA+) from 0.05 to 2, and Si/Ga molar ratios from 2 to infinity. Based on similar studies of alkylammonium aluminosilicate solutions, tetrapropylammonium (TPA) gallosilicate solutions displayed Si-29 NMR peaks assigned to Si atoms in cyclic trimer (S3R), branched cyclic trimer (b-S3R), and double three membered ring (D3R) anions with one incorporated Ga atom. Due to the larger size of GaO45-tetrahedra compared to SiO44-tetrahedra, gallosilicate anions with rather acute (< 90-degrees) SiO-Ga-OSi bond angles are especially stable. For example, S3R (1Ga) anions are the dominant species in TPA gallosilicate solutions at elevated temperatures. DMSO/water mixtures were used to promote the formation of ring silicate and gallosilicate anions. In TPA gallosilicate solutions with 50 vol % DMSO, Si-29 NMR resonances are observed only for Si atoms in monomeric, S3R, S3R(1Ga), D3R, D3R(1Ga), and D4R anions. Si-29 NMR studies of tetramethylammonium (TMA) gallosilicate solutions provide evidence for large concentrations of D4R anions but no evidence for any Si-O-Ga bonds. On the other hand, Ga-71 NMR experiments do provide evidence for gallosiloxane bonds in both TMA and TPA gallosilicate solutions. Trends in the distribution of solution species with SiO2, Ga, and base concentration changes are explained with a simple set equilibria between soluble silicate, gallate, and gallosilicate anions.

Si-29 and Al-27 NMR spectroscopies were used to characterize dilute, highly alkaline, aqueous and methanolic solutions of tetramethylammonium (TMA) aluminosilicates. The solutions contained 2 mol % SiO2, a silicate ratio (R = [SiO2]/[M2O], M+ = TMA+) of 2, Si/Al molar ratios between infinity and 2, and between 0 and 20 mol % methanol (MeOH). TMA aluminosilicate solutions are characterized by a high concentration of double four membered ring (D4R) anions. Si-29 NMR peaks were observed for Si atoms in the dimer, linear trimer, cyclic trimer, branched cyclic trimer, and D4R anions which have one incorporated Al atom. Si-29 NMR peak assignments were based on similar assignments in tetrapropylammonium (TPA) aluminosilicate solutions and confirmed by using the correlation between the partial charge of Si atoms and the Si-29 NMR chemical shift. Comparison between the distribution of silicate and aluminosilicate oligomers in TMA and TPA aluminosilicate solutions indicates that the distribution of Si atoms among anions is very different, but the level of Al incorporation into silicate species is remarkably similar. As a result, the incorporation of Al into silicate anions depends strongly on the solution composition and pH and depends only weakly on the nature of the alkylammonium base. Due to a hydrophobic effect, the addition of methanol to TMA aluminosilicate solutions increases the concentration of D4R and D4R(1A1) anions.

Si-29, Al-27, and B-11 NMR spectroscopies were used to characterize dilute, highly alkaline tetrapropylammonium (TPA) aluminosilicate and borosilicate solutions. The compositions of the solutions range from 0.1 to 2 mol % SiO2, silicate ratios (R = [SiO2]/[M2O]; M+ = TPA+) from 0.1 to 2, and Si/Al or Si/B molar ratios from 0.25 to 10. Si-29 and Al-27 NMR spectra provide evidence for the formation of aluminosilicate anions. Si is observed with Q1(1Al), Q2-DELTA(1Al), Q2(1Al) + Q3-DELTA(1Al), and Q3(1Al) connectivity. Several new Si-29 NMR peaks are assigned to specific aluminosilicate anions based on chemical shifts. Al-27 NMR spectra of aluminosilicate solutions reveal peaks corresponding to Al bound to zero, one, two, and three siloxane bonds. The distribution of aluminosilicate anions is affected by the concentration of dissolved Si and Al, as well as the solution pH. The distribution of aluminosilicate species is described in terms of simple chemical equilibria. Si-29 and B-11 NMR spectra of borosilicate solutions indicate that borate anions are less reactive than aluminate anions. B-11 NMR spectra reveal only a small fraction of the dissolved B appears to form borosilicates.

Si-29 and Al-27 spectroscopies were used to characterize dilute, highly alkaline tetrapropylammonium (TPA) aluminosilicate solutions. The solution compositions ranged from 0.1 to 2 mol % SiO2, silicate ratios (R = [SiO2]/[(TPA)2O]) from 0.05 to 1, and Si/Al molar ratios from 0.25 to 5. Si-29 NMR resonances were observed for Al incorporation into the dimer, linear trimer, cyclic trimer, branched cyclic trimer, double three-membered ring (D3R), and double four-membered ring (D4R) anions. In aluminosilicate solutions with 2 mol % SiO2, silicate ratios of less than 1.5 lead to the stabilization of D3R(1Al) anions. The addition of DMSO to TPA aluminosilicate solutions provides the solutions with a high concentration of D3R(1Al) and D4R(1Al) anions. Semiempirical quantum mechanical calculations were performed to calculate the partial charges on Si atoms in silicate and aluminosilicate anionic structures. A correlation between the Si atom partial charge and its experimentally observed chemical shift assists in the assignment of Si-29 NMR peaks due to soluble aluminosilicates.