124 STAT. 4299 PUBLIC LAW 111–383—JAN. 7, 2011 PART II—DEFENSE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE SEC. 871. ACQUISITION WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE. (a) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE.—Subchapter I of chapter 87 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1701 the following new section: ‘‘§ 1701a. Management for acquisition workforce excellence ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this chapter is to require the Department of Defense to develop and manage a highly skilled professional acquisition workforce— ‘‘(1) in which excellence and contribution to mission is rewarded; ‘‘(2) which has the technical expertise and business skills to ensure the Department receives the best value for the expenditure of public resources; ‘‘(3) which serves as a model for performance management of employees of the Department; and ‘‘(4) which is managed in a manner that complements and reinforces the management of the defense acquisition system pursuant to chapter 149 of this title. ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—In order to achieve the pur- pose set forth in subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— ‘‘(1) use the full authorities provided in subsections (a) through (d) of section 9902 of title 5, including flexibilities related to performance management and hiring and to training of managers; ‘‘(2) require managers to develop performance plans for individual members of the acquisition workforce in order to give members an understanding of how their performance contributes to their organization’s mission and the success of the defense acquisition system (as defined in section 2545 of this title); ‘‘(3) to the extent appropriate, use the lessons learned from the acquisition demonstration project carried out under section 1762 of this title related to contribution-based com- pensation and appraisal, and how those lessons may be applied within the General Schedule system; ‘‘(4) develop attractive career paths; ‘‘(5) encourage continuing education and training; ‘‘(6) develop appropriate procedures for warnings during performance evaluations for members of the acquisition workforce who consistently fail to meet performance standards; ‘‘(7) take full advantage of the Defense Civilian Leadership Program established under section 1112 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111–84; 123 Stat. 2496; 10 U.S.C. 1580 note prec.); ‘‘(8) use the authorities for highly qualified experts under section 9903 of title 5, to hire experts who are skilled acquisition professionals to— ‘‘(A) serve in leadership positions within the acquisition workforce to strengthen management and oversight; ‘‘(B) provide mentors to advise individuals within the acquisition workforce on their career paths and opportuni- ties to advance and excel within the acquisition workforce; and
