Acquisition board approves DEAMS next phase Published Jan. 27, 2012 By Cathy Segal DEAMS Strategic Communications FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (AFNS) -- The Defense Acquisition Board on Jan. 10 approved the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System's entry into the engineering and manufacturing development phase, otherwise known in acquisition terms as Milestone B. The purpose of DEAMS, which was initiated in 2003 as a joint effort between the U.S. Transportation Command, the Air Force and DFAS, is to field an accounting system that is auditable and compliant with United States Standard General Ledger standards. The DAB is the Defense Department's senior-level forum for advising the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics on critical decisions concerning acquisition programs. Chaired by the Milestone Decision Authority, the DAB is responsible for deciding whether a program meets the milestone criteria and may proceed to the next phase of the acquisition process. Col. Brian Parker, the director of the Enterprise Financial Systems Division, Electronic Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced the decision to dozens of members of the DEAMS functional and program management offices during a conference call shortly after the decision was announced. "This is a great day for the DEAMS team and the Air Force," Parker said. "Now that we have approval to proceed, we need to focus on executing the strategy and providing this much-needed capability to the user on time, on cost and with the expected performance." Brig. Gen. Craig Olson, the program executive officer for Business and Enterprise Systems, and the director of the Enterprise Information Systems Directorate at Maxwell AFB- Gunter Annex, Ala., said that the positive outcome of the board "captured well the incredible shared journey" of a multi-disciplined team of functional management office, DFAS and program management office individuals. "Central to the success of that journey were the relationships built between members of the team as they learned to trust and depend on each other's expertise," Olson said. "Yes, the team went through many trials, but their shared perseverance led to the successful execution of the program that built the confidence needed for a successful DAB. I truly applaud the skills and character of the DEAMS team and congratulate them for reaching this milestone." The Milestone B decision enables DEAMS to execute the acquisition strategy following system stabilization at Scott AFB, Ill., in April 2012. Once a successful operational assessment is accomplished, the DEAMS capability will be deployed throughout the Air Force with an ultimate goal of meeting congressional requirements for a fully auditable system by 2017. DEAMS is an Air Force initiative using industry-proven Oracle® software to provide warfighters with timely, accurate and reliable financial information. It replaces decades-old technology that no longer complies with federal law and Department of Defense regulations. Capabilities consist of commitment accounting; general accounting; project accounting; revenue and billing; and property, plant and equipment. DEAMS also contains a civilian timekeeping capability that will be activated sometime in the future. More information about DEAMS is available at www.ustranscom.mil/deams.