The Joint Acquisition Task Force established by the Department of Defense to help coordinate the delivery of acquisition support to other agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic will be called the Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell and will operate under the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell starting next year, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.
“As the JATF transitions from its current structure to a more permanent operation under the JRAC, the JATF and JRAC teams are developing a playbook to document the processes, authorities and resources needed for this and any future public health crises to which the department responds,” Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said at the virtual COMDEF conference.
JATF has helped process contracts worth more than $3B in support of agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The task force also helped HHS build up the capacity for domestic production of critical medical supplies using Defense Production Act authorities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
