The VA's Fort Monmouth Outpost

In 2011 Fort Monmouth, N.J., will be history, with folks from the Army Communications-Electronic Command (CECOM) either moved to Fort Belvoir, Va., or the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. But CECOM contracting skills will live on in the new Veterans Affairs Department Technology Acquisition Center.

In 2011 Fort Monmouth, N.J., will be history, with folks from the Army Communications-Electronic Command (CECOM) either moved to Fort Belvoir, Va., or the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

But CECOM contracting skills will live on in the new Veterans Affairs Department Technology Acquisition Center, located like Fort Monmouth in Eatontown, N.J., a few miles from the Jersey shore, VA CIO Roger Baker said at a House Veterans Affairs Committte hearing last week.

I hear that the new VA Technology Acquisition Center has already hired over a hundred former CECOM contract specialists and Baker told committee members at the hearing he expects to have the center fully staffed with some 200 folks by this fall.

Maybe this center can find other outfits besides SPAWAR ready, willing and qualified to conduct work on information technology systems for the VA.

NEXT STORY: Top Tools for Collaboration