FCW recently reported on a survey that found that many contracting officers do not have training in essential job skills (you can read the article here). One reader wrote to say the article was accurate, but it did not tell the whole story. The missing piece of this puzzle? Program managers.

"Program managers are a large part of the problem with flawed contracts," the reader asserted. "They have no responsibility for the final product; they merely care about meeting schedule. The contracting officer is a convenient target because his/her name (and telephone number) is on the face of the document. Until the contracting officer is provided some top cover by his/her contracting manager from the pressures of the program management community, these types of problems will continue. Responsibility for the final contract (agreement) must be laid at the feet of the program management community."

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