A few examples with my past in the special forces is that we definitely had direct contact with the program manager or the item manager, and we clearly spelled out our requirements.
We always have a lot of homework to do whenever it comes to procurement. We also need to plug into the system in a way that they understand our requirements.
On the other hand, to go back to Afghanistan, there was a requirement that we procure CH-46 Chinook helicopters in order to save lives and to diminish the number of convoys that we had on the roads. It worked extremely well, except that, at the time, Chinook helicopters were in great demand worldwide, so we basically had to purchase used helicopters.