809 Panel Calls for Managing ‘Capabilities,’ Not Weapons

809 Panel Calls for Managing ‘Capabilities,’ Not Weapons
809 Panel Calls for Managing ‘Capabilities,’ Not Weapons

The Department of Defense can make smarter and faster acquisition decisions if it uses people more thoughtfully. Instead of involving top-level leaders at every decision point in the acquisition process, senior leaders should determine the organization’s enterprise-level goals, then communicate them to empowered and capable leaders who can decide how best to meet those goals.…

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GAO Defends Annual Weapons Review: Let’s Look at All the Facts

GAO Defends Annual Weapons Review: Let’s Look at All the Facts
GAO Defends Annual Weapons Review: Let’s Look at All the Facts

Peter Levine, former top staffer at the Senate Armed Services Committee and now with the Institute for Defense Analyses, penned a piece for us critiquing the GAO’s annual report on major weapons systems. The GAO begs to differ with Levine’s conclusions and assertions. Below is their reply, penned by Shelby Oakley, director at GAO. Read…

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Kendall Says Full Speed Ahead On Navy Nuke Missile Subs: $128B Columbia Class

Kendall Says Full Speed Ahead On Navy Nuke Missile Subs: $128B Columbia Class
Kendall Says Full Speed Ahead On Navy Nuke Missile Subs: $128B Columbia Class

WASHINGTON: Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall just approved the Navy’s top-priority program, the Columbia-class nuclear missile submarine, to start detailed design work and engineering. Known in Pentagonese as a Milestone B decision, undersecretary Kendall’s okay lets the Navy spend the $773 million Congress voted for the program in last month’s Continuing Resolution. [CORRECTED:] The projected procurement…

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GAO Says Weapons Costs ‘Lowest In Decade’; Portfolio Shrinks

GAO Says Weapons Costs ‘Lowest In Decade’; Portfolio Shrinks
GAO Says Weapons Costs ‘Lowest In Decade’; Portfolio Shrinks

WASHINGTON: The overall cost for Pentagon’s weapons buying is at the lowest it’s been a decade, says the Government Accountability Office in its respected annual assessment of the military’s major programs. But that overall result, which might seem to cheer exponents of acquisition reform and of smaller Pentagon budgets, contains two smaller points well worth…

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