Congressional Research Service Def. Acquisition Reform |
defense_acquisition_report_csis.pdf |
By William J. Totti, Proceedings Magazine: “It is routine for a defense procurement, including acquisition of information technology, to take five or more years from the establishment of requirements to down-select of the provider and contract start. During those years, the underlying technology will evolve significantly. Sensor technology will have evolved at least one cycle. The information technology that undergirds nearly every system we build will evolve at the speed of Moore’s Law, one generation every 18 months. Worse, it is common for the affected military service or agency to suspend security and technology updates on existing systems during the procurement cycle, believing it is better to wait until the new contract is available.”
By Andrew Forney, Strategy Bridge: “This picture of the president and his policies define, rightly or wrongly, their historical image. Never mind examples that run counter to this dominant narrative — the pragmatic and deliberate Bush contemplating the Surge or Obama the ultimate gambler authorizing the raid to kill Bin Laden. In foreign policy, this tendency moves further to the fore due to the mythology of “doctrines” — thanks James Monroe — and the idea that a president crafts a vision of the United States' relationship with the world and then enacts policies or takes actions to attain this vision.”
By Benjamin Jensen, War on the Rocks: “Our world is awash in events that appear to be game changing. Russia stirs the pot in Ukraine and Syria. China expands economically through the One Belt One Road initiative and militarily in the South China Sea. North Korea rattles its nuclear saber. Iran arms proxies across the Gulf. Violent extremists seize territory in the Middle East and Africa, wielding machine guns mounted on pickup trucks, flying unmanned systems, and deploying hackers.”