The value of NASA contracts to SpaceX for launch
Again if you’ll compare the amounts Space[X] is receiving vs values to other launch providers for similar goals — they are always on the low […]
Month: May 2019
Unpalatable defense markets and the problem of non-obviousness
Here is Elad Gil on the Venture Stories podcast answering a question on why some markets become unpalatable: Sometimes its just competition, you can’t really […]
The boarder wall and reprogramming authority in the DOD
While serving as undersecretary of defense (comptroller), I presided over DoD financial management during the dark days of 2013 when sequestration slashed funding for military […]
I beseech you, Norm Augustine, to think it possible you be mistaken
Defense acquisition in the United States is quite unique. It is a monopsony that has monopolies embedded within it. People’s lives — even our nation’s […]
Acquisition Headlines
1 Marine dead, 6 injured after training accident at Camp Pendleton (LAV rolled over). “The system can combine the speed, rapid fire and depth of […]
DOD trusted capital marketplace
Excited to announce this initiative from the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment)’s Global Markets & Investments (GMI): a NEW competitive Cornerstone Initiative Request […]
The more things change, acquisition reform remains the same
History offers little to suggest that today’s acquisition reform will succeed where its predecessor efforts failed… Behavioral change is needed to effect any transformation. Acquisition […]
Rapidly accelerating Chinese weapons tech
China has become a global space power after decades of investment. According to the 2015 U.S. DoD Annual Report to Congress, China’s progress in the […]
What are consumption-based solutions?
Volume 3 of the 809 Panel’s report takes on many of the problems of IT procurement. “Recommendation 43” focuses directly on the issue of consumption-based […]
The pendulum of reform swings back-and-forth
A few days ago I argued that the Melvin Laird and David Packard reforms of 1969-1971 were not a great break from the policies of […]
France finds value in acquisition expertise
Here are some findings from a 1989 Congressional study on French and British acquisition policies: Armament Engineers complete their seven year educational program at about […]
Acquisition Headlines
Whoops: Lockheed Martin’s F-21 (Or Super F-16) Won’t Be Joining India’s Air Force. “According to journalist Angad Singh, the likely winner is French company Dassault’s […]
Army acquisition and the Goldwater-Nichols Act
In 1986, the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management (Packard Commission) published A Quest for Excellence, Final Report to the President. Subsequently, National Security […]
The history of acquisition since 1950
In an essay published in 1978, the highly regarded historian John Lukacs argues for history that is “microcosmic and sociographic, not sociological and generalizing.” By […]
Why DOD’s management fails in the 21st century
Back in the industrial era, the production process was described by interchangeable workers and capital assets measured by plant, equipment, and inventory. Those days have […]