Does DoD need a public relations campaign for mobilizing industry?
In a previous post, I discussed how Assistant Secretary for War Mobilization Louis Johnson had traveled the country prior to World War II making hundreds […]
History
How commercial industry helped saved the day in World War II
In the Pacific theater of World War II, allied landings on islands were challenged by shallow coral atolls that wrecked the normal landing craft available. […]
The indispensable man of the Pentagon
Here’s an excerpt from Samuel Huntington’s classic 1959 book, The Soldier and the State: The principal antagonist of the Joint Chiefs within the central defense […]
Expertise in program management takes longer than three years
Here’s an excerpt from a 1970 congressional report by the Committee on Government Operations: “Policy Changes in Weapon System Procurement.” At the time, David Packard […]
DoD cannot wait for zero risk before scaling important technologies
One of the major ideas of defense acquisition is that programs of record shouldn’t begin until a full requirements and technical understanding has been accomplished. […]
A story on how military innovation is stifled
In a very interesting episode of the a16z podcast, Marc Andreessen talks about how society often pushes back on technology. A famous case of military […]
Getting to the battle fastest with the mostest
A post-World War II cartoon gets to a deep truth in defense acquisition. It shows American tanks on trial, supposedly for being outgunned and relatively […]
Has the bureaucratization of knowledge made government less effective?
Here’s an excerpt from Tyler Cowen’s conversation with Walter Russell Mead on American Foreign Policy. Tyler asks whether the State Department or the CIA understand […]
Discovering where programs are on the productivity-to-team-size curve
Here is former China Lakes and Sidewinder missile inventor Bill McLean speaking with Congress in a 1971 hearing: Only in listening to the problem of […]
The mismatch between acquisition and resourcing, 5000.1 and PPBE
Here’s a slice from “The DSARC and PPBS decision making process within DOD” by Goral, Frank Ivan. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, Dec 1979. Remember, […]
The defense industry and the road to nationalization
Here is a good segment from NPS Professor Judson after introducing all the process and people challenges of defense acquisition. It comes from a 1975 […]
What’s the proper role of the Chief of Naval Operations?
Here is a good piece on the organizational design of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations from Admiral Hyman Rickover’s 1974 speech, The […]
Rickover defends the parochial viewpoint
One common complaint about defense acquisition is that the services won’t coordinate their needs and consider the bigger, “joint” picture. Certainly there is something to […]
Origins of the Milestone acquisition process
One of the foundations of the defense acquisition system is the DoD Directive 5000.1, which defines how military systems progress from an idea to production. […]
Three reasons military programs shouldn’t start with requirements
Here’s a slice from Ron Westrum’s excellent book, Sidewinder: Missile Development at China Lake, citing Bill McLean’s arguments against the “requirements” process. As you read, remember […]