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History

The stifling rigidity of the Total Package Procurement (TPP) concept for contracting

October 19, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

In the mid-1960 successful development contracts were generally followed by production contracts with little or no likelihood that the contracts would have to face competition. […]

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Staffs set up a hierarchy within a hierarchy, creating built-in resistance from line officers

October 17, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

… there seems to be an inherent conflict between line and staff activities. In the first place, their functions largely overlap. The only way “doing” […]

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What are the effects of the credibility gap in defense cost estimates?

October 7, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

A basic assumption, implicit in all of the Cost Panel deliberations and recommendations, is that a significant part of the total credibility problem is the […]

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Fitzhugh’s take on task partitioning and fly-before-you-buy

October 3, 2019 Eric Lofgren 1

If you break it down into smaller units and you have more contractors in the business… It is not so vital in that situation for […]

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Feynman finds out technologists need feedback from the military

September 27, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

Here is a good part from Richard Feynman’s excellent book, Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman! (pp. 120) which nicely demonstrates the useful interaction between technology-push […]

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How OSD, feeding on its growth, became a separate empire

September 26, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

I mention this point at the outset because, from shattered illusions that mere passage of a unification act would produce a military utopia, there has […]

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Three factors of escalating defense costs, and some figures to go with it

September 18, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

The cost of maintaining our armed forces at adequate strength to deter war has steadily increased in recent years. This upward trend is likely to […]

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Defense programs start with the build process, not exploratory developments

September 12, 2019 Eric Lofgren 1

The DoD does not have an effective process for doing a thorough exploration of alternative technologies and concepts. Exploration is usually done only as a […]

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Rickover’s concept of accountability differs from GAO

September 10, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

The Defense Department does not recognize the need for continuity in important jobs. It rotates officer every few years both at headquarters and in the […]

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Why weapon systems are inadequately tested

September 4, 2019 Eric Lofgren 2

Why are these operational tests inadequate? Well, there are many reasons. In some cases, the tests are performed by the contractor and contractor personnel. That’s […]

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No more one-horse races for weapon systems

August 30, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

Programs like MBT-70, C-5A, and the F-111 get defended before Congress and the American public-whatever their problems in performance, cost, and schedule slippages-simply because the […]

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The inflation slushfund

August 24, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

In analyzing DOD’s inflation budgeting system, we found that between fiscal years 1982 and 1986 the administration budgeted more than was needed to cover inflation, […]

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Military staff planning in WWII and after

August 2, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

The key to OPD’s [Operations Division’s] success was its streamlined staff procedure, which emphasized delegating authority to make recommendations or take action to the lowest […]

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Rigidity is a consequence of central planning

July 27, 2019 Eric Lofgren 2

With centralization, one set of views plays a greater role in decision-making, and dissenting views play lesser roles. In other words, there are fewer checks […]

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4 recommendations from George Stigler on weapons acquisition

July 18, 2019 Eric Lofgren 0

1. No organization can achieve or maintain efficiency in structure or operation by having a critical review made by expert outsiders once each five or […]

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Featured

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  • Acquisition headlines (8/16 – 8/22/2021)
  • HASC Chairman: defense acquisition is hard!
  • Growth of contract regulations
  • DARPA’s organization and approach to innovation
  • How financial planning came to rule the Pentagon
  • The birth of the F-18 and how the Navy defied of Congress

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