DEFENSE ACQUISITION REFORM, 1960-2009: AN ELUSIVE GOAL by J. Ronald Fox, with contributions by David G. Allen, Tomas C. Lassman, Philip L. Shiman, and Walton S. Moody (Washington, DC: Department of the Army Center of Military History, 2012, 282 pages)
For this book, Fox, a Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Har- vard Business School, draws on his research and experience as a former Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and Logistics (1969-71) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (1963-65). Examining the
many attempts over the past 50 years to reform DOD’s process of acquiring major weapon systems, Fox identifies important long- term trends and offers observations that could benefit defense acquisition decision-makers and the acquisition schoolhouse.
2012 DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS: ASSESSMENTS OF SELECTED WEAPONS PROGRAMS (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, 2012, 189 pages; available in PDF at
http://www.gao. gov/assets/590/589695.pdf)
Te total estimated cost of DOD’s 2011 portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs was $1.58 trillion. While this represented a growth of 5 percent over the previous year, most of these programs lost buying power. About $31.1 billion of the $74.4 billion year-over-year increase can be attributed to factors such as inefficiencies
in production, $29.6 billion to quantity changes, and $13.7 billion to research and development cost growth. Against this backdrop, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the auditing arm of Congress, looks at what is being done right and wrong in DOD’s planning and execution of these programs, including implementation of key provisions of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 and newer DOD initiatives, such as affordability targets and “should cost” analysis.
$
GAO’s annual assessment, which for 2012 examines 37 programs across the military services, finds that while newer programs are showing higher levels of knowledge at key decision points, most programs still are not fully adhering to a knowledge-based acquisi- tion approach. (A notable exception is the Army’s M982 Excalibur Increment 1a-2 projectile.) Other Army acquisition programs in GAO’s 2012 assessment include the Ground Combat Vehicle, Apache Block IIIA, Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense, and Warfighter Information Network – Tactical Increments 2 and 3.
INDUSTRIAL MEGAPROJECTS: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES, AND PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS by Edward W. Merrow (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 371 pages)
Billions of dollars in overruns. Long delays in design and construction. Substandard operability of completed projects. Such poor results characterize more than half of large-scale engineering and construction projects, including offshore oil platforms, chemical plants, and dams. Merrow, the founder and CEO of Independent
Project Ana ysis Inc., establishes a clear, nontechnical understanding of why these major projects get into trouble, wasting money and hurting reputations. Merrow examines the effects of poor project management, destructive team behaviors, weak accountability systems, short-term focus, and lack of investment in technical expertise. Te result of Merrow’s analysis is a body of tools and prin- ciples that can provide a foundation for safe, cost-effective, successful megaprojects.
PA l I
A wealth of suggested reading titles is in GEN Odierno’s professional reading list, online at
http://www.history.army.mil/html/ books/105/105-1-1/
index.html. Is there a book you’d like to recommend for this column? Send us an email at
armyalt@gmail.com. Please include your name and daytime contact information.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 207
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