1945 & 2012 M


any of the major changes that shaped the nature of modern DoD weapons acquisition were insti-


tuted in the decade following World War II,


starting around 1945. The postwar


environment generated a flood of changes in the way DoD conceptualized and pro- duced weapon systems, as the strategic landscape evolved with the beginning of the Cold War.


As the acquisition process also evolved, so did the language used to describe it, according to Dr. Elliott V. Converse III, a retired Air Force Colonel who served as the lead historian on the Defense Acqui- sition History Project and author of the new book, The History of Acquisition in the Department


of Defense: Rearming


for the Cold War 1945-1960 (Volume I). Even the meaning of the simple term


“defense acquisition” has changed over time, expanding to include procurement, research and development, and produc- tion in its modern understanding.


Strangely enough, in the period 1945-


1960, the term “acquisition” was rarely used to describe the process that it does


today. Back then, the term “logistics” described the wide array of processes that we usually think of when we say “defense acquisition.” Not until the late 1950s and early 1960s did “defense acquisition” slowly work itself into the vocabulary of weapons procurement. As it evolved, the term assumed more and more of the all-encompassing meaning


originally associated with the term “logistics.”


Similarly, by the end of the 20th cen- tury, “logistics” had taken on the much narrower meaning that we assume today, generally referring to planning, moving, and maintaining deployable forces. Acquisition, on the other hand, has come to describe a larger cycle beginning with a weapons concept and lasting all the way to fielding and maintenance.


For more information on the history of DoD acquisition, visit the DoD Historical Office at http://history.defense.gov/. Converse’s new book is online at http://history.defense. gov/resources/OSDHO-Acquisition-Series- Vol1.pdf. For a historical tour of Army AL&T over the past 50 years, visit the Army AL&T Magazine


archives mil/magazine/alt-magazine-archive/.


‘LOGISTICS’ OF TODAY Soldiers with the 453rd Inland Cargo Transpor- tation Company move a 20-foot cargo container during Exercise Red Dragon 2012 at Fort McCoy, WI, on June 1. The term “logistics” has evolved from its earlier meaning to focus more narrowly on the science of planning and carry- ing out the movement and maintenance of forces. (U.S. Army photo by 1LT Eric Connor, 335th Signal Command.)


LOGISTICS


SUSTAINMENT LESSONS LEARNED


From force structure to operations to accountability, after-action reports from Iraq and Afghanistan highlight challenges met while fighting two wars


by COL Scott Fletcher, CW4 Wayne A. Baugh, and Devon Hylander


at http://asc.army. 40


CONVOY PROTECTION


The need for sustainment units to defend themselves, their convoys, and their sustainment bases against opposing forces prompted the Army to institutionalize convoy security training at home station and to provide ammunition allocation and gunnery standards to sustainment units. Sustainment commanders now have guidance on deploying convoy protection platforms and training convoy escort teams. Here, Soldiers of the 101st Sustainment Brigade conduct a convoy through the Salang Pass in Afghanistan, which is one of the routes to move cargo and supplies from the main logistics hub at Bagram Airfield in eastern Afghanistan to Regional Command North, in March 2011. (Photos courtesy of Army G-4.)


Army AL&T Magazine


166


Army AL&T Magazine


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