Comments on: “Crisis” Will Drive Strategy Changes

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:55:26 +0000

mike: We here in the contractor are entirely willing to do the job, but the DoD is too risk-averse to let us. Too many people in the DoD heirarchy have had the balls beaten out of them by budget-minded people…well, by people like you, who tell them that the worst possible thing they can ever do is to risk wasting a dollar. It’s always easier to let Aerospace Corp talk you into another round of ENs and action items…after all, who can argue against “reducing risk”?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:58:11 +0000

“Dear God, give us someone like Reagan who will restart F-22 production, get the USAF what they need, and stop the destruction of the military that Obama has started.”

xxxx

Dear God gave us Obama to unscrew what Bush anem
screwed.

How has Obama started to destroy the military?
Surely, Dear God wouldn’t that happen to good ol’ America. Home of Rush an’ Rove, Hannity and Palin.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:44:31 +0000

ok ok folks I am one who works in the DOD. If our conservative brothers knew how the pentagon budget money was being spent they would be under critical care watch…suffering from heart attacks„, Am I kidding.…not… the defense contractors have turned into nursing homes for the retired military officers who worked as shoppers and PROGRAM MANAGERS in program mgmt offices and in acquisition positions at the pentagon for 20 years and took no accountability of their programs, they worked out deals to get that second double dipping salary from the defense contractors or from DOD agencies. WHAT IS THE “DEFENSE BUDGET” BUYING? POWER POINT CHARTS!!!!! I WILL GIVE YOU A MILLION DOLLARS IF YOU CAN PROVE ME WRONG! The cost over runs are calculated and the money goes into the hands of retired officers who now work at the pentagon as civilians and at the defense offices (note i did not say manufacturing plants) doing consulting and building power point charts. This is what needs to be cut. We need specific weapons and built in sufficant numbers and stop paying for the same things over and over again for those so called programs that are making second careers for tens of thousands of retired government and retired officers. Our young folks cannot get into this nice deal because jobs are created by contacts and then advertised as a show but they are already designated for a officer friend on the inside, a officer who was never down range in a war but spent 20 years pushing paper and slide shows and drinking coffee and going to classes. I HAVE SEEN BILLIONS WASTED AND IT IS TIME TO STOP THE WASTE WHERE ARE ALL THE ESINHOWER REPUBLICAN WhO WILL SUPPORT STOPPING THE MIC WELFARE?///

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:34:59 +0000

mike:
“Congress keeps listening to the “old guard” who are still focused on cold war systems and old ways of doing business. ”

I love how you say this while simultaneously advocating for a return to fixed-price contracts which went out of style SIXTY YEARS AGO. “old ways” indeed.

Look, if you want fixed-price, that’s fine. But you get what you pay for–and ONLY what you pay for. And if the end product isn’t what you wanted, well, you paid us the fee, kthxbye. I can’t really see people falling on their daggers to fix a system that you didn’t spec properly the first go-round.

By: Deano

Deano — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:16:53 +0000

RIGHT ON MIKE! You are dead ON!! I have also been in DoD contracting and seen the Government contract and ex-military “professionals” jocky for “gold stars” at the expense of the military’s real need. Unfortunately we have no reality in military standards (read: “desires”)

What happend to Henry Ford’s great plan?
We should build great weapon systems, useable and adaptable by all combat forces, with easy replacement parts. AND YES — At competive firm fixed prices!!

By: fmrAFPM

fmrAFPM — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:10:59 +0000

The USAF Cleared the books of officers with 63ax and 62Ax AFSCs in 2006 (including reserve officers)…I assume the commissions were recycled to the Army and Marines…

By: myboy

myboy — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:03:46 +0000

Crisis will drive strategy change but the USA did do more in WWII and in many other conflicts there after. The USA must begin to charge other countries more when it comes to assisting that country or at least the USA should not being paying certain fees to utilize land in some countries since USa is providing security support for the country. The USA pays to much money when assisting other countries when there are very rich neighbors stilling all the goods that may come from efforts the USA military bares. The USA can support countries in need but must obtain payment or at least hold that country financial assets within the USA to help pay for the cost of securing stability in that country.

By: Recon-Team

Recon-Team — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:13:28 +0000

No F-22 production beyond 2011? No tankers? No B-3, and possibly no F-35?

Dear God, give us someone like Reagan who will restart F-22 production, get the USAF what they need, and stop the destruction of the military that Obama has started.

By: Rbrenzelsr

Rbrenzelsr — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:58:26 +0000

Thanks, Sen McCain for no tankers. But the good news is that there will be nothing to refuel in air. Everything worked out OK. Obama’s Chicago Gang, Saul Olinsky’s deciple, plan to de-power the US financially, militarily is succeeding. If he didn’t have a plan than it is mere stupidity that his “great idea for America” will first bankrupt us and then permit enemies to outclass us militarily by starving military budgets. Obama will have done from within what no external enemy has been able to do.…

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Well, it’s all true. I worked for the largest of the defense contractors and it is, indeed, rife with snake charmers and liars. Bids are submitted against solicitations that are obviously flawed in the specification stage. The contractor bids the requested item then sits back and waits for the “change stream”. The real profits are derived from the non-stop change orders needed by bad acquisition practices. Defense PMs think that a quick school is going to equip them to outsmart teams that are incredibly more experienced then they are. There is a finesse involved in knowing when to seem like the program savior and when to let it sustain serious wounds that can be fixed with a change of scope. It borders on the absurd.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:04:12 +0000

I have and will continue to so. I have written Senators and Congressman and willing to testify under oath, so far no takers. Support acquisition overhaul. Congressman I really appreciate your efforts to overhaul the wasteful ways that the pentagon comes up for reasons they need money for the many so called programs. I have many years of insight on many DOD and NASA programs that I have worked on. I have been involved with many Army, Navy and Air Force and also BMDO(MDA) contracts and I could write a book and will do so. I am able to itemize out specifically what I know about acquisition issues and root causes of problems with the way the POM is put together and the lack of engaged oversight personnel in the process of just being paper tigers. I am willing to testify under oath on all that I know and here are some of my suggestions and a lot of backup to the reasons why can be provided. I support the Rapid Equipping Force and the way the MRAPs were put into action. I watched the testimony that the “old guard”(i.e., Gansler) gave before the hearings on the McCain Levin bill. First of all there is no need for more acquisition “oversight” personnel, Congressman Duncan was right about that. Second, the military should be kept out of the program management and procurement business and instead keep the military employed in needed military jobs, reason, they serve two or three years in a program office or contract admin office and leave with no accountability and then move on to civilians jobs in the acquisition industry and government; Third, get rid of cost plus contracts and the useless Earned Value Management processes that has allowed a $400 billion dollar plus over run in the top major contracts and has allowed more games with program Estimate To Complete EAC numbers on countless other cost plus programs,. Forth, if a cost plus contract is needed, use a tailored contract that uses firm fixed price for LOE positions and isolating the fixed costs and cost plus portions of a new development program; Forth, go back to the American way of fixed price contracts and competition to get them. Congress made a big mistake in the 1940s in allowing cost plus contracts and now is the time to end them. The reasons leading up to allowing cost plus contracts is not applicable to today’s defense industry technology (see congressional hearings held back then). The billions now being spent on non producing military acquisition can be instead given to more producible consumers to help the world economy and society, not to retired military officers who now hold a major number of the defense agency and military contractor top management positions. Congress keeps listening to the “old guard” who are still focused on cold war systems and old ways of doing business. It is time to move the defense acquisition business from the 1950s to the new business strategies of the 21st century.

By: TNT

TNT — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:38:36 +0000

Well, Mike…
You have the facts to back it up, then give the public the information…Talk to the media, let them expose it. Keeping it to yourself will not help the nation. The people need the facts, how else will Americans get the information, unless people like YOU bring it out in the open for all to see?

By: mike

mike — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:53:31 +0000

great article!! The days of Defense(?retired miliary) greed hopefully are over. The Defense department waste and Defense contractor bonuses and salaries when exposed will saw the current AIG bonuses are nothing. Americans are diverted for the moment but when the Defense Department fraud, misuse, mismanagement and outright fraud being used to support defense program spending they will be shocked and awed. At AIG we are talking about a couple hundred billion BUT AT THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT we are talking about trillions of dollars. I have asked a few senators and congressmen to testify about but it but so far no takers. I have been employed in the industry for 30 years I have seen it all and have the facts to back it up.

By: The Bear

The Bear — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:28:54 +0000

One has to wonder if the United States is going the way of England, a has been. I hate to say it. In fifty years, India and China will be the worlds two super powers. The cause of demise. Economic decisions we made in the latter half of the twentyth century. Exporting our manufacturing base, becoming a debtor nation and running trade imbalance. What you are seeing now is a phase of this decline. Just think about this China holds one trillion of our debt. If other countries did not buy of treasury bonds, our economy would fall.