Army Acquisition's Reputation Reclamation.

* The course of acquisitions never does run smooth, and perhaps none less so than the Army's--but one service official said the reputation is unwarranted.

Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said at the McAleese conference that the Army has "for various reasons over the years got a reputation for not doing acquisition well," and he "just [doesn't] see it."

Bush argued the Army acquisitions machine is running at full force. It has yielded 35,000 pieces of equipment over the past fiscal year and has 530 programs underway. The "vast majority" of them are "quiet success stories," he noted.

He championed the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle entering initial operational capability, low-rate production for Mobile Projected Firepower, rapid fielding for Next...