Contract Award Debriefs Called 'A Waste of Time'.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne
• Position: UP FRONT

The Section 809 Panel recently released its second volume of recommendations to streamline the U.S. defense acquisition system. Commissioners told industry leaders to expect changes to the current process to protest a contract decision.

Panel commissioner and retired Army Lt. Gen. N. Ross Thompson III said at an NDIA-sponsored event that he "never worried about protests" when he was the commander of the service's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, and rarely had to deal with them. TACOM's debriefs after a contract award back in his day were "fairly thorough," he said.

"I can...