Military acquisitions divorced from real needs.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Washington PULSE - Brief article

When it comes to its acquisition programs, the Air Force could benefit from some serious soul-searching, said two retired four-star generals. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers urged current leaders to reevaluate spending priorities, even if it requires a shakeup of the acquisition culture.

"We need changes in acquisition," Jumper told an aerospace industry audience. "We've been through record budgets in the Air Force in the past five years, but we really haven't bought much of anything." One flaw in the current system is that buying decisions often are disconnected from real-world needs, Jumper said. "We need to produce results that are usable to...