Prescription for ailing army acquisition.

• Author: Sledge, Nathaniel H., Jr.
• Position: VIEWPOINT

* Army Secretary John McHugh last month ordered a comprehensive review of Army weapons acquisition practices, management and oversight.

McHugh assigned a competent team to lead the effort, but it is hard to see how it will engender novel thinking for a recalcitrant problem such as Army acquisition. The Army does not need elder statesmen. It needs agents of change. Trotting out perspectives from 15 and 30 years ago is not going to help.

There are times for steady hands and times for the young Turks. Now, we need fresh, expeditionary mindsets, not warmed-over ideas that may provide political cover but not the change the Army needs.

Much of what must be done to improve Army acquisition is already known and has been articulated in dozens of studies. The Army understands that its traditional acquisition process has to better mesh with rapid acquisition to meet urgent war-fighter needs.

To its credit, the Army established the Rapid Acquisition Force (REF) to address pressing needs, and the Army Requirements and Resources Board (AR2B) to help resolve equipping issues for deployed and deploying forces. The REF proved inexpensive, innovative, and effective, while the AR2B became a solid clearing house for all manner of Army resourcing issues.

The Army has also made some headway in better managing the proliferation of non-standard equipment in the theaters of war. With the mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle, the Army has demonstrated its ability to tweak the otherwise stodgy, stifling and deliberate acquisition system to procure exceptional capabilities rapidly.

But these advances are not enough.

Programs that are not properly transitioned from rapid to deliberate management are, in general, poorly sustained. The delays in putting in place a sustainment plan for MRAP is a metaphor for the gaping hole in the spectrum of acquisition responsiveness for unofficially sanctioned acquisition programs. The Army needs to better link the innovative and responsive activities of the REF and like agencies with the financial, requirements, acquisition and sustainment systems.

There are several initiatives the Army must undertake if it is to span the gap between rapid and deliberate acquisition.

First, it must fix human capital and infrastructure issues. This means stop promoting and appointing to high positions people who have insufficient experience in acquisition. Bring in and empower new blood and fresh thinking, but do not hire neophytes to run the...