'Tradeoffs' may be needed in Navy programs.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Washington Pulse - Brief Article

The defense secretary's decision to cancel the Army's Crusader artillery vehicle program is a message to all the military services that they must be prepared to make "tradeoffs," said Navy Secretary Gordon England.

In canceling Crusader, "The secretary is doing his job," England told reporters in Washington, D.C., last month.

Even though Secretary Donald Rumsfeld does not deny that the Army needs an improved artillery system, he says the upgrades can be achieved by investing the Crusader dollars in other technologies.

These decisions often are necessary, England said. "We make tradeoffs in the Navy every day."

When asked what programs may be slated for future tradeoffs, he declined to specify any. "But that doesn't mean that at some point, [if] there's another technology, another approach," a program may be cancelled. "If we don't have the right balance between...