No wonder they call it The Big Ugly'.

• Author: Beidel, Eric
• Position: DEFENSEINSIDER - Weapons acquisition and Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System - Brief article

* Speaking of acquisition reform, it is not just IT that needs a sea change. Senior officials recently have called on Gates to kill the dreaded monster known as the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System. JCIDS is a review process that is used to define the military services' weapon requirements. It has been blamed for adding years to the acquisition cycle and for saddling the Defense Department with overpriced systems that don't meet today's war needs.

Former Air Force Vice Chief of Staff for Intelligence Lt. Gen. David Deptula, who retired last month, said it is time to overhaul the system. "JCIDS was a good faith effort to assure that we would make deliberate and informed decisions as it pertains to the acquisition of major weapon systems," he told reporters. The problem is that it takes a decade or more for a weapon system to go through the JCIDS process. The Air Force's next-generation...