CH-53E Spec Ops Rappelling

Really?! With all due respect, sir…….

The National Defense Magazine reports that the principal DepSecDef for SO/LIC, Michael Dumont, recently shared that “the U.S. government no longer has the leading edge developing its own leading edge capabilities, particularly in IT.” National Defense Magazine

The government, with very rare exceptions, does not bend metal, create technology, or manufacture products.  It does acquire technology, manage programs, integrate (somewhat) development, acquisition, and sustainment efforts, and establish requirements (though those could be far better tied to the operational end-user needs).   For the most part, however, it relies on industry to do the heavy lifting, push the envelope, and create the technologies that give our soldiers, sailors, and airmen a significant advantage in conflict.

I trust that ADepSecDef Dumont meant was that the government has lost the ability to move the acquisition process along quickly enough to field the newest technologies before a counter-solution can be fielded.  In this regard, the government is its own worst enemy.  We live in a world where the internet of everything is a reality.  Information is available to anyone about what is built, bought, available, and sold at what price and profit margin.  We know where it is built and how many people are involved, whose congressional district is affected and how many dollars trickle into the local economy.

We know the budget (real or imagined) of every program today and the expected cost per 1000 items tomorrow.  We know how to make headlines when that cost per item goes up as the unit quantity goes down and then committee the Defense and industry leadership to death on why that is so after Congress itself fails to provide funding that matches original program cost expectations.  We champion parties and causes and agendas that beat against each other so they can gain greater media coverage and add social media followers, but have forgotten how to negotiate and compromise and work together to move something (anything) forward quickly.

The problem is not that government needs industry to win the fight.  It is more in-line with re-learning that 80% or 70% of a solution is better than 0.0% of that capability if we delay the solution until it doesn’t matter.  Technology is never a solution unto itself, but it can and should enable us to improve the mission, the operations, the business.  And technology that is left on the table because the government and defense community is unable to navigate the acquisition risk management process is a real threat to our leading edge capabilities and national defense.