The Process and Politics of Defense Acquisition: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues)

229 Pages·2008·0.97 MB·English

by  David S. Sorenson

The Process and Politics of
Defense Acquisition
PraegerSecurityInternationalAdvisoryBoard
BoardCochairs
LochK.Johnson,RegentsProfessorofPublicandInternationalAffairs,Schoolof
PublicandInternationalAffairs,UniversityofGeorgia(U.S.A.)
PaulWilkinson,ProfessorofInternationalRelationsandChairmanofthe
AdvisoryBoard,CentrefortheStudyofTerrorismandPoliticalViolence,
UniversityofSt.Andrews(U.K.)
Members
AnthonyH.Cordesman,ArleighA.BurkeChairinStrategy,CenterforStrategic
andInternationalStudies(U.S.A.)
The´re`seDelpech,DirectorofStrategicAffairs,AtomicEnergyCommission,and
SeniorResearchFellow,CERI(FoundationNationaledesSciencesPolitiques),
Paris(France)
SirMichaelHoward,formerChicheleProfessoroftheHistoryofWarandRegis
ProfessorofModernHistory,OxfordUniversity,andRobertA.LovettProfessor
ofMilitaryandNavalHistory,YaleUniversity(U.K.)
LieutenantGeneralClaudiaJ.Kennedy,USA(Ret.),formerDeputyChiefofStaff
forIntelligence,DepartmentoftheArmy(U.S.A.)
PaulM.Kennedy,J.RichardsonDilworthProfessorofHistoryandDirector,
InternationalSecurityStudies,YaleUniversity(U.S.A.)
RobertJ.O’Neill,formerChicheleProfessoroftheHistoryofWar,AllSouls
College,OxfordUniversity(Australia)
ShibleyTelhami,AnwarSadatChairforPeaceandDevelopment,Departmentof
GovernmentandPolitics,UniversityofMaryland(U.S.A.)
FareedZakaria,Editor,NewsweekInternational(U.S.A.)
The Process and Politics of
Defense Acquisition
A Reference Handbook
David S. Sorenson
ContemporaryMilitary,Strategic,andSecurityIssues
PRAEGERSECURITYINTERNATIONAL
(cid:1)
Westport,Connecticut London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Sorenson,DavidS.,1943–
Theprocessandpoliticsofdefenseacquisition:areferencehandbook/David
S.Sorenson.
p. cm.—(Contemporarymilitary,strategic,andsecurityissues,ISSN1932–295X)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN:978–0–313–34843–3(alk.paper)
1.UnitedStates—ArmedForces—Procurement—Handbooks,manuals,etc.
2.UnitedStates.Dept.ofDefense—Procurement—Handbooks,manuals,etc.
3.Governmentpurchasing—Politicalaspects—UnitedStates—Handbooks,manuals,etc.
4.Defensecontracts—UnitedStates—Handbooks,manuals,etc.
5.Defenseindustries—UnitedStates—Handbooks,manuals,etc. I.Title.
UC263.S66 2009
355.6(cid:1)212—dc22 2008033658
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:2)C 2009byDavidS.Sorenson
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2008033658
ISBN:978–0–313–34843–3
ISSN:1932–295X
Firstpublishedin2009
PraegerSecurityInternational,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
Chapter1 TheDefenseAcquisitionProcessEvolves 4
Chapter2 TheCurrentAmericanDefenseAcquisitionProcess 28
Chapter3 TheDefenseIndustrialBase 66
Chapter4 ThePoliticsofAmericanWeaponsAcquisition 87
Chapter5 InternationalArmsSalesandDefenseAcquisition 126
Chapter6 ReformingDefenseAcquisition 142
AppendixI CompanyProfiles 171
AppendixII PrimaryDocuments 199
Glossary 207
Index 211
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
ItiswithsometrepidationthatIwritethisbook,becausetherearefewthingsthat
areaslikelytoconfuseandconfoundreadersastheAmericandefenseacquisition
system, which supplies armaments and equipment for the U.S. armed forces, as
wellasforeigncustomers.Itisextraordinarilycomplex,requiringmanypagesto
describe a process that is in reality a small piece of a much larger process, the
systemthatprovidesnationaldefensefortheUnitedStates.Theacronymsalone
cancauseareadertosimplyquit.Apartoftheacquisitionsystemthathasbeenin
placefordecadesmaysuddenlybeforcedthroughchange,renderingeverything
written about it to become obsolete. Unfortunately the defense acquisition pro-
cesshasalsobeenmarredbypoorperformance,includingcostoverruns,schedule
delays,failuretomeetperformancespecifications,andsometimesoutrightfraud
committedbysomeparticipantsintheprocess.Itmakesfordifficultreading,par-
ticularlywhen it becomes clearthat problems continue despite efforts to reform
thesystem.Itisparticularlypainfultoreadthatsometimestheveryreformsthat
were supposed to improve the defense acquisition system have actually made it
worse.
Yettherearemanyreasonstowritethisbook.TheU.S.DepartmentofDefense
isthemostexpensiveorganizationintheentireworld.Therearefeworganizations
thatspendmoremoneyinasingleyearthandoesthePentagon.MostAmerican
citizensreadandunderstand only a smallproportion of the systemthat the De-
fense Department uses to take ideas and form them into weapons and support
systems.TheymaynotethatthepriceofasingleB-2bomberexceeded$1billion
acopy,forexample,buttheyhavenounderstandingofwhy.Yetitistheirmoney
that the government is spending, from their tax dollars, and from lost oppor-
tunities to spend federal revenues on something else. So in the name of good
citizenship alone, it is highly useful to understand at least something about the
defenseacquisitionsystem.
MillionsofAmericansaremorethanbystandersinthedefenseacquisitionsys-
tem. They work in it, or they construct or consume its products. The defense
industry alone in the United States creates and sustains hundreds of thousands
viii Preface
of jobs, and these jobs in turn create “multiplier effects,” where the earnings of
a welder in a shipyard move through the economic system to create even more
employment and economic growth. For them, I hope that this book will place
themandtheirinterestswithinthecontextofamuchlargersystem,andthatthey
willunderstandbettertheirplaceinit.
Thescholarshipondefenseacquisitiononceproducedsomeoftherichestlit-
erature in political science, applying theories of organizations and bureaucratic
politics to studies of the defense budget process and numerous acquisition sys-
tems.Well-knownpoliticalscientistslikeSamuelHuntington,RobertArt,Arnold
Kanter, Desmond Ball, and numerous others generated works like The Common
Defense, TheTFXControversy, DefensePolitics, and PoliticsandForceLevels, pub-
lished by leading university presses. However, scholarly work in the field of de-
fense acquisition has largely dried up, and this book attempts to recapture the
significanceofearlierstudiesandcarrythemforward.
In a system involving billions of dollars, there will always be problems, and
problemsaboundinthedefenseacquisitionsystem.Systemsfailorreachperfor-
mance standards months or years (if ever) after they were supposed to achieve
whattheirdefenderspromised.Costsspiraloutofcontrolasproblemsanddelays
mandate additional time, research, or sometimes the abandonment of an entire
defenseprogram.Thedefenseacquisitionsystemhumsalonglargelywithoutno-
ticebythepressuntilascandalormassivecostoverrunsorotherproblemssud-
denlydrawheadlines.The fixhasbeentoreformthesystem,thoughone of the
themes inthis book isthat well-meaningpeople oftenundertakereform, but its
effectssometimesmaketheproblemsworseandrarelyfixthem.
Likemanyscholars,Iwritethisbookasanobserverratherthanasaparticipant
(almostallscholarswhowriteonpresidents,forexample,haveneverbeenone).
SoIhavedrawnheavilyuponthosewhohaveworkedinthedefenseacquisition
world, though, given the sensitivity of the material, most requested anonymity,
andIhaverespectedtheirwishes.Othershaveofferedvaluablecriticismsofthe
work, including Colonel Mike O’Brien, Joe McCue, Jeffrey Record, and others.
MyeditorsAliciaMerritt,AdamKane,andShanaMeyerhavebeenveryhelpful,
and Katherine Faydash’s copy editing was outstanding. She not only corrected
my numerous writing errors, but did considerable fact checking, going so far as
tonoteastoryintheNewYorkTimespertainingtosomethingIhadintext,and
thusallowingmetoupdateit.Anyremainingerrorsaremyown.
Thisbookrepresentstheanalysisandconclusionsoftheauthoranddoesnot
necessarilyrepresenttheviewsofanyagencyoftheU.S.government.
Abbreviations
AFB AirForceBase
AIA AerospaceIndustriesAssociation
APB AcquisitionProgramBaseline
AT&L Acquisition,Technology,andLogistics
BCP BudgetChangeProposal
BES BudgetEstimateSubmission
CAIG CostAnalysisImprovementGroup
CBO CongressionalBudgetOffice
CCAT CenterfortheCommercializationofAdvancedTechnology
CDD CapabilitiesDevelopmentDocument
CFIUS CommitteeonForeignInvestmentintheUnitedStates
CJCS Chairman,JointChiefsofStaff
CMC CommandantoftheMarineCorps
CNO ChiefofNavalOperations
COD CooperativeOpportunitiesDocument
CPA Chairman’sProgramAssessment
DAAD DefenseAuditingandAccountingDivision
DAB DefenseAcquisitionBoard
DAES DefenseAcquisitionExecutiveSummaryProcess
DAPA DefenseAcquisitionPerformanceAssessment
DCAA DefenseContractAuditAgency
DCMA DefenseContractManagementAgency
DoD DepartmentofDefense
DPG DefensePlanningGuidance
EADS EuropeanAirDefenceandSpaceCompany
EMD EngineeringandManufacturingDevelopment
FCS FutureCombatSystem
FMS ForeignMilitarySales
FYDP Five-YearDefensePlan(orFutureYearsDefensePlan)