It’s not a new phenomenon. As long as there have been military forces, there have been failures of procurement systems to supply combat forces in a timely fashion. General George Washington pleaded with Congress to provide more and better cannonballs and muskets. The US Defense Acquisition System (DAS) continues to fail despite multiple schemes to rectify the inability of the Defense Department to provide weapons, equipment, and services on time. Enter President Donald Trump, who has made it a priority to streamline the DAS during his term in office.
Trump issued two sweeping executive orders aimed at reforming the Pentagon in the way it does business. But what does “reform” look like when so many weapons programs are underwater? For example, the Columbia-class submarines are not meeting cost, schedule, and contract expectations. Consequently, a Government Accountability Office observed:
“Our independent analysis calculated likely cost overruns that are more than six times higher than Electric Boat’s estimates and almost five times more than the Navy’s. As a result, the government could be responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional construction costs for the lead submarine.”
But the Columbia-class submarine program doesn’t even rate as the primary poster child. That honor goes to the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program) in development to replace the aging 1970s Minuteman III nuclear ballistic missiles. “In January 2024, the Air Force informed Congress that the Sentinel program exceeded its initial cost projections, posting at least a 37% increase (from $118 million initial baseline cost to $162 million in 2020 dollars) in the cost per unit,” according to a current Congressional Research Service report.
Still, problems persist. But Trump is on the job now. “It is the policy of the United States to create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible. Removing undue barriers, such as unnecessary regulations, while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of the national and defense industrial bases is paramount,” Trump’s executive order reads. To that end, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is fulfilling the president’s wishes, starting with the US Army, “to implement a comprehensive transformation strategy, streamline its force structure, eliminate wasteful spending, reform the acquisition process, modernize inefficient defense contracts, and overcome parochial interests to rebuild our Army, restore the warrior ethos, and reestablish deterrence.” Other military services might want to take note.
If accomplished, the tasks outlined in the reform directive will achieve an efficient procurement process, with Hegseth taking bold action to eliminate bureaucratic and process-paralyzing requirements. In 2002, the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development Systems (JCIDS) was designed to establish a system that would reconcile and prioritize battlefield requirements. What started as a simple concept to ensure warfighters had the exact weapon system needed turned into a three-decade-long uncontrolled bureaucratic monstrosity. JCIDS was time-consuming, stifled innovation, and proved unable to meet time constraints. On Aug. 20, Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg issued a joint memorandum eliminating JCIDS as a functional process in the Pentagon.
Additionally, Congress has taken a keen interest. In a RealClear Defense reposting of a Federal News Network article, the author asserted, “The backers, the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee, say they’re aiming for a wholesale replacement of the DOD acquisition system.” Furthermore, Congress wants a “more empowered acquisition workforce, a willingness to fail fast, and a more diversified defense industrial base.”
Consequently, when the president and the secretary of defense issue direction from the highest administration level, and Congress is on board, it is a trifecta. There is a better chance than ever before that something promising will result. Delivering innovative, effective weapon systems to soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Guardians promptly has been a decades-long challenge. The stars may be aligning for reform – who knows?
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.