In this final episode of Programmed to Fail, we explore the true importance of reforming the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution process in the Department of Defense. Some may say that it is only a poor craftsman who blames his tools, that it is deficiencies in the workforce rather than problems of the acquisition and budgeting systems that are holding weapons innovation back. But certainly, it is not the lack of quality and drive in the people that has held North Korea back relative to their neighbors in South Korea, or that has stymied the growth of nations in the former Soviet Union. It was the ideologies of the political economy thrust upon the people that so devastated their culture.
The PPBE is a similarly radical break from American values and traditions that has left good people burdened by a bad process. No longer can the defense acquisition workforce take joy in their hefty responsibility. No longer can the workforce see themselves in their work. They are tossed about in a system too large for them to affect, and the workforce is expected to be like a caretaker driving a train down pre-set tracks, rather than an explorer, a creator, and a builder with intrinsic value. Fulfilling individual desires to contribute to national security will more rapidly accelerate our common security than any top-down optimization and 30-year lifecycle plan. The problem is how large groups of people can be coordinated to achieve an end that is beyond the comprehension of any small group or plan. That is what we will explore in this final chapter of Programmed to Fail.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow me on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com
Programmed to Fail - 9. Cost
Sunday, February 19, 2023 • Duration 01:09:15
In this episode of Programmed to Fail, we explore how accounting costs do not reveal the value being generated in the production process and cannot be used, on their own, as a guide for specific choices. Cost is not an objective reality, particularly to those who know the vagaries of cost accounting. Instead, our view of cost depends on subjective use value and is related to the term opportunity cost, or the next-best choice foregone. This chapter reveals that for defense acquisition to truly understand weapons value and leverage the power of commercial markets, it needs to shift away from its obsession with financial metrics.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow me on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at https://AcquisitionTalk.com
China's surveillance balloon over the United States
Sunday, February 5, 2023 • Duration 39:50
Balloon bloodlust, the epic military history of balloons, the fate of US-China relations, and how balloon expertise can help you on Hinge
What on Earth is a Chinese spy balloon doing over the US? To discuss, we have William “Balloon Guy” Kim of The Marathon Initiative, Eric Lofgren of Acquisition Talk, and Gerard DiPippo of CSIS. We dive into:
The epic military history of balloons;
- Why it’s surprisingly difficult to shoot down a balloon, and the US-China “balloon gap”
- Whether Secretary of State Blinken should have canceled his trip to China;
- How expertise in balloons could improve your dating prospects.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow me on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com
NatSec News Roundup: June 21, 2021
Tuesday, June 22, 2021 • Duration 57:10
Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
Next steps in acquisition reform with Dan Ward, Pete Modigliani, and Matt MacGregor
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 • Duration 01:11:11
I was pleased to have an impressive trio from MITRE join me to discuss the future of acquisition reform. Dan Ward, Pete Modigliani, and Matt MacGregor have been in on the ground floor of the Department's implementation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework, which has been hailed as the "most transformational change to acquisition policy in decades." With six tailorable pathways, programs can potentially cut years of paperwork for software and rapid prototyping efforts.
While there is certainly more effectiveness to squeeze out of the AAF, my guests are looking ahead to other elements of the "big A" acquisition systems that will need change to support the ideals of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework. For example, rapid prototyping efforts using the Middle Tier pathway don't have to use the JCIDS requirements process, but they still need a process that could take up to a year. Then it takes another two or more years to line up the funds to get started. These processes create barriers to programs being run with speed, thrift, and simplicity.
Requirements, budgeting, oversight, and workforce provide the next frontier of acquisition reform. Last year, MITRE released an excellent report that outlined enterprise-level requirements and a proposal for an Adaptive Requirements Framework. This year, they released another report called Five-by-Five which took that even further into an Adaptive Budgeting Framework and implementation of portfolio management.
https://www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/publications/pr-20-03241-1-five-by-five-five-disciplines-and-five-strategic-initiatives-for-the-pentagon-in-the-digital-age.pdf
https://www.mitre.org/publications/technical-papers/modernizing-dod-requirements-enabling-speed-agility-and-innovation
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
NatSec News Roundup: June 6, 2021 (FY22 Budget Special)
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 • Duration 01:03:28
Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
NatSec News Roundup: May 24, 2021
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 • Duration 59:11
Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
Air Force fighters now and into the future with Mike Benitez
Saturday, May 22, 2021 • Duration 01:11:25
Mike Benitez joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to talk about the current state and future of the Air Force fighter inventory. He discusses the rationale behind the recent announcement from Chief of Staff CQ Brown that the USAF will neck down it's inventory from seven systems to "four plus one." Mike explains how the NGAD will replace the F-22, the logic behind buying both the F-35 and F-15EX, and the options for replacing the F-16. We also play a round of "retire it or not" for the A-10, RQ-4 Global Hawk, and the KC-135 tanker.
During the episode, Mike argues that laying in several major advances in the same clean-sheet development leads to poor outcomes -- not only for the systems themselves but the industrial base. Shifting to a government reference architecture can help open up competition and even change business models. Rather than companies making their profits in sustainment, which represents 70% of lifecycle costs, the Air Force could change the paradigm by making development pay and potentially even breaking the link between development and production.
The F-117 was a great example of tackling one hard problem (low observability) while leveraging existing components everywhere else. While making a slightly different case, Mike points to Boeing's T-7A which used digital engineering and parts commonality. "The T-7 was engineered from the ground up for commonality within its parts," Mike said. "So the the left horizontal stabilizer is the same exact part as the right is just put in upside down... they've built an aircraft that has such a skinny supply chain that you're able to actually operate... but the point is that most of the fighters right now are not developed like that."
Mike discusses a more agile approach to fighter development, opportunities for test and evaluation techniques, the challenges presented by the budget process, the need to increase emphasis on logistics and communications, and much more.
You can find more from Mike Benitez by signing up for his weekly newsletter The Merge at https://themerge.co
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
NatSec News Roundup: May 17, 2021
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 • Duration 58:12
Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
NatSec News Roundup: May 10, 2021
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 • Duration 01:12:26
Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor chat about the week's newsworthy headlines the world of military acquisition.
This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.
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