The Pentagon released the executive summary of the study on acquisition review led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish in December with little public flourish. It now joins the ranks of some 128 previous so-called acquisition reform studies that have cited various problems and recommended numerous fixes—all basically to no avail. For as the Kadish report points out, the current review revealed many of the same situations documented by earlier reviews, citing in particular the Packard Commission review of 20 years ago. As Norm Augustine points out in the foreword to the new report, it will be judged not by problem identification or proffered solutions, but by what it “actually makes happen.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
