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Defense Department is closer to its targeted procurement efficiency, but more acquisition programs will face the axe in Fiscal 2013, according to Pentagon acquisition chief Ash Carter. “There will undoubtedly be more cancellations,” stated Carter during a speech Wednesday at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C. He added, however, that future cuts will be fewer and smaller than in years past since the Defense Department is “getting to the point where most of the programs we now have under way . . . are military capabilities we do need and do want.” Going forward, DOD’s challenge is to procure these desirable and much needed capabilities “for the money the country can afford to give us,” underscored Carter. President Obama announced last week that he wants DOD to find an additional $400 billion in total saving over the next 12 years as part of broader efforts to reduce the federal budget deficit. That’s on top of the roughly $400 billion in savings that the Pentagon has already identified partly through major program cancellations such as the Marine Corps’ VH-71 Presidential helicopter and from halting production of systems like the Air Force’s F-22 fighter. (Heritage webpage of event, including video of Carter’s speech)
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…