The Defense Department’s cost assessment and program evaluation office is improving cooperation between the Pentagon and contractors to help ensure acquisition programs are kept on track, said Jamie Morin, CAPE director. The office is working closely with contractors on issues like data collection, he said on Sept. 15 at AFA’s Air & Space Conference outside of Washington, D.C. By using data multiple times rather than having different organizations gather the same information, CAPE will be able to move from spending time collecting contract information to conducting its real value-added activities, said Morin. He also highlighted the recovery military space programs have made since 2008 when costs on many of them rose between 200 percent and 300 percent in certain areas and sometimes peaked at more than 600 percent. Due to actions like better management and cost tracking, even once problematic Air Force programs have stabilized to where cost increases are low compared to projected program estimates, he said. Many of those programs are now in production, which means no expensive research and development expenditures will pop up, said Morin.
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
