Affordability plays a huge role in the contracts the branch of Defense (DoD) signs for discrete projects. This DoD acquisition process is now regulated by new laws that were enacted by the government recently. Defense Secretary's 1 billion "efficiency initiative" was created in order to ensure that the branch of Defense makes as many savings as it maybe can in the arrival years, in line with the spending cuts that the whole country is trying to push through. Every troops assistance has now been required to find billion of savings in 2012, billion in 2013, and billion by 2014. The list goes on, until 2016 when billion of savings should be achieved by the United States troops and its discrete branches. These savings will fund troops pay and benefits as well as weapons acquisition programs.
The fact is that DoD acquisition contracts are now directly connected to how much money they can save. The country has created a deficit of approximately trillion and can no longer frivolously spend on defense contracts that the army sees fit to enact. Only money that is being saved can be spent. While Gates came up with a good savings plan, Ashton Carter, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, came up with supplementary contracting reforms to save the troops money.
Fluke
The first principle Carter brought into law is that affordability is as foremost as technical ability when it comes manufacture decisions about weapons programs, such as the Army Ground Combat Vehicles and the Air Force Long Range attack Missiles. Any programs that are not financially viable must be let go of and all programs must strictly comply with regulations that inhibit spending on new equipments and maintaining current ones.
Similarly, there are now portfolio ability reviews that will be conducted to ensure that any program that is redundant is let go. The Air Force's Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion program is one that is particularly at risk of being shut down for its huge costs and little effectiveness. The Army's Medium Extended Air Defense law is also being threatened, because shutting down these and a few other programs could save the army billions of dollars. They are finding to find programs that cost in the middle of to million each and do not rip holes in the United States Treasury's budget.
There are other policies as well, and these are merely two examples of how both the Defense Secretary and his undersecretary are striving to cut United States troops spending, especially in the DoD acquisition process, while still maintaining our status as the traditional army in the world.
Affordability and DoD Contracts
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