Defense Acquisition Process: Military Service Chiefs' Concerns Reflect Need to Better Define Requirements before Programs Start
Abstract
Most current and former military service chiefs and vice chiefs GAO interviewed from the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps collectively expressed dissatisfaction with acquisition program outcomes and believed that the Department of Defense's (DOD) requirements development and acquisition processes need to be better integrated. The service chiefs are largely responsible for developing the services' requirements for weapon systems, while the service acquisition executives are responsible for overseeing programs to plan and develop systems. Most service chiefs told GAO they were concerned that after weapon system requirements are handed to the acquisition process, requirements are changed or added by the acquisition community (sometimes referred to as "creep"), increasing the capabilities and cost of the system. Some service chiefs stated that they are not always involved in the acquisition process and are frequently caught by surprise when cost, schedule, and performance problems emerge in programs. Current and former chiefs agreed that the chiefs should be more involved in programs, but their views varied on how best to achieve this.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1154388
Entities
People
- Abby C. Volk
- Brandon H. Greene
- Jacob L. Beier
- Jean L. Mcsween
- John E. Oppenheim
- Kristy E. Williams
- Laura M. Jezewski
- Marie P. Ahearn
- Megan L. Porter
- Michael J. Sullivan
- Peter W. Anderson
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office