Name:   MrHodja - Subject:   Spot-on, Hound Date:   9/8/2020 1:25:06 PM

Especially your second paragraph.

I have been on both sides of this equation and if Trump truly believes what he says, he doesn't understand his own military.  I spent 22 years in the Air Force, and when I retired was the Program Director for six separate programs with each having its own Program Manager (PM).  One of the biggest problems we have in defense contracting is that the folks responsible for defining the work to be done are not sufficiently schooled in how to write a Statement of Work so that the DoD gets the hardware, software, or service it wants for a fair price.  Another problem the PM runs into is that the functional customer doesn't know the specifics of what he or she wants, and thus the PM must write the SOW in such a way that there is flexibility to responsibly adjust as the program evolves.  One must remember there is risk on the part of both the buyer and tyhe seller.  If the SOW is too general (and it is a firm fixed price contract) the contractor must up their bid to cover the "we don't know what we don't know" element.  If the SOW is overly specific, the Government increases the risk that the specified product is not what ended up being needed.

In my 53 total years' service I have had the pleasure (AND non-pleasure) of working with and knowing many, many DoD folks, both active duty military and civil service, and the overwhelming majority are dedicated to the mission and did not try to enrich the defense contracting establishment or themselves, but just tried to be part of developing and running the best military fighting unit possible. 

There is no doubt that the defense industry is a large chunk of our economy, and there are ways that dollars could be saved.  However, the waste is more through ill-conceived or ill-executed contractual agreements or unanticipated changes in the required product or service, or the dates that produce or service is needed than any pocket-lining by our senior military leaders.