Ash Carter: Pentagon's Acquisition System Still Not 'Responsive'

Ash Carter is one of the best and brightest, a brilliant man who has dedicated his career to national security policy. Unfortunately he appears to have been unable to push the elephant of defense acquisition to become lean and effective in an era of declining budgets. Definitely not an easy job, but being a top policy wonk and academic think tank leader might not give one the best tools to do it. Criticizing the bureaucracy which he was responsible for leading for the past 4 years would seem to be an admission of failure, but typical of the Obama administration. 

Carter: Pentagon's Acquisition System Still Not 'Responsive' | DoD Buzz


“We have to have a military that is agile in a modern world where technology is changing so fast,” Carter told the Wall Street Journal. “The Pentagon’s way of doing business simply isn’t responsive.”


U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter is on his way out the door in two weeks. In 2009, he took over as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and led that office until 2011 when was nominated as the Pentagon’s No. 2. He’s been in charge of overseeing major changes to the Defense Department’s acquisition process as former Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well as his successors leaned on Carter to pare down the budgets and help cut bloated weapons programs.

At Naval Academy, Carter Details Strategic Tasks for 21st Century

CARTER’S LAST SPEECH: Ash Carter will gave his last public speech as deputy defense secretary at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Carter said the Defense Department has to prioritize
four key tasks going forward: (note that streamlining the acquisition process is not one of them)

1. First, because now more than ever, maintaining a technological edge over our competitors is the surest way to deter conflict, we must continue to invest in those technologies that will be essential to 21^st century defense. 
2.  Second, in tandem with our civilian counterparts from across the U.S. government, we must fully implement the President’s strategy to rebalance resources and attention to the Asia- Pacific region.  
3. The third task facing us in the Department of Defense is continuing to build upon a priority of this Administration -- strengthening the web of international alliances that have underwritten global security since World War II, and deepening new partnerships that will advance American interests and a just international order in the years to come.
4. Fourth and last, even as we rightfully focus on and invest in the future, we must take care not to lose the lessons gained through the last decade of war.   These include the tremendous competencies developed and honed by our special operations forces, as well as the capabilities brought to bear by innovations in ISR and intel-ops fusion I mentioned earlier.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to step down

Carter, who holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University and is widely regarded as possessing a powerful intellect, has been deeply involved on both the technical and policy sides of the U.S. military for decades. He served as a member of the Defense Science Board throughout most of the 1990s, and served as well in various policy positions throughout several presidential administrations. In 2009 he became the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer as Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

In the letter to Hagel, Carter said he was deeply committed to the DOD’s mission and people.
“I have dedicated myself to providing agile support for the war fighter in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever they are deployed; to achieving better buying power for the taxpayer in the defense budget; and to providing sound management for the Secretary and the Department,” he wrote. “Above all, Stephanie’s heart and my own have been, and will forever be, ‘all-in’ for our troops and their families, whom we regard with enormous respect and loving care.”

Ash Carter Visits Troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter spent Thanksgiving and the next day -- some of his last days in office -- in Afghanistan, shuttling between forward operating bases in Blackhawk helicopters, looking troops in the eye, shaking their hands and thanking them for their sacrifice and service.  When he got back to the pentagon, he proceeded to issue several directives on his way out the door: New DoD Interim Instruction 5000.02 Issued https://acc.dau.mil/dodi5000.02 12/2/2013   Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter issued interim policy, effective immediately , to replace the previous DoD Instruction 5000.02. This instruction provides the detailed procedures that guide the Operation of the Defense Acquisition System and applies to all organizational entities within the Department.The defense Acquisition Portal’s Program Management Community of Practice builds on that with Frank Kendall’s personal memo to everyone in the DoD Acquisition Workforce. DoDI 5000.02 - Defense Technical Information Center www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/500002p.pdf‎ Department of Defense. INSTRUCTION. NUMBER 5000.02. December 8, 2008. USD(AT&L). SUBJECT: Operation of the Defense Acquisition System. This 5000.02 directive was Carter's effort to ensure that urgent needs were met by the defense acquisition system. The two links above are broken, "404" and this may indicate the policy has already been withdrawn. It still seems to be available at this link: Carter letter implementing DODI5000.02 JIEDDO to shrink, but expand mission | Air Force Times | airforcetimes.com  In one of his final decisions as deputy defense secretary, Ashton Carter, who left the Pentagon on Wednesday (12/4), said the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) should sustain its ability to support US forces in Afghanistan and the evolving counter-IED requirements around the world. The personnel cuts will come over the next four years, shrinking JIEDDO down to a “base capacity level” of about 400 people in 2017. At its peak in April 2010, the organization had more than 3,900 people. In a Nov. 26 memo, Carter approved JIEDDO’s plans to reduce the organization to 975 people in the 2015 to 2016 time frame. IEDs won't die after Afghanistan, top general says | Air Force Times | airforcetimes.com WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's multibillion dollar effort to combat makeshift bombs will continue even after the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ends next year. The bureaucracy that sprung up at the height of fighting in Iraq will be needed for "the inevitable next fight," said Army Lt. Gen. John Johnson, who leads the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. Johnson took command of the effort this fall and talked about its future in an interview with USA TODAY. IEDs have been the insurgents' weapon of choice against American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bombs have killed more than 3,100 U.S. troops and wounded 33,000 more. I worked with JIEDDO on detecting IED placement in roads using high resolution SAR CCD imagery, and attended several of their conferences. IMHO IED's will continue to be a threat to land forces engaged in asymetric warfare. They killed and injured more in OIF and OEF than almost anything else. JIEDDO was willing to try almost anything to beat them.

Christine Fox named to replace him

Christine H. Fox Bio
Ms. Fox possesses nearly three decades of experience as an analyst and research manager focusing on defense issues, particularly operations.  She formerly served as the President of the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, and as the scientific analyst to the Chief of Naval Operations.