Okay, lemme get this straight. The Army – the freaking U.S. Army – is now saying they got "conned" by defense contractors? Give me a break.
The "Con" of the Century?
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is out here claiming that the defense industry, especially those "primes," pulled a fast one on the American public and the Pentagon. That they somehow tricked everyone into thinking we needed military-specific solutions instead of just buying stuff off the shelf.
“The defense industrial base broadly, and the primes in particular, conned the American people and the Pentagon and the Army into thinking that it needed military specific solutions, when in reality, a lot of these commercial solutions are equal to or better, and we’ve actually harmed ourselves with that mentality.”
Seriously?
Is he saying that Lockheed Martin and Boeing just hypnotized the entire Department of Defense? That no one thought to ask if maybe, just maybe, a Toyota Corolla could handle the same job as a $2 million Humvee?
Let's be real, this ain't about being "conned." This is about a system so bloated with bureaucracy and political favors that even slightly cheaper options get buried under mountains of paperwork. It's about generals getting cushy jobs at Raytheon after they retire. It's about... well, you get the picture.
And now Driscoll wants us to believe they're gonna flip the script? That suddenly, 90% of what the Army buys will be "commercially available"? Sounds like a pipe dream. I mean, have you seen the government try to buy a stapler?
The Blame Game
Here's the thing, though. Driscoll does have a point when he says the Army isn't exactly the easiest customer to deal with. He even admits that they "created and incentivized" the very behavior they're now complaining about. Talk about a self-own.
It's like blaming your dog for chewing your shoes after you left them in the middle of the floor.
But what choice did these companies have? To quote Driscoll again, "it requires such a balance sheet to outlast all of our insane processes..." So, yeah, they jack up the prices and lobby like hell to keep the gravy train rolling. Who wouldn't?
A Glimmer of Hope? (Maybe?)
Okay, okay, I'll admit there's one thing that kinda gives me a sliver of hope. The Army's apparently planning some major shakeups to its acquisition structure. Consolidating offices, cutting down on general officers, and – get this – actually trying to do business with "commercial and private enquiry companies." Army Overhauls Acquisition Structure.
Could this actually work? Maybe. But color me skeptical. It all sounds great on paper, but I'll believe it when I see it. I mean, we're talking about the same Army that probably still uses fax machines and runs Windows 95 on its servers.
And what about the rank and file? Are they going to offcourse welcome this change? Or will they resist it, clinging to the old ways and making sure nothing actually gets done?
The Drone Wars are Coming
Secretary Driscoll sounds pretty serious about the drone threat, though. He said the Army wants to buy a million drones in the next few years. A million! And they're looking to Ukraine as a "test lab" for modern warfare.
That's all well and good, but I can't help but wonder if this is just another excuse to throw money at the problem. Are we really going to be better off with a million cheap drones that can be easily hacked or jammed? Or should we be focusing on developing more sophisticated, resilient technology?
Then again, maybe I'm just being cynical. Maybe Driscoll really is trying to shake things up and drag the Army into the 21st century. Maybe he's the hero we didn't know we needed.
Nah.