Good First Steps By The Army On Reforming The Acquisition System (From The National Interest)

Just a month ago, the U.S. Army’s top leaders, Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, announced the most far-reaching reforms of the acquisition system in two generations. A new command will be created by mid-2018 to manage and streamline Army modernization. Secretary McCarthy and General Milley believed they couldn’t wait until next year to change the acquisition system. To jumpstart the revolution, pilot cross-functional teams (CFTs) have been created to address the Army’s modernization priorities. To date, the Army has taken a number of steps that bode well for the CFTs’ success. General Milley has publicly articulated straightforward objectives for each of the modernization priorities. In a sign of high-level support, the CFTs will report directly to the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff and to Secretary McCarthy. I discuss the state of the Army’s acquisition reform effort in more detail for The National Interest here.