Gerin: Army must streamline contracting

Improving and streamlining contracting are among the initiatives the Army plans to focus on moving forward, reports Aviation Week.

But the greatest challenge for the Army is resolving dilemmas posed by its current growth plan, Army Secretary Pete Geren said Nov. 18 at an event hosted by the Center for National Policy. Because of this, the service will either have to increase numbers or shrink demand if it is to be successful, he said.

Geren pointed to the current acquisitions model as successful for peacetime or Cold War operations, “but in today’s war, with a nimble enemy, the program-of-record model is too slow.” Among his proposed solutions was to accept more risk into programs and become adept at a so-called 80 percent solution that meets as much of a specific need as possible in an urgent battlefield situation.