Jim Albaugh,
President & CEO
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems

On behalf of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England has commissioned the Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Group. The group is chaired by General Ron Kadish, former Missile Defense Agency Director and retired U. S. Air Force General. At the request of the group, I recently shared my thoughts on the need for speed and adaptability in the acquisition process, a renewed emphasis on performance and results, and the imperative of public accountability in everything we do.

There is no question that today’s threat environment demands the process move faster and be more efficient while providing the right capabilities. The process should allow programs and contracts the flexibility to effectively and efficiently deal with evolving technology, requirements and program risks. Adopting common standards and open systems will minimize single point failures or being locked into a particular approach, while driving interoperability and supporting joint operations.

Any process is judged by the results it produces. The acquisition process should establish a limited number of success measures, set realistic performance requirements and identify risks, and budget to realistic estimates. This requires partnership between the government and industry and begins by agreeing on mutual expectations, respective responsibilities and clear metrics while addressing risk issues, including the maturity of technology.

Finally, and perhaps most important, it is essential that the implementation of a new acquisition process restore public trust. All of us at Boeing clearly understand that trust is earned and can be lost with great impact on individuals, companies and our nation’s security. The acquisition process must be transparent, allowing policymakers and the public to have faith that tax dollars are being spent wisely and honestly.

Changes to the DoD acquisition process will take the concentrated time and efforts of all leaders of aerospace—in government and in industry. The DAPA project is off to a good start in gathering data for a top-to-bottom review of defense acquisition.We eagerly await their recommendations later this year.