POGO on Marine Corps' Heel-Dragging (Updated)

"The U.S. Marine Corps' rapid acquisition system has failed repeatedly, unnecessarily delaying and, in some cases, denying urgent requests by Marines for equipment," according to Nick Schwellenbach at the Project On Government Oversight blog. "The Congress should undertake an in-depth investigation into the situation with rapid acquisition at the Defense Department to ensure that the right balance is struck between getting equipment into the field rapidly while maintaining accountability."

Read the whole excellent post here.

Update: Robot Economist has another view, as always:

That presentation actually made me feel less sympathetic for the Marines. Joint Ugent Operational Need Statements are supposed to identify critical problems in the field. Flooding the process with over a hundred statements tells folks in the acquisition community nothing about what is urgently needed in Iraq. Moreover, the practice of submitting the same statement under both the JUONS and Universal Urgent Need Statement process just forces the acquisition community to sift through duplicative information.

PREVIOULSY:

Marine Corps Denies Drones to Troops
Bomb-Proof Vehicles: Why the Delay?
Military Dragged Feet on Bomb-Proof Vehicles