Pentagon nominee Griffin: Procurement a ‘mess,’ U.S. losing edge in aviation, space

Space News ^ | 10/28/2017 | Sandra Erwin and Jeff Foust

[Elderberry]

If confirmed by the Senate, Griffin could become a key voice in advancing U.S. technology in areas where the United States has long dominated — such as aviation and space — and is now being challenged.

WASHINGTON — President Trump tapped former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin for a top Pentagon job, giving him a key role in shaping investments in defense and aerospace technologies at a time when other nations are gaining ground on the United States.

Griffin’s nomination to be principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics had been anticipated for weeks, and the White House made it official Friday.

Recent public comments by Griffin suggest that, if confirmed by the Senate, he would become a key voice in advancing U.S. technology in areas where the United States has long dominated — such as aviation and space — and is now being challenged.

During an appearance Oct. 25 and 26 at the American Astronautical Society’s Von Braun Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, Griffin declined to comment about his Pentagon nomination but offered some clues about his priorities.

“We need to think again, as we have really not since the 1980s, about our approach to acquisition,” Griffin said Oct. 25 during a panel discussion on space policy. “Government acquisition across the board — not restricted to space — is a mess,” he said. “We take far longer to buy things that we need on behalf of the taxpayers, and we spend more money trying to prevent a mistake than the cost of the mistake. We’re far out of balance on checks and balances in terms of government acquisition.”

[G Larry]

NASA is much worse at requirements definition and non-value added oversight than DOD has ever been.

[PIF]

Oh, that makes all the difference! Just a tad higher on the chain.

[WatchungEagle]

FCS was one of the most disgraceful boondoggles in government history. Wish more people were aware of this fiasco.

[AndyJackson]

Politics is one thing, but as Griffin points out the absolutely broken acquisition process is another. The main purpose of the acquisition organization these days is to hire feds and inside the swamp support service contractors - and let’s be clear - these are guys who push paper and make viewgraphs to and for admirals and generals. They invent nothing, they design nothing and they build nothing. They are just swamp slime that decompose taxpayer dollars and turn it into noxious swamp effluent.