WASHINGTON: President Trump will nominate Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan for Deputy Defense Secretary, one of six key Pentagon appointments announced today. All six have extensive service in government or, in Shanahan’s case, the defense industry. That’s a stark departure from the two billionaires with no prior government service Trump initially picked as secretaries of the Army and Navy, Vincent Viola and Philip… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Musical chairs times, dear readers. The rumor mill — we can’t call it anything else given how uncertain the Trump administration’s nomination process has been — has a number of top Pentagon positions getting filled. Who, you ask breathlessly? Robert Blair, the top staffer on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, has surfaced as a likely candidate… Keep reading →

CAPITOL HILL: Nunn-McCurdy notifications to Congress of gross cost growth in a weapons system’s costs strike fear in the hearts of top Pentagon acquisition officials, and something like them may become law for a new set of costs — operations and support. “They should be the next frontier for acquisition reform,” former DoD Comptroller Bob… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: With the Pentagon’s big budget plan for 2017-2021 less than three weeks from completion, Defense Department comptroller Mike McCord promised significant slowdowns in “some” weapons programs, specifically including the Long-Range Strike Bomber. McCord’s slides pegged the total 2017 defense request at $584 billion ($525 in the base budget and $59 in overseas contingency operations… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Even with Congress in recess until after the November elections, the Pentagon remains focused on avoiding sequestration — which would require Congressional action before January — rather than planning the least painful way to implement the automatic budget cuts. “There isn’t a plan. I know this frustrates people, but we haven’t done detailed planning,”… Keep reading →