Friday, February 18, 2011

Report: Army wastes billions each year on weapons systems it abandons - News - Stripes

Report: Army wastes billions each year on weapons systems it abandons - News - Stripes: "The U.S. Army is wasting billions of dollars each year on weapons programs that will never be fielded, causing a crisis of confidence over the service branch’s capacity to manage its acquisition programs, according to an internal study obtained by the Washington, D.C., newsletter, “Inside the Army.”

“Inside the Army” was allowed to review the document, which was marked for presentation to Army Secretary John McHugh but has not been released to the public. The study showed that the Army has wasted between $3.3 billion and $3.8 billion per year on canceled programs since 2004.

At the heart of the problems is the Army’s penchant for starting programs it can’t afford. The Army also “lacks the resolve to work through program difficulties, cannot seem to get new equipment and technology to the operating force in time, [and] has not fielded a new-start ground combat vehicle in decades,” the newsletter reported last week.

Canceled programs represented an average of 35 percent to 45 percent of the Army’s annual budget for development, testing and engineering, according to Inside the Army."
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Merchant Vessel Defense Against Pirates




Preemptive Measures Can Prevent Boarding and Hostage Taking

Too often, ship operators fail to take proper anti-piracy security measures, effectively turning their merchant vessels into “Golden Geese” ripe for the taking, writes the author. He goes on to discuss proven methods of hardening commercial ships and training their crews to prevent pirates – whether from Somalia or elsewhere – from boarding vessels and taking crews hostage.