Acquisition Reform

National defense has been and continues to be a major commitment of the United States. However, with the demise of the Soviet Union, came a reevaluation of the military size and capability necessary for the national defense. With the perceived reduced threat came reduced budgets. This resulted in the military having to determine a proper balance between readiness and modernization. To prepare for tomorrow's threat, modernization is essential.However, modernization is also expensive. The acquisition of new weapon systems is time consuming, expensive and often plagued with performance difficulties as technology is pushed to advance weapon capability. Repeated attempts to procure systems faster, better, and cheaper have failed.