Combating IED's in Iraq
Combating IED’s in Iraq
This article from the Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT, www.sftt.org) is one of several intriguing works by people with knowledge of our procurement system and how it can be influenced by the political system.
I refer specifically to a review of an article entitled, “JIEDDO—Hive or Goat?” JIEDDO is the organization specifically created to combat IED’s in Iraq.
As I commented on the other night in Denver, those of us involved in military procurement used to make the following observation about the differences between the Israeli Parliament and the American Congress with regard to military procurement.
Owing to the fact that Israel has conscription (a draft); almost 100% of its membership is military veterans. When a significant new weapons system is proposed, therefore, questions like the following get asked:
What purpose will the weapons system serve?
What improvements in capability are proposed to justify the cost?
Have those improvements been proven by testing?
How does this weapons system fit in with others on the battlefield?
Is the weapon safe to use?
Will the average soldier be able to use the weapon to maximum effect?
In the American Congress, only 24% of its membership (according to the last statistics I saw) has military experience. Their membership asks two questions.
How big is the contract, dollar wise?
Whose district is the prime contractor located in?
Whose district is the prime contractor located in?
Here is a link to the specific article. I encourage you to read others.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Unlisted 2007.db&command=viewone&id=45
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