Tag Archives: Undersecretary Remarks

Improving Acquisition From Within Suggestions From Our PEOs

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By: Frank Kendall

kendall-200This year I asked all of our Program Executive Officers (PEOs) to provide short assessments and recommendations to me directly. The result, as it was for the Program Manager Assessments I’ve received for the last 2 years, has been a treasure trove of observations and recommendations covering a wide range of topics. I thought it would be useful and insightful for the entire workforce to see some of these professional, and very frank, comments. I’ve removed most inputs that were about specific programs and edited lightly to make some of the inputs less Service specific. Arranged alphabetically by topic, and presented without comment, here is a sampling of the topics on our senior line managers’ minds as they confront the many challenges we face.

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Better Buying Power A Progress Assessment from the Defense Acquisition Executive

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Frank Kendall, The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics

We are now four years since Dr. Carter and I began work on the first iteration of Better Buying Power, the label Dr. Carter gave to the original set of policies we promulgated as part of then Secretary Gates’ efficiency initiatives in 2010. In the intervening years, I’ve released the second iteration, or BBP 2.0 as it’s called, and I’ve also recently made some statements in public that BBP 3.0 may be on the horizon. Has all this made a difference? I believe it has, although I’m also certain that we have ample room for additional gains in productivity and other improved outcomes. Despite some comments I’ve made about BBP 3.0, the commitment to the enduring practices and policies from both the original BBP and BBP 2.0 remains. The whole concept of Better Buying Power is of a commitment to continuous incremental improvement; improvement based on experience, pragmatism and analysis of the evidence (i.e., the data). Four years on, as we to begin to consider the next steps we may decide to take, it’s a reasonable time to take a look at what we have done so far.

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Moving Forward

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Frank Kendall, The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics

Frank Kendall

I wanted to take this opportunity, with the general election now behind us, to give Defense AT&L magazine readers a sense of what we can expect during the next few years. First of all, we can expect to be challenged. Budgets are shrinking and threats to our national security are not. The department has articulated a sound strategy, and, unless there are major budget reductions to come and we are forced to make revisions, we will be charged with supporting that strategy through effective acquisition of products and services across the full spectrum of Defense Department needs. We must do everything we can to execute effectively—to extract full value from the money with which we are entrusted. Over the next several years, I will do everything I can to help you perform that challenging duty.

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