Lieutenant General Donald J. Wetekam’s Speech: Defense Acquisition

Lieutenant General Donald J. Wetekam (Ret), Senior Vice President, AAR Corporation gave a speech at Lexington’s Defense Acquisition Forum on June 3, 2016.

Acquisition reform is crucial to sustaining the technological edge of America’s military. With defense budgets capped and other nations investing heavily in new warfighting technology, the United States cannot allow its military investments to be stalled or wasted by inefficient practices.

The defense department’s Better Buying Power initiatives have made a good start at slowing cost increases in major weapons programs and improving the professionalism of the acquisition workforce.  But the department needs further improvement if it is to be a truly efficient buyer of military hardware and services.

In particular, the Department of Defense needs to become a customer that can unlock the full innovative potential of American industry.  That requires both incentivizing traditional suppliers to perform and reaching out to non-traditional suppliers.  The government-industry team needs to minimize tensions and build trust so that American warfighting technology is unsurpassed in its performance and cost-effectiveness. Click here for slides that support Lieutenant General Wetekam’s presentation.

For more information about the event click here.