Bureaucracy purchasing

A prime example of bureaucracy purchasing is the way the Department of Defense (DOD) purchasing system operates. The Army and the Marines have just endured a project to select and to purchase a new standard handgun. Specifications for the handgun are established and made available to manufacturers. Their designs are submitted for review to see if they meet the requirements. The acceptable weapons then have to be presented to the DOD where the various services review the designs to see if they meet the needs of the service. Some may be rejected because they are too heavy to carry for extended periods, while others may be deemed too complicated to survive being carried in harsh climate.

The list of reasons to reject a weapon seems endless, and the Marines may reject a weapon for one reason, while the Army may reject for a different reason. Special operations units such as the Navy SEALS or the Army Special Forces may find that the weapons do not meet their specific needs. The weapons are tested for their accuracy, difficulty in reloading, survivability in different conditions, and required maintenance. Throughout the purchasing system there is always political pressure as members of congress push to have manufacturing done in their districts or states.

If problems are discovered, the specifications may be changed, and those changes are submitted to the manufacturers. This causes the processes to begin again. After seven years, the DOD finally settled on a standard service handgun. Even with this decision there are some objections, and different weapons may be approved for special operation units. Remember, this is for the approval and purchase of a handgun.

Consider how many design modifications something as complicated as a ship or a jet fighter suffers as they go through this process. The delays in manufacturing weapons means delays in getting new weapons to our troops, and each modification increases the costs which are passed on to the DOD. If cutting costs is important, trash the current purchasing system and adopt one that works.

The disturbing handgun fiasco is about to be repeated as the DOD is beginning the process to select a new standard rifle for the military

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.