US Navy’s Top Acquisition Official Steps Down

Etter exits MRAP

Dr. Delores Etter, the U.S. Navy’s senior acquisition official, submitted her resignation Oct 5/07. “I have held the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition for almost two years… We have accomplished a great deal in that time, but after deliberating with my family and staff, I have decided to resign from my position. This decision allows me to return to my teaching post at the United States Naval Academy in time for the spring academic semester there.” Alabama Press-Register | Defense News.

Dr. Etter’s has made a significant but under-appreciated contribution via the mainstreaming of “open architecture” ship electronics into current and future combatant classes. The difficulty and expense involved in upgrading their electronic systems for modern threats was part of the motive behind the early retirement/sale of many US Navy FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigates. Open architecture systems promise to alleviate many of those issues in the future fleet, which relies on platforms with a generational lifespan of 50 years, vs. a generational lifespan of about 3-5 years for their electronics.

On the other hand, the US Navy’s current problems stem from shipbuilding costs, not the R&D issues which have always been Dr. Etter’s strength. The new CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford Class carriers and DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class ‘destroyers’ have both been on the receiving end of well-grounded and pessimistic reports from the GAO and Congressional Research Service, doubting their ability to meet their cost targets. The Littoral Combat Ship program, meanwhile, has experienced cost growth to a point that is threatening the program. The emerging worst-case future is a US Navy that finds itself unable to build enough high-end ships to fill key roles due to stratospheric costs, while building low-end ships at a medium-tier price that can’t perform key naval functions like fleet anti-air defense or anti-ship combat. Forestalling that future will be job #1 for Dr. Etter’s next 2 successors, as force-shaping decisions are made for the US Navy over the next 5 years.

Git Rockin’ 2007 Prepares to Amp Up

Vicki Golding

Government Information Group will host GIT Rockin’ 2007, government IT’s 2nd annual battle of the bands that showcases the alter egos and talents of professionals from across the government information technology community. The finalist bands were chosen in a “blind panel” judging, and had to include two members of the government IT community (government and vendor executives were both eligible to participate).

Proceedings will be kicked off by Australian-born Specialist Vicki Golding of the D.C. National Guard’s 257th Army Band, winner of the 2006 Military Idol competition. The selected GIT Tockin’ bands and their affiliations include:

• The DISA-Peering Act (Verizon Business at DISA, Unisys at TSA, Canadian Army Special Ops for the JTF at DISA HQ, USMC for the JTF at DISA HQ). Our favorite band name;
  
• The Groove (EMC Software, Formatta Corporation);
  
• The Moogly Blues Band (VDOT, VITA);
  
• Outta Scope (NIH, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, DOD/State Department, WTEC) Does this band go to 11?; and
  
• Tacocat (AT&T Government Solutions, Perot Systems Government Services, Skjei Telecom)

The event will be hosted on Thursday, Oct 18/07 at the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia. Tickets are $20 each, with an event maximum of 800 tickets. Proceeds from all ticket and band voting sales will be donated to the United Services Organization of Metropolitan Washington (USO-Metro). Git your tickets here.