Rapid Fire April 16, 2013: These Are Not the Buzzwords You Are Looking For

• Per instruction number 5025.13 [PDF] enabled by DoD Directive 5105.53 (Reference (a)) and pursuant to Public Law 111-274 (Reference (b))(also known as the “Plain Writing Act of 2010,” and referred to in this instruction as the “Plain Writing Act”) and Deputy Secretary of Defense Memorandum (Reference (c)), DoD personnel and contractors will hereby commit to procure low-refraction, high-frequency semantic building blocks on a should-cost COTS basis. Personnel will utilize and combine these building blocks effectively to support the warfighter with streamlined, unimpeded flows of leading edge communication. Phew, what a relief, and it only took a 14-page directive to tell people to speak plainly. The follow-up GAO report will state “DoD Takes Steps to Ameliorate Memorandum Babble, Still Speaks Gibberish Most of Time.”