Rapid Fire May 16, 2012: SASC Greenlights Kendall

Frank Kendall has been confirmed by the US Senate Armed Services Committee as the Pentagon acquisition chief, alongside 6 other nominees including Heidi Shyu at Army acquisition. Back in March SASC Ranking Member Senator McCain had held up their confirmation. A full Senate vote is still needed to finalize the process [May 24 update: done]. The chief and principal deputy acquisition jobs in the Air Force are vacant since David Van Buren’s departure for L-3 Communications. In other news: * The GAO’s assessment of the US Army’s Reset process follows the usual pattern: “[subject of report] has taken steps towards [elusive long term goal that will never be met] but more [mind-numbing bureaucratic reporting] is needed.” Someone must write a GAO Headline Generator. They note that the Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation (CAPE) OSD office estimated the Army’s multiyear reset liability at $24B two years ago (an updated number is due soon) but that the Army itself doesn’t give such projections to Congress in its ongoing reporting. * Italy is struggling to maintain defense investment at sufficient levels. Like Spain, its personnel spending accounts for 70+% of the budget. The Navy and Air Force may have to pool resources such […]