US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a series of memos overhauling the defense procurement system. He said the department is bogged down by bureaucracy and that the system should be geared toward combat readiness. Hegseth made the announcement during a speech at the Naval War College in Fort McNair, Washington.
He stressed that the government is transforming the US Department of Defense “from a bureaucratic process to a fighting force”. According to the minister, bureaucracy is an “adversary that poses a threat to the United States”.
“Today, we are transforming requirements, procurement and sales to foreign militaries across the department. We are engaged in the main function of the military department. We are defining what our military needs, how we acquire these capabilities, and how we share them with our allies and partners,” said Pete Hegset in a speech he called “Freedom’s Arsenal.” The minister signed three key documents: The first decree provides for a transition to a combat-oriented procurement system to accelerate the provision of “urgently needed capabilities” to the military. The second memorandum is aimed at reforming the requirements coordination process, which will allow for the more rapid implementation of combat capabilities. The third document unites the divisions of the Department of Arms Transfer and Security to increase the efficiency of their work and rationally distribute the workload. According to Hegset, the decisions made will make it possible to make the system defense procurement faster and more effective.
He emphasized that the changes will free up labor resources in the military, industry and government sectors, “stimulating progress over the process”:
“We are moving from a slow system dominated by contractors, characterized by limited competition, supplier lock-in and cost overruns, to an industrial base that stimulates speed, innovation and investment”.
The Pentagon chief also noted that many of the reforms that the Department of Defense is currently implementing are the result of cooperation with the US Congress. In particular, members of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate jointly submitted proposals on a bipartisan basis to update the Pentagon’s procurement system.
