Like the ones before it, the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act is shaping up to be full of Pentagon reforms. A recent report by the Government Accountability Office looked at the implementation of reforms in the 2016 and 2017 NDAAs. Shelby Oakley, director of Contracting & National Security Acquisitions at GAO says that the reorganization of the Office of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics is one of the biggest reform successes at the Pentagon.
“We took a look at that [office] and how that was panning out. How that was shaking out. How the roles and responsibilities were being divided, how those staff members were being allocated between those offices,” Oakley said. “Another significant reform we took a look at was moving the delegation of authority for managing acquisition programs from the office of the Secretary of Defense to the military services. That was a pretty foundational change within the Department of Defense and really the intent was to empower the services more to manage their acquisitions and be accountable for their outcomes.”
