{"id":28241,"date":"2017-11-02T20:42:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T20:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/02\/senate-wont-accept-billion-dollar-failures-from-army-secretary-nominee\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:49:47","slug":"senate-wont-accept-billion-dollar-failures-from-army-secretary-nominee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2017\/11\/02\/senate-wont-accept-billion-dollar-failures-from-army-secretary-nominee\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate won’t accept billion dollar failures from Army secretary nominee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The man nominated to be the next Army secretary faced questions on a range of topics during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing Thursday, but perhaps most importantly, he heard a clear warning: Don\u2019t waste billions on major projects that go nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Esper is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, West Point graduate and Gulf War veteran who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense under former President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper most recently spent the past seven years working for defense contractor Raytheon, overseeing its lobbying in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his opening questions, SASC Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said the committee was frustrated with failed major weapons systems that cost taxpayers billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, over the last 10 years or so we have wasted about $40 billion on programs like the Future Combat Systems, the Comanche Attack Helicopter, the Crusader Howitzer, the Joint Tactical Radio System and the Distributed Common Ground System Army,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCain also brought up the $6 billion failure of the Warfighter Information Network Tactical, known as WIN-T.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me just tell you now, that is not acceptable to the taxpayers of America,\u201d McCain said. \u201cWe do not want any more of these failures. You lose credibility with the American people when a program has to be cancelled that cost the taxpayers over $6 billion. We just can\u2019t keep wasting billions of dollars like this. We just can\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper agreed, telling committee members that minor fixes are insufficient, and that the requirements and acquisitions process needs a total overhaul to avoid those types of mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need to take a holistic approach that looks at processes, programs and people and policies,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pushed for more to be done on defining Army requirements at the beginning of the process and holding people and organizations accountable throughout the development and acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCain then went on to ask Esper if the Army was ready to fight combined arms maneuver warfare against a near-peer competitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think with only one third of the brigade combat teams and 25 percent of the combat aviation brigades ready, engaging in such a conflict would be a significant risk,\u201d Esper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to say that he wanted to push more quickly toward a sustained readiness goal of having 66 percent of the force in a combat-ready status. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley previously estimated it would take the Army until 2023 to reach that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to major acquisition programs, Esper\u2019s confirmation hearing also drilled down on smaller programs such as replacing the M16\/M4 service rifle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, asked Esper if he would encourage competition and look at commercial sources for the rifle replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper said he saw competition and commercial options as crucial to finding the best weapon available. He added that he would do the same with as many programs as he could.<\/p>\n\n\n\t