{"id":30716,"date":"2019-09-04T23:17:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T23:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/04\/the-us-army-faces-struggles-working-with-small-businesses\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:36:55","slug":"the-us-army-faces-struggles-working-with-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/defense-news-conference\/2019\/09\/04\/the-us-army-faces-struggles-working-with-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Army faces struggles working with small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army faces problems on multiple fronts when it comes to sending business to small companies, the head of Army Futures Command<\/a> said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. John Murray<\/a> said small businesses struggle under a procurement system that can take years, and then struggle to scale their businesses to meet the Army\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a lack of trust [on the part of small businesses] that the government can sustain [a] small-business model,\u201d Murray told the audience at the third annual Defense News Conference. \u201cThe way we do budgeting, [program objectives memorandum] POM cycles and all that \u2014 a small business can\u2019t survive. We\u2019re going to have to prove to small businesses that we can adjust our POM cycles to meet their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd from the small business perspective, there are only a few ways that they can scale to the size we are talking about in terms of production. One of those ways is partnering with a traditional [defense contractor], so that\u2019s going to be a challenge going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t