{"id":42613,"date":"2019-09-05T15:42:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T15:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/05\/killing-programs-is-like-working-out-acting-army-secretary-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:30:42","slug":"killing-programs-is-like-working-out-acting-army-secretary-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/defense-news-conference\/2019\/09\/05\/killing-programs-is-like-working-out-acting-army-secretary-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Killing programs is \u2018like working out,\u2019 says acting US Army secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army\u2019s program-killing project known as \u201cnight court\u201d<\/a> will continue and become more aggressive in the coming years as demands for the service\u2019s modernization effort increase, the Army\u2019s acting secretary said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Named after the 1980s-era sitcom and a nod to the long hours worked by staff to pull it off, night court in 2018 identified $25 billion in savings and scrapped modernization efforts that the Army plans to use to finance new technologies. Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced another $10 billion of savings<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But keeping night court alive will require a deliberate effort until it becomes routine, McCarthy told the audience at the third annual Defense News Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNight court is kind of like working out: You\u2019ve got to get up, you\u2019ve got to get after it,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard. It wears you out. You think: \u2018Boy, it would be easier to just stay in bed.\u2019 But it\u2019s necessary to keep the institution strong. We believe it has been institutionalized. \u2026 But we\u2019ve got to keep up the repetitions, and over time it will become a behavior, like a reflex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t