Tue Gov't Reform

In an article close to my heart Winds of Change talks about what's wrong with the weapons systems. I'll give you a hint, so many of the systems require systems engineering, specifically software engineering. The bidding process is bloated, corruption is rife (what's the 60 minute rule?), and the politicians don't help. But inherently many of these systems require software development, and the procurement process can't handle it. As much as the GAO would like - (or whatever body) - cutting edge R&D, engineering, and system development are hard to spec, you can't just say "give me 100" pencils.

Another idiotic trend is to classify everything. In many cases the components of these systems could be built openly at a greatly reduced cost, but it's harder to do, so they classify it all. (BTW it's my opinion when you classify everything, you get many more leaks.) True gov't reform of the military would make the defense industry competitive and market driven - since we're all socialists now, we'll cut spending, except on "defensive" forces that can be easily turned on the populace.