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146-619: The Defense Contract Audit Agency was established on January 8, 1965. Previously, the various branches of the military were responsible for their own contract audits and there was little consistency in contract administration and auditing. The first efforts to perform joint audits began with the U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps in 1939. Audit coordination committees were formed by the Navy and Army Air Corps in December 1942 for contracts involving more than one service branch. A single contract audit manual

292-457: A Draft Best Practices Guide on Contractor Performance . The term "personal services contract" means a contract with express terms or administration which makes the contractor personnel appear effectively to be Government employees. Such contracts are prohibited by the FAR (Subpart 37.104) excepting where specifically authorized by statute. "Nonpersonal services contract" means a contract under which

438-469: A "light" system which he believed could protect against the far smaller number of Chinese missiles. However, he never believed it was wise for the United States to move in that direction because of psychological risks of relying too much on nuclear weaponry and that there would be pressure from many directions to build a larger system than would be militarily effective. McNamara always believed that

584-642: A Field Detachment focused on classified work. DCAA has about 300 offices located throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. With the exception of Field Detachment and supervisory positions, DCAA employees are represented by American Federation of Government Employees Union (AFGE). The DCAA also operates the Defense Contract Audit Institute (DCAI), located in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Its teaching staff maintain

730-583: A Government employee or to an organisation owned or substantially owned by one or more Government employees. Similar wording was previously included in the Federal Procurement Regulations prior to 1984, with several GAO decisions confirming that an agency does not violate this subpart if neither the Contracting Officer not the selection officer has knowledge of such ownership or business connection. A ratification

876-676: A Harvard program to teach analytical approaches used in business to officers of the United States Army Air Forces, McNamara entered the USAAF as a captain in early 1943, serving most of World War II with its Office of Statistical Control. One of his major responsibilities was the analysis of U.S. bombers' efficiency and effectiveness, especially the B-29 forces commanded by Major General Curtis LeMay in India , China , and

1022-523: A Soviet attack of any kind, which would kill Soviet military forces and civilians. This was the same nuclear strategy planned by the Strategic Air Command (SAC), led by General Curtis LeMay . McNamara did not agree with this approach. He sought other options after seeing that this strategy could not guarantee the destruction of all Soviet nuclear weapons , thus leaving the United States vulnerable to retaliation. He educated NATO members on

1168-416: A basis for determining whether to begin or continue a research and development program. But in practice, what it proved to be was a cost burden that became a barrier to entry for companies attempting to deal with the military. It aided the trend toward a few large non-competitive defense contractors serving the military. Rather than serving any useful purpose, the overhead necessary to generate information that

1314-510: A claimed cost that is inadequately supported." A major area of emphasis in a DCAA audit is determining the adequacy and reliability of the contractor's records to prove the accuracy and reasonableness of contract costs. FAR 4.703(a) requires contractors to "make available records, which includes books, documents, employee time & attendance records, accounting procedures and practices, and other data ... to satisfy contract negotiation, administration, and audit requirements". A report released by

1460-614: A close adviser to Kennedy and advocated the use of a blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis . Kennedy and McNamara instituted a Cold War defense strategy of flexible response , which anticipated the need for military responses short of massive retaliation . McNamara consolidated intelligence and logistics functions of the Pentagon into two centralized agencies: the Defense Intelligence Agency and

1606-578: A collision. After the Lincoln line's very large 1958, 1959, and 1960 models proved unpopular, McNamara pushed for smaller versions, such as the 1961 Lincoln Continental . On November 9, 1960, McNamara became the first president of the Ford Motor Company from outside the Ford family since John S. Gray in 1906. After his election in 1960, President-elect John F. Kennedy first offered

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1752-489: A conventional war in central Europe against the Soviet Army , with a large number of divisions armed with expensive hi-tech weapons designed for maximum firepower, instead of having small teams of Special Forces armed with relatively low tech weapons like assault rifles fight in a Third World country. When McNamara took over the Pentagon in 1961, the United States military relied on an all-out nuclear strike to respond to

1898-573: A determination and finding (D&F) (per FAR Subpart 1.7 and DFARS Subpart 237.104) for this DFARS 237.170-2 forbids non-performance-based contracts unless exception done under DFARS 237.170-2 If an agency is hiring experts, read over 5 USC 3109, Employment of Experts and Consultants, Temporary or Intermittent to see if it applies to FAR 37.104(f). Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established requirements that apply in acquiring personal services for experts or consultants in this manner (for example, benefits, taxes, conflicts of interest), "therefore,

2044-452: A fair and reasonable price obtained for non-commercial services or goods obtained using FAR Parts 12 and FAR 13 under these circumstances. FAR Part 14 details the requirements for conducting a "sealed bid" tender, where federal requirements can be stated "clearly, accurately, and completely" and price is the only determinant of contract awardee. Under this part, Unnecessarily restrictive specifications or requirements that might unduly limit

2190-481: A fighter that could do everything (fast supersonic dash, slow carrier and short airfield landings, tactical strike and even close air support), in the end it involved too many compromises to succeed at any of them. The Navy version was drastically overweight and difficult to land, and eventually canceled after a Grumman study showed it was incapable of matching the abilities of the newly revealed Soviet MiG-23 and MiG-25 aircraft. The F-111 eventually found its niche as

2336-498: A fully negotiated procurement, which requires vendors provide cost and pricing information, to verify a fair and reasonable price. In other words, FAR Part 12 was intended to increase the number of competitors available to the US Government by jettisoning all of the unique requirements, including cost accounting systems, which are forced upon Federal contractors by acquisition processes such as FAR Parts 14, 15, 36 etc.; instead,

2482-513: A great extent, therefore deviating in many particulars from the mandatory clause language. See also FAR 12.211, Technical Data; FAR 12.212, Computer Software; FAR 12.213, Other Commercial Practices for additional authority to deviate or "tailor" FAR clauses and provisions in the context of commercial items/services. Part 3 addresses various improper business practices and personal conflicts of interest . Within this section, subpart 3.6 generally prevents government contracts being knowingly awarded to

2628-401: A library of self-study courses as well as providing seminars by live instructors to meet the training requirements of DCAA employees. On a limited basis, the institute also provides training for other government agencies and foreign military employees. Defense contract audits are required to be performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards . These standards, commonly referred to as

2774-555: A one-point ordered McNamara out of the Naval Operations Room, saying that as a civilian he was unqualified to be making decisions about naval matters, leading McNamara to say that he was the Defense Secretary and Anderson was unqualified to be ordering him to do anything.   On Tuesday October 16, ExComm had their first meeting. The majority of officials favored an air attack on Cuba in hopes to destroy

2920-735: A proposal. Part 16 identifies the types of contracts available for use in government contracting and the rules governing the selection or negotiation of contract types. Special rules apply to service contracts. They must be performance-based to the extent practicable, with measurable outcomes. FAR 37.102 and FAR Part 37.6 describe performance-based methods. FAR 37.601 has specific requirements for performance work statements (PWS) for service contracts requiring performance-based standards. Agency supplements also require performance-based acquisitions. (See, e.g., DFARS 237.170 Approval of contracts and task orders for services; DFARS 237.170-2 Approval requirements.) Performance Based Service Acquisition (PBSA)

3066-470: A report rating Bechtel's internal accounting procedures as "adequate," a passing grade which meant DoD auditors could ease up on the company. The DCAA report did not mention the company's failure to produce the required documentation. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in September 2009 found that agency auditors failed to follow "basic auditing standards" in 65 of 69 audits. In its report,

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3212-407: A specific contract. These provisions and clauses are of six types: (i) required solicitation provisions; (ii) required-when-applicable solicitation provisions; (iii) optional solicitation provisions; (iv) required contract clauses; (v) required-when-applicable contract clauses; and (vi) optional contract clauses." If the FAR requires that a clause be included in a government contract, but that clause

3358-519: A specific service performed or specific outcomes to be achieved. For purposes of these services –7affan (ii) market prices mean current prices that are established in the course of ordinary trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain and that can be substantiated through competition or from sources independent of the offerors. Note the emphasis in the FAR 2.101 definition for for commercial items on established market prices. The reason why Simplified Acquisition Procedures are permitted for items above

3504-639: A statement of alternative approaches, force levels, and other factors. The DPM in its final form became a decision document. The DPM was hated by the JCS and uniformed military in that it cut their ability to communicate directly to the White House. The DPMs were also disliked because the systems analysis process was so heavyweight that it was impossible for any service to effectively challenge its conclusions. The Development Concept Paper examined performance, schedule, cost estimates, and technical risks to provide

3650-579: A tactical bomber and electronic warfare aircraft with the Air Force. However, many analysts believe that even though the TFX project itself was a failure, McNamara was ahead of his time as the trend in fighter design has continued toward consolidation—the F-16 Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet emerged as multi-role fighters, and most modern designs combine many of the roles the TFX would have had. In many ways,

3796-561: Is DFARS Subpart 231, Section 205, Subsection 22 (cited as "DFARS 231.205-22"). Part 1 refers to a "vision" and certain "guiding principles" for the Federal Acquisition System . The vision foresees "delivery on a timely basis [of] the best value product or service ... while maintaining the public's trust and fulfilling public policy objectives". Compliance with the Regulation , along with the use of initiative in

3942-423: Is a good resource expertise in this particular area. Use of FAR Parts 12 and 13 without rationing of demand through a single commodity control council or finding other solutions is likely to create more problems than it solves. Non-commercial contracting methodology and clauses should be used for any acquisition where Government demand overwhelms civilian supply. It is highly unlikely there will be any cost controls or

4088-637: Is a process and way of defining requirements that yields well written work statements that are outcome oriented and measurable thus enforceable. Deming / Six Sigma style quality assessments and process analysis can help define performance work statements. A Performance Work Statement (PWS) has: The DOD PBSA guide has a "performance requirements summary" matrix which can serve as an outline for work statement provisions. Army Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement (AFARS) has an outline for performance-based service contracts. Additional Resources for PBSA: The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has

4234-601: Is clearly not appropriate in view of the basic reasons commercial item acquisition authority was created by Congress. FAR 2.101, which is concerned with definitions, provides that a commercial item means – (6) services of a type offered and sold competitively in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace based on established catalog or market prices for specific tasks performed or specific outcomes to be achieved and under standard commercial terms and conditions. This does not include services that are sold based on hourly rates without an established catalog or market price for

4380-602: Is closely governed by the FAR. Nearly every major cabinet-level department (and many agencies below them) has issued such regulations, which often place further restrictions or requirements on contractors and contracting officers. One of the best-known examples of an agency supplement is the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), used by the Department of Defense , which constitutes Chapter 2. Chapter 3

4526-516: Is contract pricing, which is addressed throughout the FAR, but especially in Subpart 15.4, Parts 30 and 31, and Subparts 42.7, 42.8, and 42.17. A large part of the FAR, Subchapter D, describes various socio-economic programs, such as the various small business programs, purchases from foreign sources, and laws written to protect laborers and professionals working under government contracts. The final three chapters of Title 48 (61, 63 and 99) establish

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4672-474: Is freely available to consumers in that market on the relative merits of each vendor's products and pricing which permits easy comparison of each vendor's products to each other. FAR Part 12 commercial items acquisition authority was intended to take advantage of the WalMart's (R) and Microsoft's (R) of the world where there is no need to go through the extensive, formalistic and resource/ time-consuming process of

4818-486: Is no such thing as strategy, only crisis management." After the crisis, McNamara recommended to Kennedy that Admiral Anderson and General LeMay be sacked. However, Kennedy was afraid of a Congressional backlash if he sacked two of the chiefs at once. Moreover, Kennedy did not wish for his disagreements with the Joint Chiefs to become public and felt that sacking two of the chiefs at once would lead to speculation in

4964-544: Is not held accountable for the shoddy audits the DCAA has produced, nobody should take this agency or their work seriously in the future." DCAA director Stephenson stated in the IG report that her agency concurred with the IG's recommendations. In the wake of the investigations, Stephenson was removed from her position as director of the agency by DoD comptroller Robert Hale and reassigned to Hale's staff effective November 9, 2009. She

5110-518: Is not prohibited by law, the ratification is in accordance with agency procedures, etc.; (4) The contracting officer determines that the price paid was fair and reasonable and recommends payment, and legal counsel concurs. There are dollar limits to the authority to ratify unauthorized commitments. A Chief of Contracting Office can approve up to $ 10,000. A Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting can approve up to $ 100,000. A Head of Contracting Authority can approve higher amounts. Ratifications in

5256-469: Is omitted, case law may provide that the missing clause is deemed to be included. This is known as the Christian Doctrine , which is based on the underlying principle that certain government regulations have the force and effect of law, and government personnel may not deviate from the law without proper authorization. Prospective contractors are presumed to know the law, including the limits of

5402-462: Is required before a US certificated aircraft or pilot can fly in Iraq under Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 77; if there are very few, or only one, vendor who can participate in this requirement, there are no vendors out there for meaningful competition which is the bedrock assumption of FAR Parts 12 and 13. In view of the above, the airborne recon contract is NOT a commercial service – therefore

5548-445: Is the Department of Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR); Chapter 4 is the Department of Agriculture's Acquisition Regulation (AGAR); etc. The Department of Veterans Affairs' Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) implements and supplements the FAR. The required format for agency FAR supplements is to follow the basic FAR format. To continue the example above, the supplemental DFARS section on legislative lobbying costs

5694-662: Is the principal set of rules regarding Government procurement in the United States , and is codified at Chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations , 48 CFR 1 . It covers many of the contracts issued by the US military and NASA , as well as US civilian federal agencies. The largest single part of the FAR is Part 52, which contains standard solicitation provisions and contract clauses. Solicitation provisions are certification requirements, notices, and instructions directed at firms that might be interested in competing for

5840-411: Is the proper authorization by a contracting officer of an earlier procurement by a Government employee who was not authorized to do it. A ratification package has a legal memo that says an unauthorized commitment was made, that the commitment could properly have been done by contracting officers, and that funds were and are available for it. Other regulations and agency rules apply too, such as those from

5986-485: Is to identify markets unaffected by the Government demand and seek to acquire goods and services through that other market. When the situation of overwhelming government demand occurs in a faltering or damaged economy, Government demand that is in excess of what the local vendors can supply to both Government and non-Government consumers should be met by vendors who operate out of the market in question, including through

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6132-696: The Brookings Institution . In his later writings and interviews, he expressed regret for the decisions he made during the Vietnam War. Robert McNamara was born in San Francisco, California. His father was Robert James McNamara, sales manager of a wholesale shoe company, and his mother was Clara Nell (Strange) McNamara. His father's family was Irish and, in about 1850, following the Great Irish Famine , had emigrated to

6278-630: The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals , the Department of Transportation Board of Contract Appeals, and the Cost Accounting Standards Board, respectively. The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals has been established by charter within the Department of Defense. The proper way to cite a regulation within the FAR is by part, subpart, section, subsection, without respect to chapter or subchapter. For instance,

6424-492: The Cold War doctrine of deterrence . McNamara's alternative in the doctrine of counterforce was to try to limit the United States nuclear exchange by targeting only enemy military forces. This would prevent retaliation and escalation by holding Soviet cities hostage to a follow-up strike. McNamara later concluded that counterforce was not likely to control escalation but to provoke retaliation. The U.S. nuclear policy remained

6570-760: The Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, McNamara served as a member of EXCOMM and played a large role in the Administration's handling and eventual defusing of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was a strong proponent of the blockade option over a missile strike and helped persuade the Joint Chiefs of Staff to agree with the blockade option. Increased attention to conventional strength complemented these special forces preparations. In this instance, he called up reserves and also proceeded to expand

6716-683: The Defense Supply Agency . During the Kennedy administration, McNamara presided over a build-up of U.S. soldiers in South Vietnam . After the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident , the number of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam escalated dramatically. McNamara and other U.S. policymakers feared that the fall of South Vietnam to a Communist regime would lead to the fall of other governments in the region . McNamara grew increasingly skeptical of

6862-536: The Ford Falcon sedan, introduced in the fall of 1959—a small, simple and inexpensive-to-produce counter to the large, expensive vehicles prominent in the late 1950s. McNamara placed a high emphasis on safety: the Lifeguard options package introduced the seat belt (a novelty at the time), padded visor, and dished steering wheel, which helped to prevent the driver from being impaled on the steering column during

7008-772: The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, on a reimbursable basis. The largest non-DoD agency for which DCAA performed audits was NASA —primarily since the same government contractors do substantial business with both DoD and NASA, especially on major programs. However, Congress banned DCAA from performing non-Defense audits in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 . DCAA's organizational structure consists of four Corporate Audit Directorates organized by major contractors, three geographical regions primarily focused on other large, mid-sized, and small contractors, and

7154-509: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on July 23, 2008, alleged that DCAA managers threatened a senior auditor with personnel action if he did not remove negative findings from a report criticizing a large federal contractor. The report found a too-cozy relationship between management at the DCAA and some of the contractors they are assigned to audit, including Boeing . GAO also said auditors who complied with

7300-543: The Joint Strike Fighter is seen as a rebirth of the TFX project, according to defense analyst David S. Grantham, in that it purports to satisfy the needs of three American air arms (as well as several foreign customers), fulfilling the roles of strike fighter, carrier-launched fighter, V/STOL , and close air support (and drawing many criticisms similar to those leveled against the TFX). The Cuban Missile Crisis

7446-593: The Mariana Islands . McNamara established a statistical control unit for the XX Bomber Command and devised schedules for B-29s doubling as transports for carrying fuel and cargo over the Hump . He left active duty in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and with a Legion of Merit . In 1946, Tex Thornton , a colonel under whom McNamara had served, put together a group of former officers from

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7592-733: The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity , was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his sophomore year, and earned a varsity letter in crew . Before commissioning into the Army Air Force, McNamara was a Cadet in the Golden Bear Battalion at U.C. Berkeley. McNamara was also a member of the UC Berkeley's Order of the Golden Bear , a fellowship of students and leading faculty members formed to promote leadership within

7738-724: The Philippines in support. McNamara noted to Kennedy it was quite possible that the two airfields in Laos could be seized by the Communist forces, which would cut off any U.S. forces in Laos and turn the intervention into a debacle. At a meeting on 29 April 1961, when questioned by the Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, McNamara stated that "we should take a stand in Thailand and South Vietnam", pointedly omitting Laos from

7884-734: The Strategic Army Corps (STRAC), the Tactical Air Command , and the airlift units of the Military Air Transport Service and the military services, Strike Command had the mission "to respond swiftly and with whatever force necessary to threats against the peace in any part of the world, reinforcing unified commands or... carrying out separate contingency operations." McNamara also increased long-range airlift and sealift capabilities and funds for space research and development. After reviewing

8030-661: The TFX, later known as the F-111 dual service project to combine Navy requirements for a Fleet Air Defense (FAD) aircraft and Air Force requirements for a tactical bomber. His experience in the corporate world led him to believe that adopting a single type for different missions and service would save money. He insisted on the General Dynamics entry over the DOD's preference for Boeing because of commonality issues. Though heralded as

8176-692: The U.S. Air Force , was appointed in 1965 as the new agency's director and Edward T. Cook, former Director of Contract Audit for the Navy, was selected as the deputy director. As of September 30, 2013, the Defense Contract Audit Agency had 4,933 employees, located at more than 300 offices throughout the United States , Europe , Asia, and in the Pacific . This workforce consisted of 4,334 auditors and 599 support staff. The Agency provides standardized contract audit services for

8322-638: The University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Business School . He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II . After World War II, Henry Ford II hired McNamara and a group of other Army Air Force veterans to work for Ford Motor Company . These " Whiz Kids " helped reform Ford with modern planning, organization, and management control systems. After briefly serving as Ford's president, McNamara accepted appointment as secretary of defense. McNamara became

8468-465: The "Quiz Kids". The Quiz Kids rebranded themselves as the " Whiz Kids ". Starting as manager of planning and financial analysis, McNamara advanced rapidly through a series of top-level management positions. McNamara had Ford adopt computers to construct models to find the most efficient, rational means of production, which led to much rationalization. McNamara's style of "scientific management" with his use of spreadsheets featuring graphs showing trends in

8614-572: The "Yellow Book", are published by the Comptroller General of the United States. Policies and guidelines more specific to defense contract auditing are detailed in the Defense Contract Audit Manual , a continuously updated online publication of the DCAA. The objective of a contract audit is to express an opinion, in the form of an auditor's report , on a contractor's cost estimates or cost claims, depending on

8760-399: The $ 250,000 simplified acquisition threshold for commercial items is there is an efficient market pricing mechanism which pressures market participants to provide goods and services at a fair and reasonable price which represents very efficient / non-wasteful pricing mechanisms. Generally, the more efficient and well-developed markets have a large number of participating vendors and information

8906-400: The 150 project review process authorized by McNamara. Funding and staff were contributed by every branch of the U.S. armed services and intelligence agencies. Project 112 primarily concerned the use of aerosols to disseminate biological and chemical agents that could produce "controlled temporary incapacitation". The test program was conducted on a large scale at "extracontinental test sites" in

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9052-494: The Air Force. Conversely, his actions in mandating a premature across-the-board adoption of the untested M16 rifle proved catastrophic when the weapons began to fail in combat, though later congressional investigations revealed the causes of these failures as negligence and borderline sabotage on behalf of the Army ordnance corps' officers. McNamara tried to extend his success by merging development programs as well, resulting in

9198-408: The Army discussed below. Ratifications are governed by FAR 1.602-3 (Ratification of Unauthorized Commitments), originally added to the FAR in 1988, which defines a ratification as the act of approving an unauthorized commitment by an official who has the authority to do so. Unauthorized commitment means an agreement that is not binding solely because the Government representative who made it lacked

9344-526: The Associated Press, in contrast to the GAO, which saves taxpayers $ 94 for every dollar it spends, DCAA's return on investment is only $ 7. As an example, the Associated Press reported that a May 2008 audit of Bechtel Group , supervised by DCAA regional director Christopher Andrezze , showed a "chronic failure" by Bechtel to produce the required documentation for the audit. In spite of this, DCAA issued

9490-594: The Central and South Pacific with some exposure to military personnel, and secretly in civilian locations such as the New York subway with bacteria deemed 'harmless' but without consent. McNamara took other steps to increase U.S. deterrence posture and military capabilities. In December 1961, he established the United States Strike Command (STRICOM). Authorized to draw forces when needed from

9636-466: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Chapter 1 is divided into Subchapters A-H, which encompass Parts 1-53. Chapter 1 appears in two volumes, with Subchapters A-G appearing in Volume 1 while Subchapter H occupies all of Volume 2. The volumes are not formal subdivisions of Title 48, but refer instead to the fact that the FAR is printed by the Government Printing Office in two volumes for convenience. The single most heavily regulated aspect of acquisition

9782-537: The Cold War. The problems posed by the possibility of a war with China and the logistical problems of supporting a large units of troops in Laos led McNamara ultimately to favor an alternative strategy of stationing a small number of U.S. Army Special Forces in Laos to work with American allies such as the Hmong hill tribes. On 29 September 1961, the Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated to McNamara that if Chinese forces entered Laos, then SEATO forces would need at least 15 divisions consisting of some 278, 000 men to stop them. At

9928-443: The Communists in the North to unify the country. Aid was initially limited to financial support, military advice and covert intelligence gathering but expanded after 1954 when the French withdrew. The US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) Vietnam was established on 1 November 1955. In December 1956 the North Vietnam government authorized Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam to begin a low-level insurgency. The first battle between

10074-442: The Department of Defense and … making it an independent auditing agency." The DoD IG released a report of its investigation into the agency on August 31, 2009. It found that the DCAA has an "environment not conducive to performing quality audits." An audit of Boeing was cited in which the company was allowed to keep $ 217 million in taxpayer's money, because a DCAA regional auditor did not perform his/her duties properly. When Boeing

10220-759: The Department of Defense, as well as accounting and financial advisory services regarding contracts and subcontracts to all DoD components responsible for procurement and contract administration. DCAA Contract Audit Manual requires its audit staff to conform to zero-based budgeting in the performance of its audits. In practice, this requires the audit team to account for its time spent performing audits. These services are provided in connection with negotiation, administration, and settlement of contracts and subcontracts. DCAA does not provide consulting and advisory services to contractors due to independence requirements. Prior to 2015, DCAA also provided contract audit services to other government agencies, as well as other countries under

10366-423: The FAR rule on legislative lobbying costs is found at FAR Part 31, Section 205, Subsection 22 (cited as "FAR 31.205-22"). The table of contents, as of the edition published October 1, 2012, is available. As the original purpose of the FAR was to consolidate the numerous individual agency regulations into one comprehensive set of standards which would apply government-wide, the issuance of supplemental regulations

10512-434: The FAR. FAR Subpart 1.4, Deviations from the FAR, provides the steps needed to document deviations from the mandatory FAR or agency FAR supplement. Deviation documentation is needed if there is a precise FAR clause or provision for the issue. The Department of Defense has published many class deviations to enable faster contract actions in war environments. FAR 12.401 allows contracts for commercial items to be tailored to

10658-462: The FYDP covered ten military areas: strategic forces, general-purpose forces, intelligence and communications, airlift and sealift, guard and reserve forces, research and development, central supply and maintenance, training and medical services, administration and related activities, and support of other nations. The Draft Presidential Memorandum (DPM)—intended for the White House and usually prepared by

10804-534: The Federal Government could act more like a normal buyer in a fully functioning commercial market where the Government was but one of a large number of consumers seeking the same or highly similar products or services. However, FAR Part 12 was never intended to apply where the US Government was the only or one of a very few buyers for an item or service not in demand by the commercial market place. What happens when there are very few market participants and

10950-461: The GAO noted that the agency lacks sufficient independence from the contractors and the DoD agencies doing business with those contractors. The GAO concluded that pressure from outside groups creates a hostile work environment in which audit reports are falsified to appease contractors. In response to the GAO report, Senator Joe Lieberman said, "Perhaps it's time for us to consider separating DCAA from

11096-615: The GSA Schedule system if the damaged market is outside of the United States. Resources and expertise are in the Federal Government that are designed to assist in cases where Federal demand overwhelms civilian supply, one example being the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF). The ICAF's charter is to maintain the ability to nationalize an economy to achieve strategic objectives or a wartime mobilization, this

11242-417: The Government's remedies in these cases. Specific clauses should be in the contract to deal with Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) situations and bring your own device (BYOD) situations. The authority under FAR Part 12, Commercial Items (and services), must be used thoughtfully and carefully. It is very tempting for a contracting officer to use FAR Part 12 and hence FAR Part 13 in situations where such use

11388-515: The Kennedy Administration to work and socialize with Kennedy, and he became close to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , eventually serving as a pallbearer at the younger Kennedy's funeral in 1968. Initially, the basic policies outlined by President Kennedy in a message to Congress on March 28, 1961, guided McNamara in the reorientation of the defense program. Kennedy rejected the concept of first-strike attack and emphasized

11534-775: The Kennedy administration, McNamara was closely aligned with Dean Rusk, the Secretary of State, with both favoring greater American support for South Vietnam. Initially, the main concern of the new Kennedy administration was Laos, not South Vietnam. In February 1961, McNamara spoke in favor of intervention in Laos, saying that six AT-6 planes owned by the Central Intelligence Agency could be fitted to carry 200-pound bombs in support of General Phoumi Nosavan 's forces. Rusk shot down that proposal, saying his World War II experiences in Burma had taught him that bombing

11680-470: The Korean War were still fresh, and it was generally accepted if the United States sent in troops into Laos, it was almost certain to provoke Chinese intervention and lead to another confrontation with the country. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was split with its European members such as France and Britain in opposition to the intervention and its Asian members such as Thailand and

11826-502: The McNamara era, Alain C. Enthoven and K. Wayne Smith , described the concept as follows: "First, the word 'systems' indicates that every decision should be considered in as broad a context as necessary... The word 'analysis' emphasizes the need to reduce a complex problem to its component parts for better understanding. Systems analysis takes a complex problem and sorts out the tangle of significant factors so that each can be studied by

11972-492: The McNamara years. Fiscal year TOA increased from $ 48.4 billion in 1962 (equal to $ 373 billion in 2023) to $ 49.5 ($ 365) billion in 1965 (before the major Vietnam increases) to $ 74.9 ($ 501) billion in 1968, McNamara's last year in office (though he left office in February). Not until FY 1984 did DoD's total obligational authority surpass that of FY 1968 in constant dollars . One major hallmark of McNamara's cost reductions

12118-784: The Office of Statistical Control to go into business together. Thornton had seen an article in Life magazine portraying the Ford Motor Company as being in dire need of reform. Henry Ford II, himself a World War II veteran from the Navy , hired the entire group of ten, including McNamara. They helped the money-losing company reform its chaotic administration through modern planning, organization, and management control systems. Because of their youth, combined with asking many questions, Ford employees initially and disparagingly referred to them as

12264-594: The Soviet Union if they were ordered to do so. This would lead to a number of Broken Arrow nuclear weapon accidents. McNamara was concerned that unauthorized use of nuclear weapons was possible. He advocated the development of what became known as Permissive Action Links (PALs) , devices incorporated into nuclear weapons that would render them inoperable during an unauthorized attempted use. The PALs were first installed on weapons stored in Europe, and then throughout

12410-486: The U.S. Army call for a signed statement describing the unauthorized commitment, the value of the procurement, and other documentation. Then a contracting officer is to study the case and recommend action. If the procurement is not ratified, the matter may be handled under FAR Part 50 and DFARS Part 250 ( Public Law 85-804 ) as a GAO claim or some other way. FAR Part 45 provides rules on the Contractor's obligations and

12556-547: The U.S. inventory. Toward the end of his term McNamara also opposed an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system proposed for installation in the U.S. in defense against Soviet missiles, arguing the $ 40 billion "in itself is not the problem; the penetrability of the proposed shield is the problem." Under pressure to proceed with the ABM program after it became clear that the Soviets had begun a similar project, McNamara finally agreed to

12702-575: The U.S., first to Massachusetts and later to California. He graduated from Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California in 1933, where he was president of the Rigma Lions boys club and earned the rank of Eagle Scout . McNamara attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1937 with a B.A. in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy . He was a member of

12848-404: The United States could afford any amount needed for national security, but that "this ability does not excuse us from applying strict standards of effectiveness and efficiency to the way we spend our defense dollars.... You have to make a judgment on how much is enough." Acting on these principles, McNamara instituted a much-publicized cost reduction program, which, he reported, saved $ 14 billion in

12994-467: The United States guaranteed to not invade Cuba then they would take the missiles out. The second message, a more formal one, was broadcast on the radio stating if the United States attacked then Cuba was prepared to retaliate with masses of military power. Although American defense planning focused on using nuclear weapons , Kennedy and McNamara saw it was clear the use of strategic weapons could be suicidal. Following Cuba's aftermath, McNamara stated, "There

13140-898: The Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army occurred on 26 September 1959. During President John F. Kennedy's term, while McNamara was Secretary of Defense, American troops in South Vietnam increased from 900 to 16,000 advisers,. They were not supposed to engage in combat but rather to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The Gulf of Tonkin incidents in August 1964, which involved two purported attacks on U.S. Navy destroyers by North Vietnamese naval vessels, led to an escalated of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Under

13286-846: The analysis was so large and so complex that while it was available to all interested parties, none of them could challenge the conclusions. Among the management tools developed to implement PPBS were the Five Year Defense Plan (FYDP), the Draft Presidential Memorandum (DPM), the Readiness, Information and Control Tables, and the Development Concept Paper (DCP). The annual FYDP was a series of tables projecting forces for eight years and costs and manpower for five years in mission-oriented, rather than individual service, programs. By 1968,

13432-418: The authority of government personnel. Thus, a mandatory clause that expresses a significant or deeply ingrained strand of public procurement policy will be incorporated into a Government contract by operation of law, even if the parties intentionally omitted it. A contract award can be challenged and set aside if a protester can prove that either the contracting agency or the contract awardee did not comply with

13578-411: The authority to enter into that agreement on behalf of the Government. A ratifying official may ratify only when: (1) The Government has received the goods or services; (2) The ratifying official has authority to obligate the United States, and had that authority at the time of the unauthorized commitment; (3) The resulting contract would otherwise be proper, i.e., adequate funds are available, the contract

13724-413: The auto industry were regarded as extremely innovative in the 1950s and were much copied by other executives in the following decades. In his 1995 memoirs, McNamara wrote: "I had spent fifteen years as a manager [at Ford] identifying problems and forcing organizations—often against their will—to think deeply and realistically about alternative courses of action and their consequences". He was a force behind

13870-483: The best defense strategy for the U.S. was a parity of mutual assured destruction with the Soviet Union. An ABM system would be an ineffective weapon as compared to an increase in deployed nuclear missile capacity. Project 112 , a biological and chemical weapon experimentation project, was authorized by Robert McNamara as part of a total review of the US military. The name "Project 112" refers to this project's number in

14016-555: The chance to be either Secretary of Defense or Secretary of the Treasury ; McNamara came back a week later, accepting the post of Secretary of Defense on the condition of having the right of final approval in all appointments to the Department of Defense , with Kennedy replying: "It's a deal". McNamara's salary as the CEO of Ford was $ 3 million per year while by contrast the position of the Defense Secretary paid only $ 25,000 per year. Given

14162-497: The civilian sources of supply. As the US Federal Reserve will attest to, inflation is one of the most damaging elements in an economic system to investment, capital markets and economic activity. In this case, the effect of driving massive cost inflation directly impacts civilians and non-Government consumers who are also competing for the same goods and services against the US Government acquisition commands; ultimately

14308-440: The contracting officer shall effect necessary coordination with the cognizant civilian personnel office". Note that personal service contracts are potentially subject to salary caps. "Inherently Governmental Functions" may not be performed by contractors other than a specific Personal Services Contract under the authority of P.L. 86-36 or 5 USC 3109. Inherently Governmental Functions are defined by P.L. 105-270 (FAIR Act of 1998) as

14454-408: The contractor for maintaining sufficient records to support claimed costs. FAR 31.201-2(d) requires the contractor to keep "records, including supporting documentation, adequate to demonstrate that costs claimed have been incurred, are allocable to the contract, and comply with applicable cost principles". The same FAR provision allows a government agency's contracting officer to "disallow all or part of

14600-509: The control of the military and to put it under the control of the Secretary of Defense. In the same year, he set up the Defense Supply Agency to work toward unified supply procurement, distribution, and inventory management under the control of the Secretary of Defense rather than the uniformed military. McNamara's institution of systems analysis as a basis for making key decisions on force requirements, weapon systems, and other matters occasioned much debate. Two of its main practitioners during

14746-584: The crisis. Kennedy instructed ExComm to immediately come up with a response to the Soviet threat unanimously without him present. The Joint Chiefs of Staff favored launching air strikes against the Soviet missile sites in Cuba, an opinion that McNamara did not hold. He advised Kennedy against the chiefs, warning that air strikes would almost certainly be metaphorically crossing the Rubicon . McNamara's relations with

14892-503: The deep pockets of the Government win out against the lesser buying power of the non-governmental market participants. In such cases, as the US Government did during World War II, commodity control councils must be established to identify all available sources of supply and ration supply to the various consumers, including US Government consumers, sometimes with price controls (although this is very dangerous because it frequently leads to black markets run by criminals). One solution in this case

15038-593: The efficacy of committing U.S. troops to South Vietnam. In 1968, he resigned as secretary of defense to become president of the World Bank . He served as president until 1981, shifting the focus of the World Bank from infrastructure and industrialization towards poverty reduction. After retiring, he served as a trustee of several organizations, including the California Institute of Technology and

15184-485: The enemy avoided head-on military confrontation and resorted to political subversion and guerrilla tactics . As McNamara said in his 1962 annual report, "The military tactics are those of the sniper, the ambush, and the raid. The political tactics are terror, extortion, and assassination." In practical terms, this meant training and equipping U.S. military personnel as well as allies, such as South Vietnam , for those same exact kinds of counterinsurgency operations. During

15330-473: The final review of both alternatives on Sunday, October 21, upon Kennedy's request, McNamara presented the argument against the attack and for the quarantine. On Wednesday, October 24 at 10:00 am EDT, the quarantine line around Cuba went into effect. With tensions continuing to escalate, it was confirmed the crisis had to be resolved within 48 hours when the White House received two messages from Nikita Khrushchev. The first message, an informal one, stated if

15476-414: The financial sacrifices, McNamara was able to insist to Kennedy that he have the right to appoint his officials and run the Pentagon his own way. According to Special Counsel Ted Sorensen , Kennedy regarded McNamara as the "star of his team, calling upon him for advice on a wide range of issues beyond national security, including business and economic matters." McNamara became one of the few members of

15622-459: The five-year period beginning in 1961. Although he had to withstand a storm of criticism from senators and representatives from affected congressional districts, he closed many military bases and installations that he judged unnecessary for national security. He was equally determined about other cost-saving measures. Due to the nuclear arms race, the Vietnam War buildup and other projects, Total Obligational Authority (TOA) increased greatly during

15768-447: The goods or services are not widely available to the public? Let's take surveillance systems in a military overseas contingency environment as an example. Battlefield full motion video is not something that is found in the commercial sector – Wal-Marts don't sell this; moreover, frequently there are special restrictions which impact on commercial firms ability to engage in work of this nature. For example, special FAA Administrator permission

15914-435: The hawkish Joint Chiefs of Staff had been strained during the crisis, and his relations with Admiral George Anderson and General Curtis LeMay were especially testy. Both Anderson and LeMay had favored invading Cuba, welcoming the prospects of a war with the Soviet Union, under the grounds that a war with them was already inevitable, and whose attitudes towards Kennedy and McNamara had verged on insubordination. Anderson had at

16060-406: The heart of the McNamara management program. According to Enthoven and Smith, the basic ideas of PPBS were: "the attempt to put defense program issues into a broader context and to search for explicit measures of national need and adequacy"; "consideration of military needs and costs together"; "explicit consideration of alternatives at the top decision level"; "the active use of an analytical staff at

16206-560: The height of the Cold War . He remains the longest-serving secretary of defense, having remained in office over seven years. He played a major role in promoting the U.S.'s involvement in the Vietnam War . McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy , which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis . McNamara was born in San Francisco , California , and graduated from

16352-436: The history of this town," and asked the DoD to immediately fire the supervisors cited in the report. An Associated Press report on November 10, 2008, revealed that DCAA challenged $ 4.6 billion, or only 1.2 percent, of the contracts it audited as lacking necessary documentation. The agency has not used its subpoena authority in over 20 years to produce the required paperwork from defense contractors under audit. According to

16498-593: The interests of the Government in areas not specifically addressed in the FAR or prohibited by law, are required and expected of all members of the Acquisition Team . The Acquisition Team consists of all those who participate in Government acquisition: The role and operation of those involved as a 'team' in government procurement is defined in FAR 1.102-3 and RAR 1.102-4. The FAR system is intended to promote "teamwork, unity of purpose and open communication". FAR Part 2 defines words and terms used frequently in

16644-476: The investigation were subject to harassment and intimidation from their supervisors. The DCAA responded on July 25 that it had asked the US Department of Defense's (DoD) Inspector General (IG) office to investigate the GAO's claims. "We take the GAO report very seriously," said April Stephenson , DCAA's director. US Senator Claire McCaskill said GAO may have uncovered the "biggest auditing scandal in

16790-499: The media about such a disagreement. Kennedy told McNamara: "All right, you can fire one. Which one will it be?" Without hesitation, McNamara answered "Anderson". Later on in 1963, a White House release announced that Admiral Anderson was the new American ambassador to Portugal . The Truman and Eisenhower administrations had committed the U.S. to support the French and native anti-Communist forces in Vietnam in resisting efforts by

16936-439: The method most appropriate to it." Enthoven and Smith said they used mainly civilians as systems analysts because they could apply independent points of view to force planning. McNamara's tendency to take military advice into less account than had previous secretaries and to override military opinions contributed to his unpopularity with service leaders. It was also generally thought that Systems Analysis, rather than being objective,

17082-459: The missile sites, although the vote was not unanimous which brought them to other alternatives. By the end of the week, ExComm came up with four different alternative strategies to present to the president: a blockade , an air strike , an invasion , or some combination of these. These actions are known as OPLAN 312, OPLAN 314 and OPLAN 316. A quarantine was a way to prevent the Soviets from bringing any military equipment in or out of Cuba. During

17228-433: The nation's "limited warfare" capabilities. These moves were significant because McNamara was abandoning President Dwight D. Eisenhower 's policy of massive retaliation in favor of a flexible response strategy that relied on increased U.S. capacity to conduct limited, non-nuclear warfare. The Kennedy administration placed particular emphasis on improving the ability to counter communist "wars of national liberation", in which

17374-475: The nations in Southeast Asia to risk a war over. McNamara soon changed his mind about Laos. On 1 May 1961, he advised President Kennedy to send in ground troops into Laos, saying "we must be prepared to win", and advising using nuclear weapons if China should intervene. On 2 May, McNamara, using more strong language, told Kennedy that the United States should definitely intervene in Laos, even though he

17520-405: The need for adequate strategic arms and defense to deter nuclear attack on the United States and its allies. U.S. arms, he maintained, must constantly be under civilian command and control , and the nation's defense posture had to be "designed to reduce the danger of irrational or unpremeditated general war." The primary mission of U.S. overseas forces, in cooperation with its allies, was "to prevent

17666-399: The non-standard variant – the Government is the only buyer of this particular variant of the commercially available item. What about situations where Government demand overwhelms the commercial markets supply? In this case, the Government is actually competing against itself because it has swallowed the market whole and usually has multiple requiring activities competing against each other for

17812-449: The number of bidders are prohibited. Subpart 15.6 covers unsolicited proposals, i.e. business proposals offering new and innovative ideas outside the context of innovative proposals invited and offered within a government-initiated procurement procedure. The regulations suggest the executive agencies make provision for acceptance of unsolicited proposals and for prior contact with individuals or organisations contemplating submission of such

17958-820: The personnel rendering the services are not subject, either by the contract's terms or by the manner of its administration, to the supervision and control usually prevailing in relationships between the Government and its employees. Advisory and assistance services (A&AS) are permissible (See FAR Subpart 37.2) Personal services are not permissible (See FAR 37.104 and Classification Act) without specific authority to obtain such services (meaning statutory authority) Permissible to acquire expert and consultant services (5 USC 3109 or 10 USC 129b – expert services) or 10 USC 1091 – health services), as well as health services, intelligence, counter intelligence or special operations command operations requirements under DFARS 237.104, Personal Services Contracts and 10 USC 129b – Contracting must do

18104-902: The post of Secretary of Defense to Robert A. Lovett , who had already served in that position in the Truman administration ; Lovett declined but recommended McNamara. Kennedy had read about McNamara and his career in a Time magazine article on December 2, 1960, and interviewed him on December 8, with his brother and right-hand man Robert F. Kennedy also being present. McNamara told Kennedy that he didn't know anything about government, to which Kennedy replied: "We can learn our jobs together. I don't know how to be president either". McNamara had read Kennedy's ghostwritten book Profiles in Courage and asked him if he had really written it himself, with Kennedy insisting that he did. McNamara's confidence and self-assurance impressed Kennedy. Kennedy offered McNamara

18250-465: The regular armed forces. Whereas active duty strength had declined from approximately 3,555,000 to 2,483,000 between 1953 (the end of the Korean War ) and 1961, it increased to nearly 2,808,000 by June 30, 1962. Then the forces leveled off at around 2,700,000 until the Vietnam military buildup began in 1965, reaching a peak of nearly 3,550,000 by mid-1968, just after McNamara left office. Kennedy, who

18396-497: The requirements of the solicitation. A successful protest can result in reconsideration of the decision to award the contract or award of the contract to the protester in lieu of the original awardee. Even though a successful protester may not ultimately be awarded the contract, the government agency may have to pay the protester's bid and proposal costs. The Federal Acquisition Regulation is contained within Chapter 1 of Title 48 of

18542-456: The same goods and services. This is exemplified in cases where numerous contracting offices demand the same goods and services, unknowingly driving prices up against each other. Frequently in these case, contracting commands accept take-it or leave-it prices from relatively few vendors (compared to demand) who know that these contracting offices are not coordinating amongst each other or establishing commodity control councils to ration demand against

18688-454: The same time, the Joint Chiefs also estimated that the two airfields in Laos were capable of landing some 1,000 troops a day each, which would give the advantage to the Chinese. Such dire assessments led Kennedy to ignore McNamara and the Joint Chiefs, and to favor a diplomatic solution to the Laos crisis. Federal Acquisition Regulation The Federal Acquisition Regulation ( FAR )

18834-419: The same. McNamara raised the proportion of Strategic Air Command (SAC) strategic bombers on 15-minute ground alert from 25% to 50%, thus lessening their vulnerability to missile attack. He also approved Operation Chrome Dome in 1961, in which some B-52 strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons remained on continuous airborne alert, flying routes that put them in positions to attack targets in

18980-553: The separate and often uncoordinated service efforts in intelligence and communications, McNamara in 1961 consolidated these functions in the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense Communications Agency (the latter originally established by SoD Thomas S. Gates Jr. in 1960), having both report to the Secretary of Defense through the JCS. The end effect was to remove the Intelligence function from

19126-458: The steady erosion of the Free World through limited wars". Kennedy and McNamara rejected massive retaliation for a posture of flexible response . The U.S. wanted choices in an emergency other than "inglorious retreat or unlimited retaliation", as the president put it. Out of a major review of the military challenges confronting the U.S. initiated by McNamara in 1961 came a decision to increase

19272-478: The student body. He then attended Harvard Business School , where he earned an MBA in 1939. Immediately thereafter, McNamara worked for a year at Price Waterhouse , a San Francisco accounting firm. He returned to Harvard in August 1940 to teach accounting in the Business School and became the institution's highest-paid and youngest assistant professor at that time. Following his involvement in

19418-562: The systems analysis office—was a method to study and analyze major defense issues. Sixteen DPMs appeared between 1961 and 1968 on such topics as strategic offensive and defensive forces, NATO strategy and force structure, military assistance, and tactical air forces. OSD sent the DPMs to the services and the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) for comment; in making decisions, McNamara included in the DPM

19564-411: The top policymaking levels"; "a plan combining both forces and costs which projected into the future the foreseeable implications of current decisions"; and "open and explicit analysis, that is, each analysis should be made available to all interested parties, so that they can examine the calculations, data, and assumptions and retrace the steps leading to the conclusions." In practice, the data produced by

19710-471: The type of contract. This involves evaluation of the contractor's policies, procedures and other internal controls over contract costs, and examining samples of supporting records for individual transactions. Government Auditing Standards require the contract auditor to maintain strict independence during audits, avoiding relationships and situations that would look questionable to third parties. The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) assign responsibility to

19856-400: The use of FAR Part 12 commercial items contracting processes is wholly inappropriate and not permissible under the applicable laws governing Federal acquisition. Taking another example, what happens when significant research and development is needed to adopt a commercial item for Government use? Should FAR Parts 12 and 13 be used here? Absolutely not. There are no market pricing mechanisms for

20002-551: Was a nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union and lasted for 13 days in October 1962. During this time, Robert McNamara was serving as Secretary of Defense and one of John F. Kennedy's trusted advisors. When Kennedy received confirmation of the placement of offensive Soviet missiles in Cuba , he immediately set up the 'Executive Committee', referred to as ' ExComm '. This committee included United States government officials, such as Robert McNamara, advising Kennedy on

20148-572: Was fascinated with counterinsurgency warfare, made a major push to develop the Special Forces , popularly known as the Green Berets. The U.S. Army leadership was, for the most part, strongly opposed to the counterinsurgency vogue, and stoutly resisted the presidential pressure for more counterinsurgency training and forces. The U.S. Army, for reasons of bureaucratic politics, budgetary reasons and sheer pride, wanted to be equipped to fight

20294-613: Was ineffective in the jungles and six planes were not enough. In the spring of 1961 Kennedy seriously considered intervening in Laos where the Communist Pathet Lao, supported by North Vietnam, were winning the civil war. At one point, the Joint Chiefs of Staff advised sending 60,000 U.S. troops into Laos. However, Laos appeared to be a backward, landlocked country with barely any modern roads and only two modern airfields which were both small by Western standards and would have caused logistical problems. Furthermore, memories of

20440-464: Was issued on June 18, 1952, serving the three military service branches existing at that time. However, writing standard guidelines was difficult, due to differences in the organization and practice of procurement between the services. Defense contract audits became the responsibility of a single agency, the DCAA, in response to a feasibility study directed by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in 1962. William B. Petty, former Deputy Comptroller of

20586-637: Was often in practice ignored resulted in increased costs throughout the system. The Readiness, Information, and Control Tables provided data on specific projects, more detailed than in the FYDP, such as the tables for the Southeast Asia Deployment Plan, which recorded by month and quarter the schedule for deployment, consumption rates, and future projections of U.S. forces in Southeast Asia. McNamara's staff stressed systems analysis as an aid in decision-making on weapon development and many other budget issues. The secretary believed that

20732-581: Was replaced by Patrick Fitzgerald, previously the Auditor General of the United States Army Audit Agency . Robert S. McNamara Robert Strange McNamara ( / ˈ m æ k n ə m ær ə / ; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson at

20878-484: Was tailored by the civilians to support decisions that McNamara had already made. The most notable example of systems analysis was the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) instituted by United States Department of Defense Comptroller Charles J. Hitch . McNamara directed Hitch to analyze defense requirements systematically and produce a long-term, program-oriented defense budget. PPBS evolved to become

21024-430: Was the consolidation of programs from different services, most visibly in aircraft acquisition, believing that the redundancy created waste and unnecessary spending. McNamara directed the Air Force to adopt the Navy's McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and LTV A-7 Corsair II combat aircraft, consolidations that were quite successful, and the success was bidirectional: the Navy would later adopt improvements first made by

21170-542: Was unresponsive to a request for information, the regional auditor ordered a subordinate to change the audit report in Boeing's favor. Said Senator Tom Coburn about the agency in response to the report, "It's atrocious. Several of those people ought to be fired." Added Senator Claire McCaskill , "This report is just further confirmation that DCAA is fundamentally broken. I certainly hope the Department of Defense takes these accusations seriously. As I said before, if somebody

21316-597: Was very certain that it would lead to Chinese intervention, concluding that "at some point, we may have to initiate the use of nuclear weapons to prevent the defeat of our forces". Kennedy, who was distrustful of the hawkish advice given by the Joint Chiefs of Staff after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion , instead decided to seek a diplomatic solution to the Laos crisis at a peace conference in Geneva in 1961–62 that ultimately led to an agreement to make Laos officially neutral in

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