Military acquisition - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Military acquisition is the bureaucratic

Bureaucracy

A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

and procurement

Procurement

Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...

process dealing with a nation

Nation

A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...

's investments in the technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve its national security strategy

Security Strategy

A Security Strategy is a document prepared periodically which outlines the major national security concerns of a country or organisation and outlines plans to deal with them. Currently, several security strategies exist:...

and support its armed forces

Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

. Its objective is to acquire products that satisfy specified needs and provide measurable improvement to mission capability at a fair and reasonable price.

Military acquisition has a long history spanning from ancient times (e.g., blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

ing, shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

) to modern times.

Modern military acquisition is a complex blend of science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, management

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

, and engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

disciplines within the context of a nation

Nation

's law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

and regulation

Regulation

Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...

framework to produce military materiel

Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

and technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

. This complexity evolved from the increasing complexity of weapon systems starting in the 20th century. For example, the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

involved more than 130,000 people at an estimated cost of nearly $24 billion in 2008 dollars.

Activities

Major activities related to military acquisition are:

Project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...

/program management
Program management
Program management or programme management is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance...
- Risk management
  Risk management
  Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
- Earned value management
  Earned value management
  Earned value management is a project management technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. EVM has the ability to combine measurements of scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system. Earned Value Management is notable for its ability to provide...
Product management
Product management
Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle....
- Product life cycle management
  Product life cycle management
  Product life-cycle management is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life-cycle. The conditions in which a product is sold changes over time and must be managed as it moves through its succession of stages.Product life-cycle Like human beings,...
Contract management
Contract management
Contract management or contract administration is the management of contracts made with customers, vendors, partners, or employees. Contract management includes negotiating the terms and conditions in contracts and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions, as well as documenting and...
Systems engineering
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
Software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
Computer engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
Human factors
Human factors
Human factors science or human factors technologies is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research and anthropometry...
Modeling and simulation
Modeling and simulation
Modeling and simulation is the use of models, including emulators, prototypes, simulators, and stimulators, either statically or over time, to develop data as a basis for making managerial or technical decisions. The terms "modeling" and "simulation" are often used interchangeably.The use of...
Security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
Procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...

In the United States

The US Department of Defense has three principal decision-making support systems associated with military acquisition:

Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Process - Process for strategic planning, program development, and resource determination.
Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System - The systematic method established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for assessing gaps in military joint warfighting capabilities and recommending solutions to resolve these gaps.
Defense Acquisition System - The management process used to acquire weapon systems and automated information system.

Because of the size and scope of such a bureaucracy, the US Department of Defense instituted an extensive training program, known as the Defense Acquisition University

Defense Acquisition University

The Defense Acquisition University is a United States military training establishment that trains and enables the 147,705 military and civilian Department of Defense personnel in the fields of acquisition, technology, and logistics, including leadership, program management and bureaucratic...

External links

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (ASAF (A)) http://ww3.safaq.hq.af.mil/
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (ASN (RDA)) http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=477
Defense Acquisition History Project http://www.history.army.mil/acquisition/
Defense Procurement News http://www.defenseprocurementnews.com/
United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (OASA(ALT)) https://www.alt.army.mil/portal/page/portal/oasaalt

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Activities

In the United States

See also

External links