After a woefully misguided decision by DOT&E to not publish a ‘civilian’ version of their annual weapons assessment report last year (well, to be fair, they did publish a ‘civilian’ version but there was nothing in it of any use, whatsoever), DOT&E was instructed by Congress to drop the restricted Congressional version and just issue a single ‘civilian’ report this year. Thus, it was with great anticipation that I read through the just-released 2022 annual report.
I can say with certainty that, far and away, the biggest positive from the report was the fact that it was an electronic version which saved a large number of trees from being cut down to make paper. Beyond that, there was absolutely no information of any use in the report. The only exception was two reliability data points for the Ford’s EMALS and AAG (both still abysmally poor despite the Navy’s glowing public statements).
I could not be more disappointed in the report. There was nothing there. There may be even less than the prior year, if that’s possible.
Clearly, DOT&E was angry about being rebuked by Congress, didn’t want to do a public report, and put this worthless pile of garbage out as a finger in the eye of Congress and the public.
Don’t waste your time looking at it. I’m not even going to post a link to it.
This is bad and makes me wonder what else they are hiding, I mean the military is supposed to serve the country and its' people not the other way around can you imagine: what if we are attacked and because of this "finger in the eye of Congress and the public" how will we know they will do as lawfully ordered and not defect to the enemy if they are angry over such petty matters?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is time to do some forensic accounting to see who is really paying our people and fire all who is corrupt.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forensicaccounting.asp
By the way what about " two reliability data points for the Ford’s EMALS and AAG" was there any improvement or has nothing changed? Yes, you said they were poor but did they replace anything or did it became worse (due to seawater damage damage maybe?)
DOT&E is run by a person that reports to another person and so on up to the President. Organizations take their attitude from their leaders, so it is NOT DOT&E that is miffed but the managers running it. Focus on those people who are the problem and replace them with leaders. If it turns out that the people in DOT&E think they rule the roost or cannot get over whatever guidance the last Director gave them, the the current Director needs to clean house and get support while he deals with it. And if SecDef is okay with paerless mindless reports, then draw the appropriate conclusions there.
ReplyDeleteActually, in this case, DOT&E is one person: the DIRECTOR of Operational Testing and Evaluation. He, and he alone, made the decision last year to hide the data in the Congressional report and issue a non-informative public version. This year he, and he alone, made the decision as to what to include in the mandated public version and he obviously got miffed and decided to take his data and go home, putting out the bare minimum report as a F-you to Congress and the American people.
DeleteI don't think the Dir DOT&E wrote the report. Most Directors only convert O2 to CO2. We shoulc attach them to trees so the O2 -> CO2 -> O2 cycle is shorter.
DeleteDOT&E is an organization as shown on WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director,_Operational_Test_and_Evaluation#:~:text=The%20Director%2C%20Operational%20Test%20and,Department%20of%20Defense%20weapons%20systems.
That said if the Director made that decision, then the first step in fixing this problem is very easy - replace him. If SecDef and DepSecDef are happy with with this bahavior then step two is also very clear. Change their priorities or replace them.
DOT&E has been a heartbreaker organization since its inception. Forced on SecDef, it has been corrupted ever since by the political people assigned as the Directors.
" corrupted ever since by the political people assigned as the Directors."
DeleteI have to disagree. The previous Director was excellent. He established and maintained standards, published informative reports, and forced the Navy to conduct needed tests against their will. He was the best thing the military had going for it and it was evident from how much they hated him.
Sorry I have a longer view looking back at all of the failed programs and wasted money since the Office of OT&E was created. I am glad for the occasional successes like getting shock tests done on the first ship of a class, but compare that to the F-35 program failures that have been evident from day one. A $14B program vs a $1T program. Again look at the people in place and their bosses, we get what they want and maybe (I'll be generous here) a retired 4 star SecDef doesn't want to upset his fellow stars cushy retirement jobs.
DeleteI still have to disagree. DOT&E became operation in 1985 and has been quite effective until the most recent Director, Guertin, took over in 2021 and imposed an informational blackout.
DeleteBear in mind that DOT&E has no statutory authority over the Navy. They can't order the Navy to stop or modify programs or not do stupid things. They can only test and make recommendations. The Navy has a heavy tendency to ignore those recommendations. Dr. Gilmore (2009-2017) has been the most effective Director in my time at using Congress and various public pressures to coerce the Navy into conducting testing that the Navy wanted to skip (shock tests, for example). Unfortunately, the current Director seems to have ended the string of good Directors.
ComNavOps I just stumbled upon this blog and have found it very intriguing. In some areas I disagree and in some areas I agree, but I think that the many discussions taking place on such a detailed level is very positive!
ReplyDeleteSame person here: I have a question for you that is very loaded and I completely understand if it is to much. If you were given the proverbial purse and supreme oversight, what would your US Navy look like? Circa 2030 so that you can institute all the drastic changes I believe you will make!
ReplyDeleteWelcome! The entire blog is an answer to your question. Grab your favorite beverage and review the archives for all the detail you could want. There's no more enjoyable way to spend time than reading the archives!
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