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One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

nytimes.com

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Re: One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

#11

Post by rtkwe »

noahmbarr wrote: post #2

In addition to right to repair, couldn’t the military contract based durability / SLA standards?

It talks about the exact transition that caused them to go towards not doing that a few paragraphs in... Corporate consolidation and an move away from developing their own equipment meant the DoD had to become a better customer and accept terms from a corporate supplier.

> In alignment with this new paradigm, policymakers simplified the Federal Acquisition Regulation in 1994 and 1995, exempting “commercial items” from a large portion of the rules (as well as expanding the definition of what is a commercial item to include goods that could be seen as specialized military goods). Congress also encouraged federal agencies to purchase commercial items “to the maximum extent practicable.” These changes fueled high rates of commercial purchases, which, coupled with consolidation in the defense industry, contributed to the Defense Department’s increased use of commercial technology and the negotiation of single-source contracts.

> Ultimately, the power dynamics shifted between the Defense Department and commercial industry, forcing the department to accept warranties, contracts or prices that it could previously avoid — all thanks to changes in research and development funding, regulations and a lack of competition.

Either way I'm glad it's become an issue for the military. Makes me more hopeful it'll be adopted since it can be framed with some good ol' flag waving jingoistic military worship along side the other issues like e-Waste and consumer rights.

Re: One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

#13

Post by Nasrudith »

noahmbarr wrote: post #2

In addition to right to repair, couldn’t the military contract based durability / SLA standards?

Yes, certainly but that isn't the goal. The Military Industrial Complex is nastily organic in the sense that self-perpetuation is what wins out. In this case the graft in both bueracratic overspeccing mazes and profiteering.

Re: One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

#14

Post by close04 »

kop316 wrote: post #7
noahmbarr wrote: post #2

In addition to right to repair, couldn’t the military contract based durability / SLA standards?

I wish I had your optimism. They usually do have those. But when they blow then off, there's usually very little recourse the government can do. There is usually very little in a contract language for what happens when they get blown off, so the person with the broken Humvee (as an example) has to contact the appropriate government entity (contracting officer) to contact the company rep. So the company gets a slap on…

In addition, while there are fines stipulated in any such contract for breach of SLA, in reality it's almost always cheaper to pay the fine than actually meet the SLA. One would ask "why not increase the fine?". The answer is nobody would sign a contract with you without guaranteed profit. So if the risk outweighs the reward there's no deal.

Re: One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

#16

Post by rtkwe »

bitlax wrote: post #10
ProAm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paying for content you want to read. Good journalism isn't cheap, this is one of those things you shouldnt pirate.

I do but I have no idea if this is good journalism. I've been disappointed by the New York Times before, but that's irrelevant. According to the FAQ, you're not supposed to post articles behind a paywall which doesn't have a workaround; I'm just wondering what the workaround is. I see you can create an account but I don't know if that really counts.

If you use Pocket you can add the story to your pocket list and that seems to get around it on most sites.

Re: One Reason the U.S. Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment

#18

Post by silvester23 »

bitlax wrote: post #10
ProAm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paying for content you want to read. Good journalism isn't cheap, this is one of those things you shouldnt pirate.

I do but I have no idea if this is good journalism. I've been disappointed by the New York Times before, but that's irrelevant. According to the FAQ, you're not supposed to post articles behind a paywall which doesn't have a workaround; I'm just wondering what the workaround is. I see you can create an account but I don't know if that really counts.

You can clear all your cookies for nytimes.com
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