Legislation that restricts the Pentagon's ability to partner with the business sector should be changed. Savings could come from outsourcing non-core functions like data processing, education and training, and health services. These are among the functions that can be more efficiently accomplished by cutting-edge firms. The Pentagon spends significantly less money buying weapons systems than it did at the height of the Cold War. While today's smaller military needs less equipment, its planes, ships, and tanks are aging and must be replaced.
Smaller budgets mean less buying clout in the industrial marketplace.
Long development cycles mean troops don't quickly get the state of the are equipment matched to current missions. To buy the next generation technology and equipment, the Pentagon must find ways to leverage its resources and streamline its buying processes. Tons of paperwork were eliminated. But while our military continued to downsize based on post Cold War plans, overseas military commitments increased. Our military forces now conduct concurrent peacekeeping and humanitarian operations on a global scale.