In the middle of the previous decade, in what it no doubt viewed as a Solomonic decision on its part, Congress oversaw the division in two of the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L). In its place, the legislators called for the creation of two new under secretariats. An under secretary for Research and Engineering would oversee the development of technology strategy and research and engineering activities.

In addition, the incumbent of this new office was expected to “solve critical warfighting challenges.” The second new under secretary, for Acquisition and Sustainment, would oversee both the acquisition process—with a special focus on cost and performance—and logistics policy.

The reorganization was driven by a growing perception that, in the words of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s summary of the fiscal 2017 authorization, “the U.S. military was falling behind technologically” while at the same time, “the current acquisition structure and process were significant factors in the inability to access new sources of innovation.”

In particular, the committee emphasized that........

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