• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Bolton: Fielding new equipment top priority

Army News Service

Release Date: 11/13/2003

By Eric Cramer

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Nov. 13, 2003) - Changing the way the Army acquires new technology will drive the future force, said Claude M. Bolton Jr., assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.

Bolton spoke to about 150 Army and industry leaders attending an Institute for Land Warfare breakfast Nov. 13. Lockheed-Martin and the Association of the U.S. Army sponsored the breakfast.

Bolton said rapid acquisition of new technology is already affecting troops in combat. As an example, he showed those attending the event a picture of the Army's Interception Body Armor.

"This armor weighs about 16.4 pounds. Its predecessor weighed about 25 pounds. I met a Soldier at last fall's symposium who still had the plate (the ceramic plate that lines the armor vest). It had three dimples on it from where the AK-47 had hit him right over his heart," Bolton said.

About 25,000 of the new armor vests are now manufactured each month, Bolton said.

"Our goal is, if you're in the area of operations, and you're getting shot at, you've got it," Bolton said. "The next goal is to equip everyone in the Army, and then everyone else who wants it."

He said multiple contractors are working on producing the armor, but they serve the FBI and other government agencies in addition to military contracts.

Bolton said his office created a Rapid Equipping Force about 18 months ago to examine the needs of the Soldiers in the field and find the fastest way to meet those needs.

He said the equipment currently being fielded includes "Pac bots," small robots used to examine caves in Afghanistan; a "well camera" that can be lowered into wells to seek caches of weapons; door shims to allow troops to open doors without damaging locks, and several other items.

"When the robots first went to field, there was some resistance to them," Bolton said. "But when the colonel who took them over there went to bring the prototypes home, the Soldiers said 'no.' The colonel came home and the prototypes stayed in the field."

He said he is working to change not just the acquisition process, but also the philosophy behind it.

"In the past, you looked at acquisition, testing and fielding, what you might call 'little A.' My view is you don't do that first. First you look at the need. Otherwise, you don't need the acquisition. I will challenge your requirements until I see exactly what you want and then I'll get to that 'small A' acquisition process. You can change your requirement, but change that piece of paper," Bolton said.

He said the acquisition process should begin with an assessment of the needed capability, move through the "small A" of acquisition and testing, then go to operations, maintenance and upgrading, and finally move on to retirement.

Bolton said the executives present would drive the creation of the future force in the military.

"There is no natural law that says the United States will be the most powerful country in the world. No natural law says that. What makes that happen is people," Bolton said.

He described several incidents from combat in which a combination of equipment and skills helped service members survive, finishing with the collision between an American surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter plane in 2001.

"The pilot, Lt. Shane Osborn, of Nebraska, recovered the plane and landed on Chinese soil. We ultimately got the plane back, in pieces, but we got it back. Where is the Chinese plane and the Chinese pilot? Remember that you can make a difference," Bolton said.

Following his comments, Bolton showed a video that depicted how the future force may use technology, including advanced uniforms that harden into armor, information technology linking Soldiers and their equipment and advanced communications and non-lethal weapons. He then took questions on the use of nanotechnology, infrared technology, building information networks robust enough for the combat environment and the interaction of small businesses with the acquisition process.