Americas Defense Meltdown - IT Acquisition Advisory Council

Lt. Col. John Sayen • 19Until the American military finds a way to escape from its past there seems littlechance that it can effectively deal with the challenges of its future.Some believe that the military can spend its way out of its death spiral. We believethat this makes as much sense as curing a hangover by continuing to drink. Instead,we believe that fundamental change is urgently needed in all three of the basic elementsof military power:1. People: recruiting, retention, personnel management, unit cohesion, empowermentand character development.2. Ideas: military theory, doctrine, education, training and organization.3. Hardware: weapons, supplies, infrastructure and technology – at a sustainablecost.If we can get the changes we need in the first two elements the third should takecare of itself.The purpose of this book is to stimulate debate and identify reforms that can placeour military on a healthier pathway to the future. It is not intended to be comprehensive.Most of the essays focus on types of changes needed in the first two categories,and, for reasons of space, personal experience and continuity of exposition, tend toconcentrate on ground and air forces. The aim of this introductory essay is to set thestage by describing the nature of change in large institutions and why fundamentalreforms are needed for all services in the three categories listed above.How to ChangeWhat should the American people expect from Congress and the military as theUnited States begins to adapt to this changing face of warfare?Military theorist John Boyd taught that effective military systems prioritize the componentsof which they are composed: people, ideas and hardware – in that order. Heresponded to the U.S. Army’s emphasis on synchronization – the methodical timing ofseveral events in time and space – with the comment, “you can only synchronize watches,not people.” He emphasized that “people fight wars, not machines, and they use theirminds” and that military systems that give people top priority adapt to changes in warfaremore quickly than those that emphasize machines. Boyd defined this in testimonybefore Congress in April 1991: “There are three basic elements [to win wars] and inorder of importance they are: People, because wars are fought by people not weapons.Strategy and tactics [ideas] because wars fought without innovational ideas become ...blood baths winnable or not. Hardware, because weapons that don’t work or can’t be[produced] in quantity will bring down even the best people and best ideas.”