Best of Acquisition Talk

Honoring Eric Lofgren's Body of Work

Eric Lofgren published over 1,400 blog posts and 160 podcast episodes over the last 4.5 years on Acquisition Talk. That averages over 10 posts and a podcast a month for 133 months!

He has command of a wide-range of topics to include the defense budget, acquisition, industry, technologies, Congress, contracting, and more.

This week he suspended Acquisition Talk as he moves to a new role as a SASC PSM!

We wanted to honor Eric by sharing some of his best posts and pods over the years.

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Top 20 Posts

Of 1,400 blog posts, it was difficult to identify the top 20 and we likely missed some gems. Keep in mind 20 of 1,400 is 1.4%!

It would be only fitting to lead off with a budget post. Eric is not only a leading budget expert, but a historian at heart too. He expertly researched and told the story of the evolution of the PPBE process since it’s creation in the 1960s.

1. The extreme pain of DoD reprogramming

2. How DoD reprogramming has changed (1961 – 2019)

3. Rickover’s take on professionalism in Navy R&D

4. How DoD’s innovation fund can avoid becoming a slush fund

5. China’s weapons acquisition cycle 5-6x faster than the United States — “We are going to lose” if we don’t change

6. Bridging the “Valley of Death” in DoD does not require new laws!

7. Has Congress descended from oversight to micromanagement?

8. 500 Javelin-per-day requirement in Ukraine: Is it reasonable and what could it cost?

9. How were projects selected for the APFIT fund to field innovative tech?

10. Why is there a reluctance to invest in shipbuilding despite record budgets?

11. Length of DoD continuing resolutions and the inefficiencies created

12. Precision guided munitions production is totally inadequate

13. The incredible decline of DoD execution flexibility has created the so-called “valley of death”

14. Does EVMS serve any other purpose than to justify cost overruns?

15. Are multiyear contracts really a super-saver in acquisition?

16. Will inflation cause a $110B loss in DoD buying power between FY21-FY23?

17. How metrics led to the deprioritization of delivering capability: DoD obligation rates

18. How Kessel Run was able to survive the bureaucracy’s attempts to squash it

19. Does DoD not actually want startups to win programs of record?

20. Defense industry consolidation geared up well before the “Last Supper”

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Top 20 Podcasts

Eric interviewed the who’s who in defense from Pentagon and industry executives to thought leaders on the forefront of innovative solutions.

I (Matt) had the pleasure of cohosting a NatSec News pod with Eric to discuss the week’s biggest news events. Check out our last in-person one (for now):

Below are only a few top podcasts that we appreciated (in no particular order):

1. Scaling AI/ML in Defense with Colin Carroll

   • Colin and Eric discuss JADC2, the USMC Force Design and how AI/ML should be managed and fielded in the Department.

2. The next generation of defense primes with Matt Steckman and Trae Stephens

   • Matt, Trae and Eric discuss how Anduril became a hardware-focused company, the difference between commercial software companies and defense primes operate and why non-traditionals need to lobby.

3. Tech competition in China and the United States with Michael Brown

   • Mike, Eric and Jordan discuss how China is employing espionage, foreign investment, and international standards to drive their advancement - and how DoD can respond to create a dominant military.

4. Revamping the way we think about defense with Steve Blank

   • Steve and Eric discuss innovation theater, how requirements kill innovation and why being a defense startup is so challenging.

5. Leaping the valley of death with Matt Steckman

   • Matt and Eric discuss risk in product development, use of enterprise tools, security clearance challenges, and edge computing/AI.

6. How AFWERX transitions tech with Chris Benson, Steve Lauver, and Jason Rathje

   • Eric talks to the co-founders of the Air Force Ventures program to discuss how to build a better defense industrial base, how to accelerate contract awards and how to get more flexible funding.

7. DoD, Silicon Valley, and American Dynamism with Kathrine Boyle

   • Kathrine shares with Eric her thoughts on how to shift the investment mentality in DoD to targeted big-dollar investments.

8. Analyzing data on the defense industrial base with Amanda Bresler and Alex Bresler

   • Amanda, Alex and Eric discuss how SBIR awards are allocated, the challenges of being a new entrant and how DoD could improve the system.

9. Hacking 4 Defense with Steve Blank and Pete Newell

   • Steve, Pete and Eric deep-dive into the right way to understand a user problem and devise a timely solution that meets their needs using problem curation and lean methodology techniques.

10. Injecting tech in today’s weapons with Maj. Gen. John Ferrari (ret.)

    • John and Eric discuss how DoD should replace legacy platforms and the thinking that is needed to be ready for the future.

11. Mach 5 aircraft and deep tech contracting with Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica

    • AJ shares his experiences developing a new hypersonic aircraft and provides recommendations for new companies, including finding an advocate, solving user problems and getting teams that understand government contracting.

12. Air Force fighters now and into the future with Mike Benitez

    • Mike and Eric commiserate on the current state and future of the Air Force fighter inventory and how future decisions might pan out.

13. Affecting the strategic calculus with Michele Flournoy

    • Michele joins Eric and Jordan to discuss China strategy as well as U.S. approaches to nuclear policy, legacy divestment and AI/ML efforts.

14. Great Power Competition with Richard Danzig

    • Richard and Eric discuss differences in practices between China and the U.S. on trade policy, regulations, contracting and risk tolerance.

15. JADC2 and decision-centric warfare with Dan Patt and Bryan Clark

    • Dan, Bryan and Eric discuss the challenges that DoD faces against a peer adversary and how decomposing monolithic platforms into smaller systems would provide military commanders with greater options at lower cost.

16. The Power of the Industry Consortia with Stephanie Halcrow and Moshe Schwartz

    • Stephanie, Moshe and Eric explore the research that shows how consortia may have helped increase nontraditional participation with DoD, and how they can continue to be of benefit including with allies and partners.

17. OTAs and everything else with Ben McMartin

    • Ben and Eric deep dive into the nitty-gritty of Other Transactions, how they will likely grow and how their use can be improved to maximize value.

18. SBIR Mills, Dual Use Tech with Ben Van Roo

    • Ben and Eric debate the effectiveness of the SBIR program and whether SBIR mills are generating value and how diversification should be pursued.

19. Commercial Item Acquisition with Phil Jasper

    • Phil and Eric explore the history of commercial acquisition, how government and industry can be more aligned and the negative trends to be addressed.

20. Mosaic warfare, strategy, and the digital century series with Lt. Gen. David Deptula (ret.)

    • Gen Deptula and Eric discuss the concept of mosaic warfare and incremental development/fielding to improve DoD’s operational resilience.

NOTE: Also check out Eric’s series of podcasts on the PPBE system.

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We wish Eric the best of luck as he begins his new adventure on the Hill. He will no doubt have a lot to learn about operations there, but also have many opportunities to teach others. He will be an invaluable resource to staffs and members and will hopefully drive needed reforms across DoD and Congress. Good luck Eric!!