As of July 2008, about 75% of casualties in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were attributed to improvised explosive devices. To mitigate the threat from these weapons, DoD initiated the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) program in Feb. 2007, which used a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field the vehicles. To date, about $23 billion has been appropriated for the procurement of 16,000 MRAP vehicles. This testimony describes the MRAP acquisition process, the results to date, lessons learned from that acquisition, and potential implications for improving the standard acquisition process. The auditor reviewed DoD's plans to buy, test, and field the vehicles and discussed the plans with department and contractor officials.

"This ninth edition of Introduction to Defense Acquisition Management includes revisions to the regulatory framework for Defense systems acquisition management from the December 2008 Department of Defense Instruction 5000.02 and includes policy for determining requirements for defense systems from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 3170 series, Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System. This publication is designed to be both an introduction to the world of defense systems acquisition management for the newcomer and a summary-level refresher for the practitioner who has been away from the business for a few years. It focuses on Department of Defense-wide management policies and procedures, not on the details of any specific defense system."--Publisher's website.

This report examines the challenges facing the DoD in acquiring information technology (IT) and offers recommendations to improve current circumstances. The fundamental problem DoD faces is that the deliberate process through which weapon systems and IT are acquired does not match the speed at which new IT capabilities are being introduced in today¿s information age. Consequently, the principal recommendation of the study is that DoD needs a new acquisition system for IT. Roles and responsibilities for those involved in the acquisition process must be clarified and strengthened and the IT system acquisition skills required in the workforce must also be strengthened. Illustrations.