US military already obtaining savings via their ‘Lean Six Sigma’ programs – savings reaches billions
Minitab 8 (http://www.minitab.com/en-US/company/news/news-basic.aspx?id=364&langType=1033, July 1st 2008) NAR
The U.S. military is saving billions of dollars by implementing quality improvement methods such as Lean Six Sigma, and these savings could grow even faster as the Department of Defense takes steps to expand these initiatives throughout the armed services. For example, the Department of Defense recently selected Minitab Inc., the leading provider of software and services for quality improvement, for a General Services Administration Blanket Purchase Agreement. The agreement makes Minitab’s solutions for quality improvement, data analysis, Lean, and Six Sigma more easily accessible at a time when all branches of the military are implementing such initiatives. Since the U.S. Army deployed Lean Six Sigma in 2005, nearly 2,000 personnel have been trained, more than 1,000 projects have been completed, and more than 1,600 remain active. The Army credits these projects with achieving nearly $2 billion in savings so far. The Department of the Navy has trained more than 5,000 sailors and Marines as Six Sigma green or black belts since 2006. The Navy estimates savings from its projects for 2006 and 2007 to be $450 million, a 4-to-1 return on investment. The U.S. Air Force has trained more than 500 Six Sigma belts, and its Air Logistics Centers received two Shingo Prizes for quality improvement last year. The Air Force has committed to a 40,000-manpower reduction without impairing its operational capabilities due in part to efficiencies gained from its initiatives. As more military personnel begin applying the tools of Six Sigma, they are likely to encounter Minitab’s products, including Minitab Statistical Software, Quality Companion by Minitab, and Quality Trainer by Minitab. “Minitab’s software is used by the most successful Six Sigma companies, and this agreement gives the military easy access to the same tools and solutions,” says Paul Engle, commercial sales leader for Minitab Inc. Many DoD agencies already use Minitab’s products, Engle notes, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. “Our hope is that this blanket purchase agreement will make it easier for the armed services to implement their quality improvement initiatives at home and abroad.”
Gates has a commitment to saving money – Will find $100 billion in the next 5-years
Washington Post 6-28 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062803269.html?nav=rss_business/industries)NAR
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he wants to trim some of the billions of dollars the Pentagon spends on weapons systems and contractor services, part of a Pentagon-wide effort to find $100 billion in savings in the next five years Gates, who already plans to pare down the Pentagon's huge bureaucracy to save money, said that the Defense Department will focus on unnecessary spending by defense contractors that provide the military with everything from fighter jets to janitors. Gates said it is "a matter of principle and political reality to make sure every taxpayer dollar counts." His goal is to shift money from overhead expenses to supporting U.S. troops spread around the globe. The Pentagon will spend about $400 billion of its $700 billion budget on weapons and services from defense contractors. The new plan calls for annual savings of about 2 percent to 3 percent through measures like contracts that require the defense companies to shoulder cost overruns and encouraging competition between contractors.
Non-Uq – Savings Inevitable
Gates already saved roughly $65 billion in the F-35 fiasco
Washington Post 6-28 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062803269.html?nav=rss_business/industries)NAR
For example, Gates fired the head of the F-35 fighter program in February after the cost per plane nearly doubled to $113 million from 2001. Lockheed Martin, which is the lead contractor on the $323 billion project to build 2,450 aircraft, said earlier this month that it plans to cut the cost of the jet by nearly 20 percent.
Over $400 billion will be saved by Carter and Gates
Wall Street Journal 6-28 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703964104575335180991820498.html)NAR
WASHINGTON—The Department of Defense on Monday unveiled a new series of measures to wring more cost savings out of the roughly $400 billion it spends annually on weapons, equipment and services. Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, held closed-door sessions Monday with top defense industry executives and defense procurement officials to explain the new initiative, which is part of a larger austerity drive within the department. Over the past decade, U.S. defense budgets have seen consistent, double-digit growth, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned in May that the post-9/11 defense spending boom was coming to an end.
Non-unique – Afghanistan costs will be slashed in the status quo – it’s the most expensive military occupation right now.
The Christian Science Monitor 10 (“Will Petraeus cut costs in Afghanistan as he did in Iraq?” June 24, lexis)KM
One military medal Gen. David Petraeus did not receive from President Bush for his success in Iraq - even though he deserves it - was for reducing US costs. Now, under President Obama, he has replaced Gen. Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan and may yet be rewarded if he can rein in that war's expenses. As an officer astute about politics, Petraeus knows the new politics of austerity in Washington. Congress is in little mood to add to the debt. Afghanistan now costs more than Iraq, or some $70 billion this year, even as a troop surge goes on. Mr. Obama warns he has a budget limit for Afghanistan. "We simply cannot afford to ignore the price of these wars," he says. He seeks a balance between domestic priorities, especially the economy, and the threat of violence from Al Qaeda or its affiliates in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. The president also promises to address the war costs "openly and honestly." A strategy review is planned for December with a drawdown of forces set to begin mid-2010 - depending on local conditions, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates puts it. "We are in this thing to win," he says. Defining victory, however, remains illusive and divisive among Obama's security team, one reason for McChrystal's ill-spoken words to a reporter. Rather than wait until December, Obama should use this change of command to give a clear explanation of the current trade-offs between the war's costs and the evolving security threats. Is he still set on denying a haven for Al Qaeda, as promised - even if, for instance, the coming offensive in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar fails and drags the war into 2012 and beyond? The president dislikes an open-ended commitment to the war. And he uses the threat of withdrawal to pressure Kabul to quickly boost its forces and the economy. But squaring his goal of securing that country enough to prevent another 9/11 with the budget pressures back home will require Obama to keep a running dialogue with the American people. Since last year, they have largely found the war not worth fighting. It takes more than one good general to win a war. The home front is a battleground, too.
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