I have to take exception to U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s characterization that somehow our warfighters are short-changed by some nefarious contractors (“MGP issues new right to repair legislation aimed at US Military,” Dec. 13 edition of The Chronicle).
In fact, her alleged fix is superfluous and redundant.
I would direct the readers’ attention to 10 USC2466 and related sections. It mandates at least 50% of the work on acquired weapon systems be directed to U.S. government depot repair facilities for those things that (for a variety of good reasons) can’t be repaired by deployed personnel.
Contractors are incentivized to put as much work in the hands of the service members as possible because of this legislation. Sometimes, contractors are required, but it requires justification. The government has a system that addresses both economic and national security reasons for supporting fielded systems and related equipment. Systems that are obtained through the acquisition process undergo a rigorous set of evaluations and reviews that inform the U.S. government — based on data and end-user experience — about where repairs are made, what tools are needed to repair, and what spare parts, training and technical data are required, etc.
There is always room for improvement, but the existing methods serve our service members well. It may surprise Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez to know that many people who develop these systems actually have the operators and the maintainers of these systems in mind, or have related field experience, when they work with the customer to provide them the equipment that they need to do their jobs.
There is a lot more to this story than space would permit. It seems like Gluesenkamp Perez’s proposed legislation is more for getting a mention in The Chronicle than providing a solution for a problem … that does not exist.
Dennis Wick
Chehalis
