History Of acquisition it the department of defense : Rearming for the cold war 1945-1960 / by Elliot V. Converse III.

With hard- and supercover

v. 1(766 p.; ill.)

In Rearming for the Cold War, the first publication in a multivolume series on the history of the acquisition of major weapon systems by the Department of Defense, author Elliott Converse presents a meticulously researched overview of changes in acquisition policies, organizations, and processes within the United States military establishment during the decade and a half following World War II. Many of the changes that shaped the nature and course of weapons research and development, production, and contracting through the end of the century were instituted between 1945 and 1960; many of the problems that have repeatedly challenged defense policymakers and acquisition professionals also first surfaced during these years. The volume is organized chronologically, with individual chapters addressing the roles of OSD, the Army, Navy, and Air Force in two distinct periods. The first, roughly coinciding with President Truman's tenure, covers the years from the end of World War II through the end of the Korean War. The second spans the two terms of the Eisenhower presidency from 1953 through early 1961. The volume approaches the subject through discussion of the evolution of acquisition policies, organizations, and processes; the interservice and intraservice political context of acquisition; the relationship between rapidly advancing technology and acquisition; the role of the defense industry in new weapons development; the origins and growth of a specialized acquisition workforce; and acquisition reform. Case studies of individual systems illustrate the various forces influencing weapons programs.