The Defense Business Board has proposed cost-cutting measures for the Defense Department to save $125 billion over the next five years, Defense News reported Sunday.Paul McLeary writes the business panel called on the Pentagon to reduce contractor services, cut administrative expenses, implement early retirements and renegotiate contracts in order to pump those savings into the military forces.
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work issued a memo in October 2014 requesting the DBB to create a group that would examine and propose changes to the Pentagon’s enterprise modernization effort, according to the report.
“My goal is to modernize our business processes and supporting systems and create an agile enterprise shared services organization in order to reduce costs, maximize return on investment, and improve performance,” he said in the memo.
McLeary writes the memo was intended to solicit advice on how the private sector integrates information technology services and to seek recommendations to overhaul the DoD’s business processes.
The task group estimates a nearly $25 billion a year in savings between 2016 and 2020 if the cost-cutting initiatives are followed, Defense News reports.
