Gen. John Murray, head of Army Futures Command, has said he believes the service should consider extending the tours of program managers and other personnel involved in acquisition programs, Defense News reported Thursday.“I think timelines for how long we keep people associated with programs has got to change,†Murray said Wednesday at Defense News Conference.
He said such a move would demand a cultural change within the Army.
“We’ve got to change the culture [to where] it’s OK to do that because what you get in the Army is what you reward,†noted Murray, who was confirmed by the Senate in August.
“And the way we reward people is through promotion boards and advancement, and you get that in the Army by commanding organizations, not by being associated with a program for an extended period of time.â€
Murray cited the need to embrace the short-term risk by shifting funds from incremental upgrades to next-generation systems and other potential breakthroughs that aim to deliver new capabilities to warfighters, Breaking Defense reported.
“We have to be able to accept risk at certain points in the life of a program …. up front,†he said.
“Fail early and fail cheaply is something we have to inculcate in people.â€
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