PREFACE
This documented briefing (DB) describes a RAND study conducted in
response to a November 1998 Navy request for help in determining why its
military specifications and standards reform (MSSR) efforts appeared to be
underfunded. The study had four objectives: first, to define the status of
Navy military specification and standards reform as of approximately
December 1998; second, to find possible explanations for why, as of
December 1998, the Navy had not met its self-imposed target date for
MSSR completion; third, to describe the primary options for MSSR com-
pletion available to the Navy’s Acquisition Reform (AR) Office; and fourth,
to suggest further steps RAND might take to inform the Navy’s choice of
options.
From December 1998 through March 1999, interviews and data collection
efforts were undertaken with personnel from the Navy AR Office, NAVSEA,
and NAVAIR. In addition, officials in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Defense
Logistics Agency, and Office of the Secretary of Defense were interviewed.
Initial analysis and assessment of the data were completed by the end of
February 1999, and findings were presented to the sponsor in the form of a
briefing on 5 March 1999. RAND’s initial findings were accepted by the
sponsor, and one of the options chosen as the solution to completing
implementation of Navy Mil-Spec reform. As a result, the sponsor invited
RAND to attend a meeting of the systems command (SYSCOM) standardi-
zation executives on 16 July 1999 in order to present the findings and assist
in implementation approaches as needed. This DB documents the briefing
that was presented to Navy officials at both the March and July 1999 meet-
ings.
Although this documented briefing describes and analyzes a specific situ-
ation faced by the Navy in 1998-1999, RAND believes that MSSR has pro-
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