The Falcon and the Mirage (2001) [OCR PDF] torrent

Though it's now a bit on the dated side, some peeps interested in military-related subjects might find this of use/worth. Those folks that actually work in associated fields (like I used to) likely already have full access to this reference, and others like it, through DAU/NDU/AKO/etc.

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THE FALCON AND THE MIRAGE: Managing For Combat Effectiveness[/b]

Non-Fiction
Benedict A. Kausal, IV
2001, 148pp
Defense Acquisition University Press
ISBN: 1-893833-04-7
(A DAU Press production created November 2001 using PageMaker 6.52 and Acrobat Distiller 4.0)

Over the last several decades a significant body of writings has appeared on "management"; the reading public has shown a thirst for new management concepts, ideas, or trends that will make them better managers in their chosen field(s).

Within the Department of Defense (DoD) and the three military departments —Army, Navy, Air Force— billions of dollars are spent to develop, produce, field, and operate military weapon systems. The hub of that activity, at least in the Air Force, is the System Program Office (SPO). Little has been written on the management activities of a program office.

Peter Drucker has said, "Size determines complexity". If he was correct, one of the most difficult management tasks may be the management of an acquisition program. For an acquisition system is large, with many players, and many agendas; just within DoD competing interests exist between the Services, and internally the Air Force struggles with competing interests. Laws, rules, and regulations govern the process, but technical difficulties arise in any program regardless of its lifespan. Problems occur whether developing new systems or just keeping old systems up-to-date. And finally finding one’s way through the maze of laws, organizations, and politics of the Pentagon and its acquisition system is a real challenge.

This case study looks at the "hub" of activity in the acquisition business: the System Program Office (SPO). This is a transnational comparison. The approach is to examine, compare, and contrast the management methods, processes, and procedures of the French Délégation Générale pour l’Armement’s (DGA) Mirage Aircraft Program and the United States Air Force’s F-16 Fighter Aircraft Program for insight into more efficient management practices. These are not idle questions reserved for academia, but rather real issues to be faced by acquisition public decision makers. What is the most effective and cost efficient structure for managing a program office? What tasks and responsibilities does a program office perform? Can, and should, some of these be accomplished by industry? The bottom line question is how to deliver a complex weapon system such as the Mirage or F-16 at a cost the government and the public can afford and that is militarily effective.

In France and the United States, defense is big business and each country continues to allocate significant amounts of their national resources for the security of the nation. With competing demands for newer and better weapon systems versus domestic needs, acquisition organizations from both countries will keep the spotlight on cutting the costs of new and existing weapons.

Organizations mold behavior, but the organizations were created for a variety of reasons to include ideology, cultural constraints, and history. What is the effect of political and bureaucratic institutions on the acquisition system? What special problems arise from public accountability and political control? Within this environment, the business of meeting the future armament needs of the military continues, and our need to know how they are to continue doing it remains.

Content headings/sub-headings include...
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The French National Milieu
Political-Military Environment
Ministry of Defense
Délégation Générale pour l’Armement’s (DGA) Role & Organization
Acquisition Program Management
Planning, Programming, and Budgeting
Procurement/Contracting System
DGA Workforce Fonctionaires & Education
Collaboration and Armament Sales

The US National Milieu]
Political Military Environment
Congressional Involvement in Acquisition
DoD Acquisition Structure & AF Materiel Command
Development of Military Requirements
Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System
Acquisition Management System
Integrated Product Teams
Procurement/Contracting System
Defense Acquisition and Technology Workforce
Cooperation and Armament Sales

Industry-Gov't Relationships
US Defense Industrial Base & Trends
French Defense Industrial Base
Restructuring & Globalization of French Industry

French Mirage 2000 Program
Program History
Mirage Aircraft
Air Force Combat Aircraft Division
Tactical Missiles Program Division
Integrated Program Teams
Program Managers and Personnel (Education & Experience)
Management Practices (Decision, Reform, Outside Influences, Config Control, Budgeting)
Business Arrangements

United States F-16 Program
Program History
Fighting Falcon Aircraft
Aeronautical Systems Center & Ogden Air Logistics Center
F-16 System Program Office Groups
Integrated Program Team
Program Managers and Personnel (Functional Discipline, Education, Training, Turnover)
Management Practices (Decision, Reform, Foreign Mil Sales, Outside Influence, Config Updates)
Business Arrangements

Contrast Of Program Management
Politics and Armament Acquisition
Breadth of Defense Activities
Way of Doing Business
Decision Making
Difference in Management Styles


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Please be advised that I have a very slow connection (c.30-60kB up), as well as sporadically connectable state... so things might take awhile to grab from me.
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