The Absurdity of Military Spending Explained

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Oops, I misspoke which happens sometimes when you do videos and don't notice it. Eisenhower farewell address was in 1961, 1963. My bad.

The spreadsheet is available at

A lot of people believe that the military has a blank check when it comes to purchasing equipment, but there is a very careful and deliberate process called "RDA" or "Research Development Acquisition."

The "R" and the "D" is the easiest part of the RDA process to understand. But people get hung up on the "A."

Military equipment needs to meet certain criteria. Yes, you can buy a hammer from Home Depot, but will that hammer survive a supply drop by parachute? Can the hammer be decontaminated if subject to chemical attack? Will that hammer shatter in the arctic? And is that hammer made with materials from an adversarial foreign nation? Production temporarily halted on the F-35 in 2022 due to the discovery of rare earth metals sourced from China inside of a magnetic component of the F-35.

There are three decision support systems related to procurement:

* Joint Capability Integration and Development (JCIDS) - which provides requirements.

* Defense Acquisition Management - which supervises the formal process of each acquisition phase through milestones.

* Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) - which provides resources, such as funding.

So there is a very carful and well-regulated process to buying stuff for the US Military.

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