I have been asked, “How can Affordability be applied to Government when Government has often overspent and overcommitted resources?”

Believe it or not, Government has demonstrated a capability of incorporating Affordability. I have been involved in two such incidents in the past 17 years. This Blog focuses on one of those two examples.

After 9/11, and for the first several years of combat involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, a device, strategic to the enemy, named “I.E.D.” (Improvised Explosive Device), created most of the deaths of American warfighters. By 2006, IED deaths grew exponentially. In October of 2007, the serving Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, stood in front of congress and asked for $55B to deploy 27,500 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Military (“MRAP”) Vehicles in 3 years (2007-2009) into Iraq and Afghanistan.

This commitment was far beyond any capability for fielding ground combat systems …even greater and faster than during World War II. This promise contained an “impossible dream” factor that assisted in driving with a clear sense of urgency. The main purpose was to save lives and address the highest priority for both was theatres.

A defense program was established at the end of 2006 that served for the next three years and even five years beyond for the maintenance and sustainment of the MRAP fleet. Paul Mann was named MRAP Program Manager, and Dave Hansen was appointed MRAP Assistant Program Manager (Dave eventually followed Paul as Program Manager after 2010). There were a few hundred military and civilian personnel directly involved in the program.

My involvement began in August 22, 2007 at SPAWAR, the naval base where the MRAP were being integrated and readied for deployment to Kuwait, and subsequently to Iraq and Afghanistan. During my first day there, 5 vehicles were completed and staged to be deployed. Using Affordability principles and ‘Lean Math’ to calculate Takt Time for Demand, I realized that the integration site should be operating at a speed of 1 about every 30 minutes or at a rate of 28 per day. To date only 278 vehicles had been completed (To Note: more than 6,000 should have been done and shipped).

In order to ‘catch up’, and meet Secretary Gate’s commitment, a goal of 50 per day had to be set and met. By Nov 4, 2007 the first day of 50 vehicles complete was met. January 2008 was the first full month 50/day was met. The pace and rhythm was maintained and the promise was met.

BY the end and closure of the program, $50B was spent. The budget was not overrun and $5B was saved. This program, not only saved lives, but also met Affordability factors when all was said and done.