The Pentagon's procurement directorate is beginning its next annual review of its acquisition of services policy and oversight.

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA -- Air Combat Command has undertaken a number of policy and procedure reviews in an attempt to free up cash and give airmen more time to focus on their duties and training, a top service general told Inside the Air Force this week.

The charter for the new Marine Corps force structure review, an internal document marked "for official use only," warns that budget cuts will drive reductions in the service's end strength, equipment and modernization.

The Defense Department's procurement shop is fed up with program managers routinely failing to include enough details in strategy documents for technology development and acquisition programs, according to an internal memo obtained by Inside the Pentagon.

The Defense Logistics Agency's plans to support Defense Secretary Robert Gates' cost-reduction initiatives include cutting "prices" by as much as 10 percent and taking additional steps to weed out suppliers of counterfeit parts that do not meet military regulations, according to senior defense officials.

The Pentagon claims it would be "infeasible and not advisable" to establish baselines to track and measure operating and support costs that could account for up to 70 percent of most weapon systems' life-cycle costs, according to a "for official use only" report to Congress reviewed by Inside the Pentagon.

The Pentagon's acquisition directorate has canceled plans to hold a discussion this week with the defense industry about the department's ongoing efficiencies initiative.

Shay Assad, the Pentagon's director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, is urging the armed services to follow acquisition rules when handling contracts tied to congressional earmarks.

The Defense Department has adjusted its $1.6 trillion portfolio of major weapon systems being developed and acquired, formally ushering in 11 new programs and completing paperwork on four major efforts whose procurement runs are complete or nearly finished.

A new congressional analysis of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' new efficiency initiatives -- including a bid to close U.S. Joint Forces Command and trim the ranks of government personnel and contractors -- concludes that savings from these efforts would produce "relatively small amounts" toward the defense secretary's stated goal of wringing $100 billion from the Pentagon budget over five years.

The Pentagon will siphon nearly $2 billion away from other accounts to execute the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program over the next five years, in accordance with changes Defense Secretary Robert Gates directed to the program in December, according to budget documents.

Several defense agencies are scheduled to undergo independent procurement management reviews next year as the Defense Department conducts a major top-down efficiency initiative and focuses on contracting issues.

Over the next six to 12 months, the Obama administration plans to eliminate U.S. Joint Forces Command and major Pentagon offices that handle computer networks, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today.

A general involved in the Army's capability portfolio reviews fleshed out the process for defense industry executives at a conference last week and explained that the service might begin shortening its planning time frames and become more agile by acquiring less materiel, but more often.

As the Pentagon's budget begins to flatten, multiservice joint programs could translate into savings in some areas, but are not the be-all, end-all solution for cutting costs, the Air Force's top programmer said this week.

Four key Pentagon officials warned Congress today that failing to pass a $33 billion supplemental defense budget before the scheduled August recess would result in civilian furloughs and create a financial emergency for the military.

The Defense Department's acquisition office wants to develop an online toolkit to help streamline the acquisition process for warfighters in the field and to quickly and efficiently get them the items they need.

A top defense acquisition official told Congress last week the Pentagon intends to increase competition in contracts and provide efficiency incentives to industry as part of its developing strategy to dramatically cut overhead costs.

The Defense Department lacks the information and guidance needed to manage and reduce operating and support costs for major weapon systems, according to a report released this week by the Government Accountability Office.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates' big push for efficiencies is "not a budget drill," but instead is about "turning fat into muscle," Pentagon industrial policy chief Brett Lambert told defense industry representatives today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.