HQMC official: Acquisition process to blame in U.S. losing tech edge

QUANTICO, VA -- The Defense Department's acquisition process is one of the reasons the United States is losing its technological advantage in the information warfare environment, according to an official from Marine Corps Headquarters. 

"Why doesn't [Marine Corps Commandant] Gen. [Robert] Neller have a venture capital fund that's well-resourced and available to use here today?" Phillip Chudoba, assistant director of intelligence, said at the Modern Day Marine exposition here Sept. 20.

"Marines are going to walk around the floor and see technology that fits their vision. . . . And the quickest [they’ll] see the technology in [their] hands is 36 months," he said.

Chudoba added that technology is "disconnected from Moore's Law" and "doesn't work," referring to a principle that suggests technology improves exponentially each year. He also said "Chinese dominance" in the information warfare environment is coming.