Inside the Pentagon highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Pentagon's plan for breaking up its acquisition organization could eliminate several influential positions, including the director of defense pricing and the top developmental testing official, according to a new congressional analysis.

Full story: Reorganization of DOD acquisition could eliminate pricing chief, other posts

2. President Trump's new plan to increase U.S. operations in Afghanistan was greeted with support from GOP lawmakers, but the total number of additional troops remains vague and could complicate an already stressful budget environment when Congress returns Sept. 5.

Full story: Trump's Afghanistan plan to be injected into already complicated budget fight

3. The Defense Department plans to change the goal for how much time it takes to deliver the first item under a foreign military sale, as DOD argues the current metric "does not provide a complete picture," according to a recent government audit.

Full story: DOD plans to update initial delivery metric for foreign military sales

4. The White House Office of Management and Budget wants the Defense Department to give "special focus" to missile defense, hypersonic weapons, autonomous and space-based systems as well as other technologies when drawing up research and development investments for fiscal year 2019, according to a recent memo.

Full story: White House OMB sends out FY-19 defense R&D wish list