Better financial management and division of responsibilities will not solve all the problems identified by the Court of Auditors in its report of 18 May 2016. More technical knowledge and experience at managerial level at the DMO and the administrative staff is essential to properly address the problems, according to the "Politics and DV Engineering" working group. In doing so, appointing a chief technology officer (CTO) in an organisation with as much technology as Defence would also be appropriate.
The Court of Audit's report of 18 May 2016 reports that at Defence, deployment and ambitions are out of balance. The solution at Defence in such situations is often sought ( yet in vain) in improving efficiency and repeatedly investigating the root causes.
It can be established that the cutbacks imposed over the past 10-15 years have prioritised austerity in the support staff and to a lesser extent in the operational units. An example is a rigorous staff reduction of technical specialists at the DMO. From the perspective of short-term deployability, this choice makes sense, but it draws heavily on support and renewal.
With the reduced technical staff, "buy off the shelf" was supposed to absorb this cut. This turns out to be a wrong assumption, leaving the investment budget for maintenance and spare parts structurally underspent and units deprived of necessary resources. In addition, the report reports on page 6 that much less than intended has also been invested in improvements and in new, state-of-the-art equipment. The latter relies even more heavily on technical knowledge and experience.
The need does exist and the importance is recognised within Defence, including through small-scale activities by CDS and OPCOs such as "Innovation AIR", FRONT other initiatives.
It is logical to add to Policy Research's conclusions on page 21 of the Court of Audit report that key positions do not have enough technically oriented executives with experience in innovation and materiel projects. Especially also in the defence elite. Better financial management and division of responsibilities, as recommended in the report, is not a solution for everything.
How will the minister fill this shortage of technically oriented managers. Is she prepared to take measures in the short term? Particularly at the DMO and the administrative staff. Appointing a chief director of technology (CTO) would also be appropriate in an organisation with so much technology.
Defence's technical knowledge is also crucial to maintain the ecosystem (v.h. golden triangle) of defence, knowledge institutes and industry, among others. Only with the help of that knowledge can industry develop advanced products.
In response to the comment on page 6 of the Court of Audit report, would the minister be willing to invest more in the defence ecosystem in order to make improvements to, and acquisition of, new advanced equipment more more effectively? This could include increasing in-house knowledge and (re)developing knowledge at the knowledge institutes. It is likely that further downsizing of technical knowledge on the Defence side of the ecosystem reinforces rather than solves the problems identified by the Court.
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The Hague, 30 May 2016
The "Politics and Defence & Security Engineering" working group of the Royal Institute of Engineers (KIVI) analyses current political developments in the defence sector. It provides facts and interpretation from the technological knowledge and experience of engineers.
Still have questions? Then contact the working group at E: dv@kivi.nl or T: 071 7113973
Photo: Wikipedia Creative Commons (2014, Sgt. Sarah Dietz, United States Marine Corps)
