Koch Aerospace, LLC has been verified as a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB)
Owner's 'DoGE-ISH' Experience...
I was a deployed comptroller during sequestration in FY13. Ultimately, we saw our yearly budget get cut by roughly 20% due to sequestration. However, the biggest culture shift happened with the formation of two budget committees to vet and prioritize base requirements.
Once these committees were formed the budget and execution process became so much easier. The base was well established and enduring, thus there was no reason why these committees could not have been formulated prior to sequestration.
In my mind, DOGE, in a broad sense, is like a ‘gate-review’. Meaning, requirements and funding profiles should be vetted and prioritized. This is what occurred during our budget committees. It was amazing how requirements were deleted or put on the back burner because requirement owners now knew requirements were going to be vetted and prioritized in an open environment for all to see (i.e., to include the base commander). Moreover, the requirements were going to be seen by tenant organizations (e.g., to include other military branches) that had a seat at the budget committee table.
Politically, my job got easier. For example, one day, the deputy base commander came into my office, and asked about a specific requirement that she wanted funded. I said, “Ma’am, we’ll have to see how the budget committee prioritizes the requirement.” That ended the politics.
Applying my experience to Washington DC should be possible. However, the politics and questionable ethics can make it that more complicated. Moreover, this includes the concerns that Eisenhower had on the ‘military-industrial complex’ (i.e., growing too big and negatively influencing poor decisions in Washington DC).
Personally, this is why I love SpaceX and the newer defense companies coming online. They challenge the status-quo (i.e., cost overruns, delayed deliverables, think next Air Force One still not done). As a veteran and former tier-1 defense employee, I love the swagger, for example, of SpaceX. They have completely embarrassed the big legacy primes. In a sense, SpaceX has shown how legacy primes need to be DOGED.