Military automatic test systems acquisition-the Navy Requirements Officer perspective

In the current environment of DOD downsizing, considerable savings can be achieved by timely, appropriate ATS decisions. Frequently decisions are made in an environment where ATS and support in general is down-played in favor of more glamorous "smoke-and-fire" budget elements. Sometimes this is a result of inadequate preparation, sometimes from a lack of understanding of the process, almost always from a lack of knowledge regarding the funding process where support and ATS interests are represented by the Requirements Officer (RO). This paper provides an overview of the RO's perspective.