Reintegration of sustainment into systems engineering during the department of defense acquisition process

One of the major unintended consequences of Acquisition Reform efforts during the 1990s was a reduction in rigor of sustainment planning and effectiveness throughout materiel development programs. As the evidence of this problem mounted over the past decade, the Department of Defense (DoD) initiated efforts to rejuvenate sustainment planning during the early phases of program development. This article provides brief descriptions of the actions that have been taken, or that are being planned, to achieve this goal.