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So What’s the Story Behind the Air Force’s Failed $1B Software Program?

Jan. 26, 2013 2:00pm
Heres Whats Happening With That Failed $1B Software Program the USAF Tried to Implement

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If you have questions regarding the failed billion-dollar software program Computer Sciences Corp. was supposed to put together for the U.S. Air Force, get in line: The Senate Armed Services Committee has plenty it wants answered.

“I have directed the committee’s investigative staff to conduct a comprehensive investigation” to figure out “the causes of the failure and assess steps that can be taken to avoid similar failures,” Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said in an emailed statement.

Bloomberg provides a little background on the final decision to scuttle CSC’s Expeditionary Combat Support System:

… [it] was canceled in November after the service determined the supply-chain management project was “no longer a viable option” to help meet a goal of having its financial books in shape for a federal audit by 2017.

That’s been a major objective of departing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. An additional $1.1 billion would have been required to fix the system and put it in operation by 2020 — eight years after the planned date, according to the Air Force.

Of nine software systems that the Pentagon is installing to improve longstanding financial management deficiencies, the Air Force program was one of at least six that were running as much as 12 years late and $6.9 billion over their original cost estimates, the Government Accountability Office reported in September 2010.

Following the decision decision to dump the failed program, Sens. Levin and John McCain (R-Ariz.) sent a letter to Panetta saying “this case appears to be one of the most egregious examples of mismanagement in recent memory.”

“I can understand the senators’ frustration,” Air Force Lieutenant General Charles Davis told Bloomberg. “I can understand the fact that a billion-plus of taxpayer’s money went to essentially nothing.”

Senators should be “holding us accountable,” he added.

CSC’s “poor schedule performance was a contributing factor,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek added in email.

Heres Whats Happening With That Failed $1B Software Program the USAF Tried to Implement

The headquarters of Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) in Falls Church, Va. (Computer Sciences Corp. via Bloomberg).

What does CSC have to say?

The company “has not received notification” of the Senate investigation but “will provide information on its role” to “any congressional inquiries,” CSC spokeswoman Heather Williams said an email.

Williams also said in another email to Bloomberg that the CSC “worked closely and cooperatively with the Air Force’s senior leadership to close out” the contract.

“We stand behind the work accomplished to date which can provide a solid foundation for the program’s future,” she said.

Whether they stand behind it or not, the Senate Armed Services Committee still wants to know why $1 billion was lost on a program that was supposed to make things more cost-efficient.

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Featured image courtesy Getty Images.

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Comments (71)

1 2
  • spfoam1
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 9:59pm

    The government will now create 3 separate comittees, with a budget of 2 billion each, to study how they wasted 1 billion.

    Report this comment

    spfoam1  
    • ICRedifURBlue
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 12:45am

      In my world if you commit to a contract and fail to perform or complete according to terms (and it’s not MY fault – excess changes,redesign, etc.) The money FRACKIN’ STOPS, someone else gets a shot and your out on your arse(you might even get a beat down first)…..shytehead govt. extends, increases and dumps as much money as possible down the shyte hole for as long as possible.

      Report this comment

      ICRedifURBlue  
    • NoSleeper
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 5:50am

      The Government has big problems in this area:

      It has gotten away from ‘Firm Fixed Price’ and shifted to ‘Cost Plus’ contracts. Under FFP, the Government had to clearly spell out what they wanted and the contractor was held to the bid submitted. CP is much looser and the Government seldom specifies exactly what it wants, and contractors intentionally underbid to appear competitive. As the project moves along, the Government decides what it wants, changes direction, drops completed portions deemed unnecessary, etc., and the contractor gets paid for everything, plus profit.

      Although I think the contractors have some blame (taking advantage of the situation to a certain degree), the vast majority of the blame rests with the Government which has become so large and so bureaucratic that it cannot effectively complete even minor tasks.

      Report this comment

      NoSleeper  
    • MeMadMax
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 7:12am

      Oh my god…
      Me and a couple of programming buddies would be able to kick out at least a beta program in a month… especially if a billion bones was on the line…

      Report this comment

      MeMadMax  
    • term limits for congress
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 9:03am

      And most of the money went out of the US to non-citizens. They probably spent all the money on project management and zero on actual software.

      Follow the money – the $1 bil is a kick-back to somebody.

      Report this comment

      term limits for congress  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 9:11am

      …onnother OBERI-WARE which was designed to fail and cost taxmoney$$ to produce and perpetually-non-fix!

      Report this comment

      G-WHIZ  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 9:33am

      I say that this can be more insidious than it appears on the top, and it occurred under the Clinton Administration as well. In fact for the first time in history, the U.S. military as a whole even with certain financial gafs used to be the only part of our government that the biggest bang for the buck. Clinton began to filter funds through the military to his various favored recipients. When the red flags started to pop up regarding the expenditures, the military took the blame. I don’t know yet, because I have not found anything yet, but did anybody in this company from the top down have anything to do with bundling campaign funds for 0bama? I am simply pointing out that this is a possibility and that I have no concrete proof, but it has happened before. Somebody needs to really follow the money.

      Report this comment

      RJJinGadsden  
    • techengineer11
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 10:42am

      I see it everyday!

      Many red blooded Americans scream do not cut Defense or we’ll be like we were in the Carter days.. Or Defense is the one thing the tax payers dollars should be going toward…

      What people fail to realize is the incredible amount of Waste in doing business for the Gov’t.

      It is truly mind boggling how ineffecient, wasteful and outright fraudulent Gov’t contracts are.

      If you are really a Conservative and you knew the truth it would make you VOMIT.

      Please when you hear someone on the right saying we need to cut Defense… Support them!

      Make the Gov’t do more with less.

      This story is really the tip of the iceberg!

      Demand Defense cuts. We spend more on our DoD than the rest of the entire world and we get far less.

      The entire gov’t contracting process is truly a sickening experience.

      I just don’t know how to put into words how truly pathetic it really is… Well I actually do but I’m not.

      Unfortunately the DoD has become the biggest Welfare recipient of all.

      Report this comment

      techengineer11  
    • techengineer11
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 10:45am

      Curious did Rumsfeld and crew ever find the 2.3 Trillion that was missing from the DoD which he announced publicly on 9-10-2001?

      Or was that just covered up after 9-11-2001?

      Shouldn’t that be a bigger story? lol

      Report this comment

      techengineer11  
    • DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 11:09am

      @RJJ
      Unlike private businesses nobody audits the gov. They don’t even have a balanced set of books to audit! The GAO produces reports about various things as requested by the gov but each pot of taxpayer money is managed by the top officials in charge & when the pot comes up empty they just ask for bigger budget. Every politician promises to stop the gov fraud & waste but as soon as they get their hands on the checkbook they want the pot to be full. Any digging at all will almost certainly uncover a crime but proving it without help from someone on the inside is nearly impossible. If you think the shredders worked overtime at a certain first lady’s law firm just imagine that at all the gov offices. Only acorn was too stupid to take out the trash without shredding it first.

      Report this comment

      DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT  
    • nzkiwi
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 12:31am

      @ RJ

      It’s an interesting possibility but I still have this phrase ringing in my head “…a billion-plus of taxpayer’s money went to essentially nothing.”

      That is one of the more stunning admissions that I’ve read in quite a while. Government departments, including your military, seem to have lost all respect for other people’s hard-earned money.

      It is little wonder that the administration thinks that it is quite reasonable to continue to blithely spend a trillion dollars more than it takes in every year. When someone in authority can nonchalantly make such a confession, and then say that the senate should be “holding us accountable”, as if they are too child-like to be expected to do that job themselves, then they should be fired pending charges and a very sharp fiscal razor should be taken to the offending organisation.

      And then they should have a non-military accountant placed over all other personnel regardless of rank. What a bunch of infants.

      I find the whole thing simply appalling.

      Report this comment

      nzkiwi  
    • Lamarr01
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:44am

      The defense department has suppliers in every congressional district. A major goal of defense spending is to supply stable employment. Most of the spending is to support the bureaucracy and to generate endless “make work” projects.

      Under the new Socialistic regime, the government is the employer of last resort.

      Report this comment

      Lamarr01  
    • Lamarr01
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:58am

      Hey TechEngineer:

      Rumsfeld mentioned the $2.3 billing accounting discrepancy on September 10, 2001. The civilian auditors and the accounting data was in the section of the Pentagon that was hit by terrorist “airplane”. The accounting data was destroyed but they did have a backup.

      Unfortunately, the only copy of the backup accounting files was in World Trade Center 7 and it fell down in a neat little stack.

      Note: a preferred method of avoiding and IRS audit is to leave all the accounting data in an over insured building that is destroyed by an professional arsonist.

      Report this comment

      Lamarr01  
  • zke007
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 9:38pm

    Please this is just the tip of the iceberg, look up the FBI project “sentinel”, this was to get the FBI’s case management system in the to 21 century, Start with SAIC, they failed, so FBI gave contract to Lockheed Martin ( twice the price ).

    And can you guess the reason why is failed, that’s right, government management.

    Report this comment

    zke007  
  • Hopefulone
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 8:16pm

    The government project managers should go to jail and lose their pensions.

    CSC couldn’t keep this scam going without the sign-off of many, many people on the government side. Sure they did useless work, but the government people with their fat salaries, fat pensions, government-paid degrees, training, and certifications, are the ones who approved the statements of work, the specifications, and the incremental invoices over all those years. Start putting the guvvies in jail, and stripping them of their pensions (that so many are just sitting around to collect) and things will change. All the laws, regulations, and policies to prevent government waste currently only assure longer, more-expensive, and more wasteful processes (requiring more government drones to push more paper that ends up serving as “proof” that the monster process was done correctly–as CYA).

    Report this comment

    Hopefulone  
  • Krolis
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 7:22pm

    sounds like a program to balance the books?
    Think ebay has Quicken for about $40.00

    Report this comment

    Krolis  
  • FreedomPurveyor
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 6:12pm

    At this point, one billion dollars is gone! WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?!?!

    Report this comment

    FreedomPurveyor  
  • pavepaws
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:47pm

    According to their website, CSC worked on Barry’s campaign tracking money and voters. So payback would be my guess.

    Report this comment

    pavepaws  
    • DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 11:15am

      Or pay for tracking voters & data mining. Just like the vacations let someone else pay when they want a big prize. So when that guy says he should be paying more, that would be the one honest statement he made.

      Report this comment

      DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT  
  • PLJJ
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:46pm

    We need 10 million of the top 20% to file extensions , SEND NO MONEY TAX TIME , THEN THE NEXT 30 MILLION REGULAR TAXPAYERS TO FOLLOW SUIT . SEND NO MONEY , just a IOU . Gives us to fall to see what really happens when we TAKE AW#AY THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 60 million IOU’s will balance the ripped off Social Security fund that old GORE said was in the LOCK BOX . Remember that one !!! A LOCK BOX . The first monday after tax day for 10 consecutive mondays , cut spending for anything possible , delay a day or 2 . Every monday after tax day for 10 weeks . NO TAX REVENUE , THEN 10 Mondays as blue as a Chicago cubby hat . Its a start , TAKE AWAY THE MONEY , they are NOTHING without it . Hey China you want to lend some ???? AT YOUR PERIL Chun Lee , at your peril . Its a idea , a start , FU to this group who has HIGH-JACKED our GOVERNMENT as though it just theirs . Its ours Obee , Moo Chell , you frickin Libs , Rinos , punks in general , ya you media , TAKE AWAY THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Report this comment

    PLJJ  
    • GardenoftheGods
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 7:13pm

      I thought the same thing…Get a huge group of people who owe taxes, get them to file an extension and starve our pig of a government to death! Until I found out if you owe taxes & want an extended time to pay, you’re supposed to send them an estimate of what you owe and when you finally file, they figure out the difference & charge you interest if you didn’t pay enough.They’ve got all the angles covered.

      Report this comment

      GardenoftheGods  
    • kaydeebeau
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 7:11am

      One problem with your thought – even though you file for an extension – you still have to make a “guess” payment on April 15… the extension only allows you time to get your paper work together to support your tax bill – you still have to pay on April 15

      Report this comment

      kaydeebeau  
    • PLJJ
      Posted on January 27, 2013 at 10:03am

      My goal here is to get some start to a tactic . We pay the bills , most if not all here as we work and pay taxes . I filed a extension before and did pay the estimated during my cancer treatments , but I was just 1 , not part of a group of say 10′s of millions filing and saying NO to extensions by just NOT sending them . My hope here is to spur a plan that WE hatch , The world of Washington operates with OUR monies , simply that , OUR MONEY . I want to fight to TAKE AWAY THE MONEY !! Many smarter people than me need to know the desire to STOP THEM is the goal . We are not helpless , we actually bring the cards to the game . The power is Money . Our money .

      Report this comment

      PLJJ  
  • weareskrewed
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:12pm

    What’s that !!! ??? A failed government program ??? Our military got ripped off by a contractor ??? Say it isn’t so… What’s that !!! ??? Call Feinstein’s husband so we can get this covered up as soon as possible !!! Dam ! … it’s already out on the news !!! Ahhhhh…. I know; let’s create another crisis for diversion ! we all know how stupid the public is !!!

    Report this comment

    weareskrewed  
  • vcb
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:07pm

    “… at this point, what does it matter?”

    Report this comment

    vcb  
  • Tom70
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 4:24pm

    Heck it is only a few billion chump change. What I’d really like to know and I imagine many American’s that are still working and paying taxes or in my opinion being extorted out of our hard earned money is what recourse do we have with this Computer science outfit. How much will they be fined or will they even be responsible for repairing the damage. Of course if they are Obama buddies like the green energy folks well I guess we’ll let it slide.

    Report this comment

    Tom70  
  • Lotus503
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 4:19pm

    It’s simple. They broke the contract by not completing the job. The feds need to demand the money back.

    Report this comment

    Lotus503  
  • blazingaway
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 4:14pm

    Example after example after example of how STUPID the government is, wasteful the government is, incapable the government is … NOT THE MILITARY … but the bureaucracy, the politicians, the administrators all of the people who RIP-OFF the taxpayers to feather their nest, to pay for their life-style at the expense of others … and they want your guns because we’re getting wise to their game, their abuse, their wastefulness and just how much it is costing us and enriching them and they don’t want us to stop being their mule, their jackass who they work to death

    Report this comment

    blazingaway  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 4:32pm

      you cant separate the military from the government

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • Big Media Bias
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 5:41pm

      Generals and subordinate officers at the Pentagon ARE politicians. They follow the same unethical code as politicians. They allow these egregious things to happen. Money flows to certain businesses with connections. When that officer’s time is up by retirement or attrition, he/she is expected to be hired by that firm and paid an extraordinary amount in salary. I’ve seen it numerous of times… so have you.

      Anyone can create a (shell) company. Many companies sit dormant for years until the right person and project is steered their way. They bid on military/federal contracts or subcontracts. They do absolutely nothing but hire out the work to pre-determined individuals and corporations. Everyone knows the cash flows freely for a long time with no accountability. No one goes to jail. No one pays back one cent.

      I doubt Glenn Beck will look into this scam with his new Woodward & Bernstein investigative reporters. He is too busy planning to build empty Chinese cities.

      Report this comment

      Big Media Bias  
  • Okieflyover
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:58pm

    Follow the money to some special interest or lobbyist. Then look at the districts the jobs are in

    Report this comment

    Okieflyover  
  • woodyee
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:57pm

    Hehe!

    And some of our resident morons are perfectly okay with having these sod-clods running their healthcare, and that of their families, should be the first in line on Darwins list of Endangered Species…

    Report this comment

    woodyee  
  • tbeachhead
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:56pm

    Let me know when the class action lawsuit begins…I want my money back, and I suggest suing everyone involved including our rich president all rich democrat senators who need to pay their fair share.

    Report this comment

    tbeachhead  
  • docvet
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:38pm

    Two possibilities here. One, Computer Sciences Corp. failed and the money should be refunded to the Treasury. Two, the Air Force specifications were incorrect, inadequate for the program purpose, poorly described, etc. In that case, apply a can of whoop ass to the appropriate General who ordered it or approved the final product.

    Report this comment

    docvet  
  • wordsofwisdom
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:04pm

    You can’t fix stupid? This song is about stupid! “Walk’s Like a Duck” http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_11352998

    Report this comment

    wordsofwisdom  
  • Ronald Wilson
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:51pm

    It would have been cheaper to purchase the source code from some commercial off the shelf software.

    Report this comment

    Ronald Wilson  
  • RiggerMan
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:35pm

    Here’s the real kicker they aren’t telling you. The Marine Corps purchased the exact same system. (Not sure of the other services) However, they probably won’t scrap it. They will just double down and force the use of a broken system.

    Report this comment

    RiggerMan  
  • soybomb315_II
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:23pm

    So tell me why republicans cry and complain whenever anyone talks about reducing spending on military?

    Report this comment

    soybomb315_II  
    • WarMunger_Al
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:30pm

      They should be asking why any kind of software would required that kind of money. Maybe they should just use quickbooks. The entire defense spending is filled with insane waste like this.

      Report this comment

      WarMunger_Al  
    • RiggerMan
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:58pm

      Responsible Conservatives are not opposed to cuts in military spending, as long as it is done in the proper manner. Any cutting that reduces actual efficiency is irresponsible. However, those that are “in the know” of how the military budgetary process works could show the government how to cut spending properly. The problem arises because bureaucrats in DC want to always attack the shortfalls from the largest costs down, which are sometimes the most critical to efficiency. The majority of waste is conducted in the smaller cost items.

      Report this comment

      RiggerMan  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:10pm

      then there werent any responsible conservatives on the 2012 ballot in virginia because all the ads talked about how Obama was going to cut military spending and put us in danger. I heard this from Romney and VA senate campaign. Funny thing is, those cuts were put in by republicans (sequestration) – although both parties just fought to not have them take effect.

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • resme
      Posted on January 26, 2013 at 3:51pm

      Conservative: I hate welfare domestically. But… I love it internationally!

      Report this comment

      resme  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:14pm

    So how much of these lost and wasted funds went to the politicians and their sponsors as nothing more than kickbacks, bribes and graft?

    Report this comment

    Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:12pm

    If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.
    Milton Friedman

    The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government.
    Milton Friedman

    Report this comment

    progressiveslayer  
  • DougHuffman
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:09pm

    Their meal ticket is leaving.

    Report this comment

    DougHuffman  
  • paulwbrown
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:06pm

    Let me take a wild guess. If there was a failure, no one of any bureaucratic significance will be held responsible.

    Report this comment

    paulwbrown  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on January 26, 2013 at 2:06pm

    Computer programs cause more paper work just like government causes more RED TAPE!!!!

    Report this comment

    banjarmon  
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