Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told lawmakers on Wednesday that the U.S. Army will deliver a comprehensive briefing on its sweeping acquisition transformation effort before the end of the month, promising long-awaited details on how the service intends to reshape its future.
“We’d be happy to come by any time, but I think very specifically you will have that detail within 10 days,” Driscoll said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on June 18.
The forthcoming report is part of a broader initiative known as the Army Transformation Initiative, launched under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The effort was outlined in a memo dated April 30 titled Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform, which mandates a thorough overhaul of the Army’s acquisition and operational planning strategies.
Driscoll didn’t provide specifics during the hearing but revealed that approximately $48 billion in spending over the next five years is expected to be redirected or eliminated as part of the overhaul.
While lawmakers largely expressed support for the initiative, there’s growing frustration among lawmakers over the lack of detail surrounding the initiative.
Since the program’s announcement over a month ago, Congress has intensified pressure on the Army to clarify which programs are being cut, what investments are being redirected, and how the changes align with modernization goals.
“The Army must change and modernize how it fights and must take into account significant changes in technology,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. “But bluntly, months after you’ve announced the Army Transformation Initiative, this committee hasn’t received detailed or substantive analysis as to why the Army is planning to cancel or reduce 12 programs of record, consolidate or reduce staffing at 21 commands, or how the investments you’re proposing will significantly enhance battlefield lethality.”
At the core of the initiative is a mandate to reassess all requirements, prioritize programs that directly contribute to battlefield lethality, and eliminate non-essential efforts. The Army is also being directed to overhaul its contracting processes by embracing performance-based contracts to minimize waste and adopting multi-year procurement strategies when they are cost-effective.
“The Army Transformation Initiative will make us into an Army that is lean, agile, and relentlessly focused on empowering its soldiers,” Driscoll said. “We need to get rid of what we don’t need, acquire what we do, and chisel our organization down to a lean, lethal fighting machine.”
Driscoll explained that bureaucracy has “calcified” the service due to years of inefficiencies, slow processes, and entrenched spending. He blamed excessive influence from program lobbyists and internal bureaucracy for undermining the Army’s focus on soldier readiness and combat effectiveness.