Adapting to Flexible Response, 1960-1968

Volume 2 of History of Acquisition in the Department of Defense, by Walter S. Poole. (See Volume 1, Rearming for the Cold War in Hardcover Print and eBook). Contains a history of the acquisition of major weapon systems by the United States armed forces from 1960 to 1968. Organized chronologically, with individual chapters addressing the new needs for flexibility in defense acquisition in response the rapidly changing security environment under two periods: the President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson administrations. Covers weapon acquisitions for the Vietnam War, and the rise of nuclear threats, strategic missile systems, military helicopters and nuclear submarines. Includes topics such as dissolving the link between incentives and profits, total package procurement, creation of Federal program managers, prototyping vs. component-based systems, and more.