Washington - Under pressure to cut budgets, Army leaders reached an unusual agreement with Elon Musk and the Ministry of Efficiency: Don't let us do it; we will do it ourselves.
The process began in March with Vice President JD Vance (a Marine veteran); Army Secretary Dan Driscoll; General Randy George, three defense officials familiar with the matter, told NBC News.
Musk joined them shortly after the meeting began. The four discussed together the plan Driscoll and George to cut hundreds of millions of dollars as they and other Army officials agreed to be a waste of spending. The two men’s goal is to lay off employees, consolidate orders and fundamentally change the Army’s acquisition process, three officials said.
"We have been working on getting the best, deadliest, most modern tools," Army spokesman Colonel Dave Butler said in an email. "For this, we have to abandon outdated anchors. We have to stop spending money on yesterday's equipment and investing in war-winning technology."
Army leaders have long complained that members of Congress have forced them to spend billions of dollars on weapons, vehicles and plans they don’t want. Often, spending is driven by members of Congress who are committed to bringing work and money to their regions or relying on traditional plans that Army leaders no longer want, officials said.
George argued that there were too many ordinary official rebars in the army, some of which could be eliminated, three officials said. Driscoll believes that there are some civilian roles that have become redundant or outdated. Officials said the two leaders also recommended consolidation of some Army commands, including the U.S. Army North, the U.S. Army South and U.S. Futures Command.
"By integrating headquarters and reducing general officials, we will prioritize combat and winning the maneuverable forms of war in our country," Butler said.
Musk and Vance approved, and now the Army leaders have begun a efforts to lay off their own employees instead of cutting down. These include eliminating several large Army plans; consolidating or reducing redundant positions, including general officials and civilians; and using consulting firms to convince the public and Capitol Hill that the plan that the military did not want failed.
Army leaders are considering cutting 8% to 20% of their civilian workforce and estimates early on about 20,000 starts, officials said. They promise a tailor-made approach.
The two programs on the chopping block are joint light tactical vehicles called JLTVs, while high mobility multifunctional vehicles (commonly called Humvee). Army leaders want to focus their spending on newer infantry squads, called ISVs.
Officials added that the Army may stop purchasing the delta variant of the AH-64 Apache helicopter, rather than the AH-64E, and Army leaders prefer the AH-64E.
Army officials also want to stop buying the grey Eagle drone and replace it with newer model drones. Officials said they are also considering changing at least seven plans.
According to three officials, the Pentagon expects a congressional boycott to reduce jobs and money in its area, and the Pentagon has prepared a “Defense Directive” that will give Army officials greater autonomy in what they can buy.
The directive is expected to be signed this week. It will allow Army leaders to choose specific vehicles, drones and large weapon systems that the Army has used for years without Congress vetoing the budget process. The issue is so sensitive that Pentagon officials must sign a non-public agreement before giving a brief introduction to the details, three officials said.
Driscoll has been unorthodox in his approach as Army Secretary. Vance's close friend Driscoll joined the army after working in finance. Two defense officials said he assured Trump administration and congressional officials that he would resist Congressional pressure and let the Army buy what military leaders think they need.
Driscoll has hired MAD Global Strategy, a public affairs consulting firm, to place news coverage in target areas and justify why some plans are cut, according to three officials.
Jai Chabria, one of the company's partners, is Vance's chief strategist and general counsel for the 2020 Ohio Senate campaign. MAD Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company’s mission is to share Army information with the public, which suggests that some programs are inefficient, overpriced or outdated. Defense officials said it was the first time they recalled the Army’s intention to release information about the weaknesses of a particular program to end them and communicate voters that Congress forced the military to buy to voters.
MAD will provide expensive software such as vehicles that are too heavy to span bridges across training areas and external companies that can be produced at a lower cost within the military. It will also describe the army being forced to retain rather than build historic buildings, even if they are expensive to restore and maintain.
The overall goal is to provide public evidence that the current acquisition process is expensive, time-consuming and inefficient, officials said.
"In the past two decades, employees and overhead have become bloated and ineffective," Butler wrote.