Military nominee advocates comprehensive overhaul of Pentagon's requirements procedure
The Senate's 2026 defense policy bill, known as the FoRGED Act, aims to redefine the mission of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) and position it as a strategic organization focused on future force needs. Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney, the nominee to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has expressed support for these reforms.
According to Gen. Mahoney, the revised JROC should provide top-down, strategic-level direction to the Services, driving Joint Force Design without micromanaging service acquisition decisions. The FoRGED Act moves the defense acquisition process along a trajectory from requirements to resources, aligning with Gen. Mahoney's desire for a more streamlined and synchronized defense acquisition process.
The FoRGED Act strips JROC of its authority to approve service-level requirements and major acquisition milestones. Instead, the council will evaluate global threats and trends, work directly with combatant commanders, assess military capabilities against the National Defense Strategy, identify gaps and opportunities in military capabilities, and identify new technologies and operational concepts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg have directed the current vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to start the disestablishment of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) used by JROC. This move is part of a larger push for a shake-up of defense acquisition, as mentioned by Gen. Mahoney.
The process of reviewing and validating requirements documents by JROC typically takes about 100 days, but often drags on for more than 800 days. Gen. Mahoney believes that the concept of JROC is valid, but it needs to get rid of bureaucracy and be less burdened by paperwork, and more sensitive to speed and product.
Gen. Mahoney emphasizes the need to treat determining a gap, looking at solutions against that gap, getting a coherent and quick acquisition strategy, and synchronizing that with resources as a system, not separate pillars. He also wants the Defense Department to draw on recommendations from the report to Congress and the PPBE Reform Commission Report to reform the requirements process.
The recommendations from the PPBE Reform Commission Report, as per Gen. Mahoney, include the multi-year use of operations and maintenance funds, protections against continuing resolutions, and higher thresholds for reprogramming money between accounts. The report to Congress, mentioned by Gen. Mahoney, proposes a fundamental reorientation of the JROC and an overhaul of the joint requirements process. The author of the report is identified as Lieutenant General Larry D. Wyche.
Gen. Mahoney's statements indicate a clear desire for a more efficient and effective defense acquisition process. The FoRGED Act, if enacted, could bring about significant changes in the way the JROC operates and how defense acquisition is managed, aligning with Gen. Mahoney's vision for a more streamlined and synchronized system.
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