Reality Check

Someone needs to deal with reality and deliver the bad news about new Defense Departmemt gadgets and gizmos that don't meet expectations, said J. Michael Gilmore, Defense director of operational test and evaluation, during a recent House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Army network modernization plans.

Gilmore said he really does not relish his role as a scold.

But he added that someone has to do it, as he has concluded that when it comes to buying and fielding new gear the Pentagon often acts like the "Department of Wishful Thinking."