The late Marine Corps Commandant Robert Barrow famously noted that, “amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.” Since Ulysses S. Grant commanded the first modern American war machine, our armed forces have overwhelmed enemies with logistical and technical superiority and our legendary ability to fix things on the go.

Who has not seen the movies with the crusty supply or motor pool sergeant or the petty officer wielding tools with his Popeye arms, keeping America fighting under any condition? Improvise, adapt, and overcome — or at least that's how it was.

Sadly, those days are long gone. Despite cost overruns, delays and rank inefficiency that it causes, the military now outsources its ability to fix and fight to hordes of contractors and Beltway bandits. The sergeant doesn’t fix trucks and tanks — a contractor does. Currently, because of strict requirements in defense contracts, troops are actually forced to rely on civilians to repair military vehicles, weapons systems, and even medical devices, instead of making repairs themselves.

To maximize profit under the guise of protecting intellectual property, companies have restricted the tools, parts, and technical data needed to maintain critical equipment. This results in soldiers and sailors who could easily fix a vehicle or troubleshoot a weapons system shipping the equipment back to........

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