Will Obama Bring Carter Back?

The president has not yet nominated Ashton Carter, but a number of media reports suggest that he might be the one. Carter has been on the shortlist since Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced his impending departure. His name had also been mentioned as a possible successor to Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta.

Unlike Hagel, known for serving in the Vietnam War, the former Deputy Defense Secretary Carter is steeped in the management of the Pentagon and -– in particular -– its acquisition system.

As the Pentagon’s acquisition chief from 2009 to 2011, Carter began his term by reaching out to industry to bolster force protection efforts during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later on, he undertook efficiency reforms that ruffled feathers among some contractors.

Because of those reforms, Carter was AWST's Person of the Year in 2011. Senior Pentagon Editor Amy Butler wrote at the time that his efficiency initiative was a top priority:  “The plan, which was rolled out last fall, includes reliance on more fixed-price contracting in order to more evenly share the burden of failures to reach programmatic schedule and cost targets with industry. ‘We want these programs, we want them to continue, we want the capabilities that they represent,’ Carter says. ‘And, we can’t have that if they continue to grow in cost year by year.’”

In addition to championing fixed-price contracting, Carter played a leading role in defense acquisition sagas including the final contract award of the KC-46A aerial refueling tanker contract to Boeing, as well as the end of General Electric’s attempt to make a “second engine” for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In addition, Carter helped then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates establish task forces that enabled the rapid purchase of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Carter also said that the Pentagon will need a "family of industry" to support its long-range strike "family of systems.