Letter to Maurice E. Lepera Chief, Fuels and Lubricants Division Department of the Army

Maurice E. Lepera
Chief, Fuels and Lubricants Division
Department of the Army
Mobilty Technology Center - Belvoir
10115 Gridley Road, Suite 128
Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060-5843

Dear Mr. Lepera,

This letter is in reference to your response (Enclosure 1) to my request for guidance in conformance with the current acquisition policy based on the letter and spirit of Secretary of Defense Perry's June 1994 memorandum on procurement and pertinent implementation provisions of the recently enacted Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act. These documents, are included with this letter (Enclosure 2 and 3).

Please note in the Defense Authorization Act under section 907, discussing nondevelopmental items, the preference for performance requirements and the definition of supply items that are available in the commercial marketplace. The spirit of this law is further amplified in Secretary Perry's letter stating that agencies should avoid government unique requirements and rely on the commercial marketplace.

My request was for current guidelines. Your response provided me with reference to and included numerous copies of Military Specifications dated between February 1968 and December 1989. These documents seem to rely on conformance criteria rather than performance demonstration. In order to meet these military conformance specifications for a product that currently meets the performance requirements of the commercial marketplace, it would require adulteration of the product. It is my understanding that the use of Military Specifications and Military Standards now requires a justification each time they are used. My concern is one of avoidance of costly adulteration of our product to meet Specifications that might not be justified.

Recognizing that Secretary Perry's letter is dated June 29, 1994 and that subordinate organizations need to conduct careful review before eliminating obsolete specifications, it would be appreciated if you could provide a listing of those Specification and Standards that you plan on justifying.

Enclosures (3)