Marine Corps IT warehouse: What the ...?

The Marine Corps’ plan to own and operate their own IT warehouse has me scratching my head.

Why is this a good idea? It isn’t clear in the request for information. There is no mention of cost savings or improved efficiency. And shouldn’t that be a top priority in today’s budget environment?

They want ideas on how it will work, and what kind of contractor support they can get. I understand that, but why do they want the hassles of finding a site, maintaining a building, controlling the inventory?

That’s not the Marines' bread and butter. Can they really do it cheaper and better than a private sector company, whose profits rely on how well they perform?

And we are talking IT here, not ordinance.

I just don’t get it. It seems to me that the Marines are asking to raise their costs, instead of using their buying power to tell a contractor, "we need to do this for 10 percent less," and letting them figure it out.

The contractor should have much more flexibility to squeeze out costs, while maintaining its service level agreements with the Marines.

It seems the Marines are taking on too much risk for controlling the costs and quality of this kind of facility.

There are just too many private sector companies that would be cheaper and better, as this kind of service is part and parcel of what they do every day.

It’ll be interesting as this moves forward to look at the price tag for contractor support, combined with the Marine Corps internal costs, and see how it compares to the contractor-owned and operated model.

The big question that Marines need to answer is how this move helps them meet their mission.