A Department of Defense Inspector General report on the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program reveals potentially billions in waste.
The Pentagon audit found, “IVAS program officials did not define minimum user acceptance levels to determine whether IVAS would meet user needs. This occurred because Army policy did not require program officials to define suitable user acceptance levels. Procuring IVAS without attaining user acceptance could result in wasting up to $21.88 billion in taxpayer funds to field a system that Soldiers may not want to use or use as intended.”
The report redacted the reason why soldiers may not want to use the IVAS.
Douglas Bush, the assistant secretary for Army acquisition, responded to the report by demanding it be rewritten and the word “wasting” removed. “This is fundamentally flawed and inflammatory and must be removed or rewritten. If re-written, the word ‘wasting’ must be removed. It is a biased word, intended to illicit an emotionally negative belief in a fictional outcome, without fact or proof.”
The IVAS program has already faced several problems. In October, the Army said it faced a months-long delay over “field of vision” issues. The Pentagon IG report also notes, “concerns led congressional officials to place on hold $350 million in procurement funds in the Joint Explanatory Statement to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act.”
The Army requested $462 million in funding for IVAS in 2023. Down from over $800 million in the 2022 budget.
