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May 18, 2004

Buckles and Bottles

Heard on Charlie Rose tonight:

Joseph Califano, who served as a policy expert during LBJ's administration related how the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, examined the separate and cumbersome purchasing procedures of the armed forces and decided that a centralized purchasing operation would streamline the process.

A committee, led by Califano studied the problem, prepared a report, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived to provide input. At one point, belts for each branch of the services - Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps were displayed on pegboards and McNamara demanded to know what was so different about the various belts.

No response from the Army, Air Force, or Navy. The USMC General spoke up, "Mr. Secretary, the Marine Corps belt buckle is the only one that can be used as a bottle opener."

End of discussion.

Posted by Deb at May 18, 2004 12:13 AM