The Pentagon Wars

Plot

Major General Partridge (Kelsey Grammer) is in charge of the Bradley project, that has been in development for seventeen years at a cost of $14 billion. In an effort to curtail excessive spending by The Pentagon, Congress appoints an outsider, USAF Lieutenant Colonel James Burton (Cary Elwes) to observe the testing of several new weapons in development, including the Bradley.

Burton quickly becomes disillusioned by the way the process works in an atmosphere of corruption and inefficiency. He delves into the mountains of paper documenting the Bradley's history and comes to the conclusion that it is "a troop transport that can't carry troops, a reconnaissance vehicle that's too conspicuous to do reconnaissance, and a quasi-tank that has less armor than a snowblower, but has enough ammo to take out half of D.C."

Burton's attempts to test the Bradley under combat conditions are obstructed by Partridge and his two cronies, Colonel Bach (John C. McGinley) and Major Sayers (Tom Wright). But then Burton is contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Smith (Richard Schiff), the frustrated officer in charge of the vehicle’s production, who feeds him evidence on condition of anonymity.

Burton confronts Master Sergeant Dalton (Clifton Powell), in charge of the testing range, who admits being ordered to manipulate the test results, but bitterly tells Colonel Burton that every officer who tries to conduct honest tests eventually buckles under the pressure to gain his next promotion.

When Burton refuses to approve the Bradley without a live-fire test, insisting that the current version of the vehicle is a death trap, he loses his position and is ordered to Alaska. The report he is asked to write on the vehicle is rewritten by one of Partridge’s lieutenants. Following the army rule book, Burton then sends a memorandum referencing the original report to everyone who is technically involved in the project. This information leaks to the press and the resulting scandal leads to a Congressional Hearing.

The hearing is humiliating to Partridge, who is ignorant of the Bradley overall and has to refer to the project documentation in order to answer even simple questions. The skeptical House Committee goes on to order the test that Burton has requested.

The night before, Burton visits the barracks on the range and tells Dalton and his men that, regardless of whatever orders they have received from Partridge, it is their duty to their fellow soldiers to make sure the test is performed honestly.

On the day itself, Partridge, Bach, and Sayers fully expect to confirm their story that it is perfectly safe, but Dalton and his men have actually made sure that the Bradley is not tampered with. When hit by an anti-tank round, the vehicle explodes spectacularly and stampedes the audience. Afterwards Dalton and his men confide to Burton that they had already become convinced of his sincerity and were with him ever since.

A postscript explains that the Bradley was extensively redesigned in response to Burton's demands, which significantly reduced casualties from its use during the Persian Gulf War. However, the system was too strong: Partridge and his cronies earned their promotions and lucrative private sector jobs, while Colonel Burton was forced to retire.

Cast

Historical background

The book chronicles a broader history from the 1950s to the mid-1980s, encompassing the time when the "Reformer Movement" sought to bring the Pentagon equipment acquisition process to a requirements-based system rather than the then-prevailing equipment-based system that leans on supplier promises.

The reformers were led, philosophically, by US Air Force Colonel John Boyd and Franklin C. "Chuck" Spinney, and went on to include members of both houses of the U.S. Congress. They were receiving input from disaffected members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. This largely uncoordinated group used the media to disseminate the true evaluations of equipment acquisitions that were going over budget and over time with lower than expected performance. Meanwhile, they created the atmosphere that led to acquisition of useful equipment such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II and F-16 aircraft, which were disliked by the "establishment" Pentagon hierarchy.

Accuracy

Some events shown in the film never happened, as the director took artistic license with the original book, which was accurate.