I work for a small business that provides software, services and system integration for the federal government. I have taken part in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and the delivery of services and software. Our company has performed work for many government agencies, but the money is better concentrated in the Intelligence Community (IC). The IC is a term that applies to all of the major players, Department of Defense entities like the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) the National Ground Intelligence Agency (NGIC) or the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Of course there is the NSA and the CIA and a slew of other smaller entities like the National Reconnaissance Office (NCO). I am not an apologist for the large system integrators like SAIC, Lockheed, CACI, or BAE, but they have been facing loads of consolidation due to budget cuts. This does not affect the fat cats on top so much, they make less than the boom years, but it does affect many of the grunts like myself who actually do the work. Our job security is not so good right now. That's not what I want to write about. I want to convey a couple points about what I have observed over the last few years and the work I do. Point 1: The Federal Government should be buying stuff, not staff. Point 2:The System as it currently functions is corrupt. It is corrupt in way very similar to the way former Congressional staff become lobbyists. The system is about access and access translates into money. I will convey this through some general references to the work I have been involved with which I suspect is far from unique.
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