Citadel of Waste by David Hill
 

David Hill has just published his latest book, Citadel of Waste, in Kindle form for a mere £2.99. The proceeds as ever go to charity, including Help for Heroes. A paperback edition should follow in the first week of January. It is very much a culmination of his previous works; Their Greatest Disgrace, The Inconvenient Truth, Breaking the Military Covenant, A Noble Anger, and Red 5, by revealing the machinations of their common denominator, The Ministry of Defence. Being a knowledgeable and experienced retired senior civil servant aviation engineer, he oversaw and led many military aviation projects and shines a light into those murky corridors of power where success and failure alike abounded. Many of the failures led to the numerous airworthiness fatal air accidents that feature in too many threads on this forum. Now we find out what they had in common, particularly that the same people were involved in many of them. If you wondered how the MOD works (or doesn't!) you will learn much here :-

Thank you Chug. Could I just add that the basic idea for the book came from a Defence Committee report in July alleging 'procurement cock-ups' which, upon closer study, were unmitigated disasters before any procurer got involved.

It offers, I think, a balanced view. For every Requirements cock-up, there's a Procurement one, and a success story. It shows what can be done and how, and discusses why many disasters are repeated time and again.

Most case studies are aviation-related but, for example, AJAX gets a chapter; revealing that the mitigation for excessive noise dose was implemented over two decades ago but ceased. And then 12 years ago MoD rejected the approaches of the same leading expert (an MoD scientist), who recommended again that extant mandates be implemented. Nearly ten years went by, and trials crews were deafened.

Chinook Mk3? MoD denied knowing who was responsible for the decision to waive software procurement and verification regulations. (A distinctly uncivil servant). And lots more, including the background to the RAF approving the buy of kit to be used by Hercules while dipping its active sonar. (A Group Captain). It's an often irreverent look at how servicemen get the kit they use, from the viewpoint of someone who was taught from day 1 that the UOR process is the last resort - it takes far too long and is too wasteful.

I read it in one go. I never thought the subject could be such a rollercoaster. A tragedy, comedy and farce all in one.
The middle section is a breakdown of MoD’s procedures on how to avoid waste. The presentation is genius, and you’re left wondering at so much waste when there’s easily followed procedures to prevent it. The numbers are eye-watering.
The last section looks at what the author calls “big-ticket” failures. I didn’t know that one of the senior officers praised by Hadden-Cave had been in charge of MR4 and then airworthiness. Chinook Mk3 is a revelation. Little details that make you think WTF? Gliders is an excellent section, co-written with a retired engineering officer. MFTS is topical. I was left in no doubt all these could have been avoided as examples are given of other projects avoiding the same pitfalls at the same time. And some of the anecdotes are hilarious and outrageous. As a pongo I especially remember the rectal thermometer event, but had no idea it was a young civvy who asked a Brigadier if he wanted a selection of sizes according to personal taste. Classic. The book’s worth it for that one paragraph.
Finally, the suggestion he makes for an exam question to be given to all DEC and project staff. Intriguing, and it would be interesting to hear peoples answers. I wouldn’t know where to begin, and I doubt few would. I’ll read it again as the clues are probably in the book.

This should open a few eyes. £2.99 to charity. Bloody well done.

Looking forward to reading my copy :ok:.

I hope some of the good stories come out one day, too - in the First Gulf Unpleasantness our Chinook det received Engine Air Particle Separators just before the start of hostilities. We were told later that a Sqn Ldr in MoD had put in a timely phone call to the manufacturer, who set aside a number of sets as the original customer (who had a MUCH larger requirement) hadn't yet passed the appropriate paperwork to them. Other items also appeared with amazing speed - M134 minigun kits (plus GE expert armourer to supervise fitting on-site) spring to mind, There was a minor distraction with the then-not-fit-for-purpose digital-display RWR, but that was quickly forgiven.

T&B

There's a few similar examples - at that time (GW1) mainly on Nimrod R. And an RWR one from a few years later. Not the same one. I think you had Sky Guardian in Chinook under a Special Trials Fit, which was quite an old kit even then, and which the RN only used in fixed wing. You maybe got the old kit pulled out of Buccaneers? But if there's a will, there's a way.

Amazon told me "not yet available", presumably because I logged in from Australia.

Any hints?

Gne

Paperback to be published on 5th January. Human error caused by pressing 'publish' instead of 'save as draft' on the Kindle!

Is this a series of books best read in sequence? Are they available on Audible?

Good question.

A Noble Anger is in many ways a sequel to Red 5. They stand alone, but having read Red 5 you'll then appreciate the scale of recurrence.

Their Greatest Disgrace is about the campaign to clear the ZD576 pilots, An Inconvenient Truth about the cause of the accident. There's obviously a little overlap, but while the former discusses evidence that was well-known but ignored, the latter discusses evidence that was concealed, and its existence even denied by MoD. The main submission to the Mull of Kintyre Review is available as a free pdf download.

Breaking the Military Covenant stands alone, and takes the Sea King ASaC mid-air of 2003 as its main case study; plus a range of shorter studies illustrating common failures. (Nimrod XV230, Hercules XV179, Chinook ZA721, etc).

Sorry, not available in audio versions. You may be interested though in Dr Susan Phoenix's best-seller 'Policing the Shadows', just re-published as an audio book and narrated by herself and her son Niven, a former RAF C-17 pilot. She lost her husband Det Supt Ian Phoenix, RUC Special Branch (LATE Parachute Regt), in the ZD576 accident. I know it took her the best part of 2 years to plan and execute the audio version, and it's time consuming and expensive if you have to engage an audio engineer. Especially relevant when all royalties go to charity. Writing a book is just time. An audio version needs a Service pension, not a civil service one!

PM if you want Kindle or pdf e-mailed to you. It's then up to you to donate online to the charity. My choice is a hospice, but some here prefer (e.g.) Help for Heroes or an Air Ambulance, which is fine by me.

Edit... I think most of the books would be impossible to transfer to audio because they frequently refer to images. Red 5 would be utterly impossible, even if the listener were intimately familiar with ejection seat design. (You need to SEE the scale of the over-tightening of the drogue nut, and SEE the video evidence that MoD had been provided with the information it denied having. Only then can you appreciate the perjury). Citadel of Waste is the only one that doesn't have, or need, images. I was reminded that Dr Phoenix had this problem and had to re-write sections.

I have occasionally used automated book readers. It's not quite like a person reading and most definitely not like a talented person reading. However it does a job.

I am sure there are many options, the two I have tried were both Microsoft. The first needed some weird windows incantations to get to work and I forget everything about it, but with windows 10 (presumably onwards and maybe backwards) there is a Microsoft App. ReadAloud

As it happens it has just told me it works with epub, pdf, doc, docx, txt files. If you had amazon books that were not locked you could try converting to epub with Calibre (free).

If you are prepared to get over it not being perfect it might be worth a go.

I look forward to reading the book as soon as I can get a copy.

In my military life I was involved in "requirements" and for the past three decades I've had similar roles in the civil aviation and airports spheres. The continuing lesson senior management fail to understand is the need to start with a CONOPS and then derive functional requirements leading to an operational requirements list AND THEN TO STOP DEFINING and let the technical folk decide the colour of wires and impedances and so on. The second greatest mistake made, in my experience, is people without extensive AND CURRENT domain knowledge sitting down with glossy brochures gathered on a trip to a trade show in an exotic location and cherry picking "features". [Go back a sentence and reread the "continuing lesson".]

I've written several papers on the subject and delivered a number of presentations where I produce my fountain pen and say, "If you give me a requirement for a blue fountain pen because you've seen me use this one I have little choice but to offer you products that cost a hundred dollars or more and may leak blue ink in your white business shirt pocket; however, if you ask me to provide "an instrument which can be held in the hand and makes marks on paper, cardboard, matt painted walls" I can offer you a range of items including pencils, ball point pens and fountain pens, several of which may meet you operational and financial needs much better."

Many years ago I took a 55 page ASMGCS requirement and reduced it to 211 words (33 lines) as a generic surveillance functional requirement. Several folk have used this over the ensuing years as the basis for a functional requirement, including a prison governor!

On two occasions I've had to tell my client after an extensive period of "acceptance" testing that they had to accept the "system" contractually because it met (and in one case, exceeded) the very detailed "requirements" in the contract even though it was not able to be put into operation without extensive modification. The value of putting operational and functional requirements in performance based SORs and leaving the technical details to the OEM/tenderer is that the failure of delivered systems to meet the stated requirements is the problem for the OEM/tenderer and not the result of poorly or ill defined technical requirements. Before you jump down my throat about ICAO/EASA etc. requirements: these form part of the requirements to be met by the OEM/tenderer - " demonstrate conformance with relevant ICAO/EASA requirements".
Classic Example: A seven page RFQ for an airport lighting system for a remote island which required the tenderer to show in their tender the proposed layout, provide a safety case and a compliance matrix. This delivered a fully operationally and regulatory compliant system which is still functioning 8 years later and has in that time required less than 2K costs in maintenance. BTW that system was nearly USD1M less in cost than one delivered to a nearly 300 page World Bank requirement which, to my knowledge, has never been commissioned and if/when commissioned will have annual maintenance costs 200 times greater. [One is individually solar powered lights and wifi controlled and the other conventional wire in the ground.]

If you are continuing the series, drop me a note and I'll supply plenty of examples of good and bad (mainly bad, unfortunately) aviation projects both military and civil from around the world.

Gne

Gne, I think you'll recognise much of the book's content. Half-day seminars instead of trade shows! AJAX - 1,200 requirements added to a 'COTS' job? And you expect time, cost and performance?

No issues in Oz for me gne, just bought it for $5.99, received in under a minute.
2P

Thanks. Got it now - reading starts as soon as I finish this report. Worked when I searched for it by author and not title.

Gne

I have had described to me (in an unguarded moment) the process by which a bidder to MOD ensures that the contract deliverables cannot possibly meet the operational needs, requiring expensive post contract modifications. The prosess is connived at within MOD as it allows the contractor to bid low and meet Treasury forward budget restraints, but win an X billion £ contract, and make an overall profit. I gather MOD learned this from the Pentagon.

To be honest, very often they don't have to try hard or actually deceive, they just have to answer the exam questions, which usually aren't very good. One of the case studies in the book describes how a bidder, who pointed out the deliverable could never be put to use without buying technical pre-requisites costing much more, was blacklisted because of their 'attitude'. The Nimrod office didn't want to know.

Pentagon Wars film highlights the fractured process of procurement.

Whilst instructing at a BFTS we were asked to complete a questionnaire about instructor/student interaction. I was less than impressed by the situation and stated that there was a major problem. All the information went to individual Squadron bosses who reworked and sent to the CFI. He wrote his report and the Station Commander then wrote his. The result was that there were no problems with student morale and all instructors were angels.

A sobering read, I have now started reading Breaking the Military Covenant - which Chug. and others consider to be David's greatest book.

SLX - Red 5 is perhaps the most ‘uncomfortable’ one to read…🫢

David's books are excellent but very sobering reading when you have spent your life strapped to some of MoDs 'airworthy' acquisitions........and being required to take every senior officers word as truth and gospel.