How long, Oh Lord, how long?

A lot less than a decade one hopes (though getting Army equipment for Afstan has been pretty expeditious, as with the C-17 acquisition and presumably the C-130J and CH-47).

A former senior bureaucrat says it'll take the direct intervention of the prime minister in order to get turf-conscious bureaucrats to give Canada's fighting soldiers, sailors and aircrew the new equipment they need in less than a decade.

Alan Williams, a former assistant deputy minister at National Defence, told the Senate defence committee today that there are ways to reduce the procurement time on big-ticket items, but it will require political will.

It can take up to 15 years to acquire a new piece of equipment — be it a ship, aircraft or tank.

Williams says that can be reduced to nine years or less if just one agency is made responsible for purchases; Defence and Public Works currently share responsibility for military purchases.

Williams says the Conservative government should create a single defence purchasing agency with representatives from both departments...

How long will procuring the Joint Supply Ship take (which I am sure will be built in Canada)? And then there's still the fixed-wing SAR replacement, once an accelerated "major priority".

Comment thread at Army.ca.

Update: Article by Mr Williams here.