National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Sue Gordon issued an open letter challenging the NGA workforce to build flexibility into all acquisitions. She said it is NGA's responsibility to its customers and mission to keep abreast of new processes and to find ways to leverage innovation to accelerate acquisition.

The letter includes a rules sheet created as a foundation for improvement. Among the rules are eliminating unnecessary paperwork, leveraging Small Business Administration socioeconomic programs when possible and maximizing the use of Enterprise Licensing Agreements to make technologies readily available across contracts and within NGA.

"I urge you to challenge the status quo," she wrote. "We must take full advantage of existing acquisition flexibilities, embrace new acquisition methods and reduce our acquisition cycle."

Gordon contends that more flexible acquisition will enable NGA to operate more efficiently.

"American national security requires that our national security bureaucracy outperforms the pace of the threats our nation and our allies face. Our enemies do not pause to accommodate inefficient processes," she wrote.