Mission: Just About Impossible

The Pentagon's new procurement czar looks for ways to save

At an age when most executives are thinking of retirement, Robert Costello, 61, has just accepted the challenge of a lifetime. He is the new Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, the chief buyer for what amounts to the largest business enterprise in the world. Every day the 170,000 Pentagon employees who report to him sign some 56,000 contracts with private firms ranging from industrial giants like General Dynamics, Boeing and General Electric to tiny subcontractors. As the Pentagon's procurement czar, Costello will buy goods and services worth $170 billion this year. He must also oversee the costs of 2,600 weapons...

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