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Daily acquisition brief // September 18, 2026

CMCoE Meme Intel: September 18, 2026

Three implementation tells: postal targets lowered and still missed, $10 billion in federal surplus property with only 9 percent reused, and a commercial router that needs a custom chassis to fit a ship rack.

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Postal operations / performance targets

USPS lowered service targets, lengthened some delivery times, and still missed most targets.

GAO says cost-cutting initiatives added 1 to 2 days to some expected delivery times, removed later collections at more than 24,000 post offices, and coincided with targets that USPS lowered but generally did not meet.

Bike Fall meme showing USPS lengthening expected delivery, lowering service targets, and still missing most targets.
USPS lengthens expected delivery. Lowers service targets. Still misses most targets.

What happened

GAO reported that USPS added 1 to 2 days to expected delivery times for certain products in October 2021 as it shifted transportation from air to ground. In April 2025, USPS also eliminated end-of-day or afternoon collection at more than 24,000 post offices located over 50 miles from a Regional Processing and Delivery Center.

USPS lowered its service-performance targets in fiscal year 2021 and did not meet most of them from fiscal years 2021 through 2025. GAO said the cost-cutting initiatives slowed some mail, disproportionately affected rural customers, and were among several factors contributing to declining performance.

Why CMCoE cares

A performance target should expose whether an operating change works, not merely make the dashboard easier to pass. When the organization still misses a relaxed target, acquisition and operations leaders need to revisit the network assumptions, savings model, and customer impacts behind the change.

Regulatory fine print

GAO did not say that target changes alone caused every service failure. USPS faces broader operational and financial challenges, and it has used diagnostic tools and operational meetings to improve performance. GAO recommended clearer strategic-plan reporting; USPS agreed with the recommendation.

Sources

  1. GAO - U.S. Postal Service: Cost-Cutting Initiatives and Other Factors Have Contributed to Declining Service Performance (U.S. Government Accountability Office, )
Federal property / disposal controls

Federal agencies reported more than $10 billion in unneeded property; about 9 percent was reused.

GAO found that listings with online photographs were more likely to be transferred, donated, or sold, while GSA's disposal scorecard did not fully measure whether its core efforts worked.

Drake Hotline Bling meme rejecting a federal surplus listing with no photo and approving adding a photo because reuse odds go up, under the header Only 9% of $10B reused.
Only 9% of $10B reused. Federal surplus listing: no photo. Add a photo: reuse odds go up.

What happened

GAO found that agencies reported more than $10 billion in unneeded personal property through GSA from July 2023 through fiscal year 2025. The items ranged from new bandages originally worth less than $1 to usable airplanes originally worth more than $20 million.

About 9 percent of the property was reused through transfer to another federal agency, donation to state or local government, or public sale. Items with higher original acquisition costs and items reported with online photographs were more likely to be reused. GAO also found that GSA's scorecard did not fully align with desired outcomes such as timely disposal and taxpayer return on investment.

Why CMCoE cares

Surplus disposal is a marketplace and a control process. Complete listings, basic merchandising data, and outcome measures can affect whether public assets find another user and whether agencies can distinguish reuse, sale, and disposal performance.

Regulatory fine print

The report does not say that every item lacking a photograph failed to be reused, nor that every photographed item was reused. The 9 percent figure covers transfer, donation, and public sale within GAO's study period. GSA agreed with both recommendations.

Sources

  1. GAO - Federal Personal Property: GSA Can Better Assess the Effectiveness of Its Disposal Efforts (U.S. Government Accountability Office, )
Naval modernization / systems integration

The Navy wants a custom chassis because its new commercial router does not fit the existing ship rack.

A September 17 prototype notice says the chassis must secure the router inside a Tomahawk Equipment Cabinet and connect it to existing power without redesigning or replacing the rack.

Left Exit 12 Off Ramp meme showing a new commercial router leaving the drop-in upgrade route for a custom chassis prototype because it does not fit a ship rack, with the payoff COTS, meet custom.
New commercial router doesn't fit ship rack. Drop-in upgrade exits to custom chassis prototype. COTS, meet custom.

What happened

Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme posted a request for prototype proposals stating that its system needs a modern network router, but the new commercial router does not physically fit the standard equipment racks used on ships.

The Navy wants a custom hardware chassis that can secure the router inside the existing Tomahawk Equipment Cabinet and connect it to existing power supplies without disrupting the rest of the equipment. A successful prototype may transition to follow-on production for up to 60 units.

Why CMCoE cares

Commercial technology can shorten acquisition only when interfaces are treated as requirements. Physical fit, power, mounting, cooling, and shipboard integration can turn an off-the-shelf component into a custom engineering effort before the capability reaches users.

Regulatory fine print

The notice describes a prototype requirement and potential follow-on production, not a completed award or an incurred production cost. Reusing the existing cabinet may be less disruptive than replacing shipboard racks; the joke concerns the integration consequence, not the reasonableness of that engineering choice.

Sources

  1. SAM.gov - NSWC-PHD MATAC OTA Request for Prototype Proposals: Router Chassis Design & Production (U.S. Department of the Navy, )