TRW Travel System Fails Pentagon Field Test

TRW Inc.’s automated system for processing the U.S. military’s travel orders flunked its first major field test in December, and the Pentagon is now weighing whether to revise or even cancel the $263.7-million project, program documents say. Military personnel at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri said the TRW system is too complicated and slow, forcing them to become “travel clerks.” The system is now on hold. The Defense Department and TRW have touted the system as a model for using commercial practices and software to reform paper-heavy operations. TRW signed a five-year contract with three one-year options and won’t receive about $242 million in revenue until the system is running.