Equipment for Army Engineers

I've begun putting together a feature article for the next issue of Army Engineer magazine…it's about engineers and their equipment. While doing my initial research, I am reminded once again at how slow the Army equipment fielding process has been, and at how many "wished for" items of equipment never see the light of day, even after spending millions of dollars to built prototype vehicles. As an aside I read the following today from the AP, "The Pentagon will be forced to make tough choices in the coming years about what kinds of surveillance and vehicle programs to buy for troops in Afghanistan amid a backdrop of continued budgetary pressures caused by two wars and a recession, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said". Too often military planners overlook where we've been in the past when they try to decide where to go in relation to equipment development and fielding for the future. My guess is that this will be the case again, but I hope I'm wrong.