The Pentagon Wars is a 1998 HBO comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin based on The Pentagon Wars: Reformers Challenge the Old Guard, a book written by retired United States Air Force Colonel James G. Burton about the development of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Plot
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle project, stalled in development for seventeen years at the running cost of $14 billion, is the charge of Major General Partridge. To curtail further excessive Pentagon spending, Congress appoints U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Burton to observe the Bradley's field development and tests.
Burton delves into the complicated development history, beginning in the 1960s under Colonel Robert L. Smith, who becomes frustrated with the continuous design changes mandated by higher ups, leading to the Bradley's transformation from a light troop carrier into a bulky tank-like vehicle poorly suited to its original role. Burton also discovers discrepancies in testing of the Bradley's survivability due to Partridge's cronies, Colonel Bock and Major Sayers. Burton receives confidential information from Smith on the condition of anonymity. Master Sergeant Dalton, the man in charge of live fire testing, reveals he's been routinely ordered to manipulate the test results, asserting that honest officers such as Burton always end up buckling to the pressure of corruption to gain their next promotions.
Burton's continuous insistence on fair testing prompts Partridge to reassign Burton to Alaska but another anonymous leak from General Smith convinces Defense Secretary