Perhaps the military could make the software Open Source, but not in traditional way. It could be open source for all the soldiers with software developing skills, and there are more than a few of them. They could work along with software engineers who are assigned permanently, which could put additional strain to project managers, but, it can be done.

 

General population could not be allowed to participate, for obvious reasons.

 

Non military Open Source projects are quite successful, like FreeBSD, Linux, Open Office, Gimp, VLC, Firefox, Thunderbird...  VLC is, probably, the best Media player around.

 

DG

 

Your article is plaqued by either dishonesty, or simply a bad premise. Your create the illusion early on that this is an Army versus industry "battle", and the Army is unwilling to admit its developers can't keep up with industry. Hogwash. The Army has deployed hundreds of leading vendors on the DCGS-A effort and usually retains three dozen, or more, at any time developing and improving the software.  That the Army proponents for this system are aggressive,  competent, and won't lower their standards for security and include all commercial vendors who would like a piece of the action, should be no reason to create the illusion that this is an "us" versus "them" battle. It is not. Industry is well represented here and the selection of these various vendors has been in keeping with standard purchasing practices and contracts. The real story is that a particular vendor hasn't been able to make an impact on this specific system, so  an unwarranted controversy has been born that is being fueled by the online press and blogs. Get your facts straight.