Mr. Robert W. Young
Last updated: 8 September, 2026
ORSA Hall of Fame | Inducted: 2016
Service and Career
Robert W. Young helped establish the Army's cost-analysis enterprise and strengthen the use of cost evidence in resource decisions. He retired from federal service in 2004 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Cost and Economics.
He established the Cost Review Board process, supporting a single Army Cost Position for major weapon and information-system milestone decisions. His leadership also encouraged a shift from managing budgets alone toward understanding costs and services.
Young supported models for force operations, special missions, and future military and civilian pay requirements. He improved cost estimating for analyses of alternatives by connecting estimates with performance and effectiveness, allowing decision-makers to examine trade-offs.
He also brought Army cost research, analytical tools, and models into a more coordinated enterprise. These contributions improved the evidence available for Army-wide decisions and supported substantial savings, cost reductions, and cost avoidance.
He established the Cost Review Board process, supporting a single Army Cost Position for major weapon and information-system milestone decisions. His leadership also encouraged a shift from managing budgets alone toward understanding costs and services.
Young supported models for force operations, special missions, and future military and civilian pay requirements. He improved cost estimating for analyses of alternatives by connecting estimates with performance and effectiveness, allowing decision-makers to examine trade-offs.
He also brought Army cost research, analytical tools, and models into a more coordinated enterprise. These contributions improved the evidence available for Army-wide decisions and supported substantial savings, cost reductions, and cost avoidance.
Source: AORS Hall of Fame biography. Biography summarized from the 2025 archive.