PERRY WORKS TO BUILD DEFENSE WITH COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.(MAIN)

Byline: ERIC SCHMITT - New York Times

During the buildup for the Persian Gulf war, the Air Force placed an emergency order for 6,000 radio receivers built by Motorola. But the urgent wartime deal struck an impasse over a bureaucratic hitch: the company lacked the accounting records the Pentagon required to insure that it was receiving the lowest-available price.

An American officer resolved the problem with an unusual solution, persuading the Japanese government to buy the receivers and donate them to the Air Force. Still, the situation typified the kind of military red tape that drives William J. Perry crazy.

While Perry may not be the …