Lifeline in Danger. An Assessment of the United States Defense Industrial Base
Abstract
Conclusions include: 1) It would be a mistake for the U.S. to seek complete independence for its defense industrial base; 2) Government, industry, and labor all share in the blame for the raging 'adversarial relationship' that exists, but the greater degree of fault is the government's; 3) The problem transcends the Department of Defense and the defense industry; 4) Without stability in the defense acquisition and budgeting process, no real solution is possible; 5) Any solution that works will be expensive; 6) The Defense Industrial Base is not just the prime contractors; 7) Producibility is crucial; 8) The nation needs an 'attitude check'; 9) American industry deserves better support than it has been getting from American government. Recommendations include: 1) A Presidential Commission---on the order of the Packard and Scowcroft Commissions---should be appointed to chart a course; 2) DoD should begin now, before the Commission starts its work, to gather crucial information that does not presently exist; 3) The Commission should re-examine the field of incentives and disincentives in defense production and plan reform of the tangled network of laws and regulations that have led us to the current condition; 4) Avoid hasty legislation; 5) DoD should adopt a more objective stance in its dealings with the defense industry; 6) Prime contractors should nurture the supplier-contractor base.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA201473