Editor's corner.

• Position: Editorial

Can the Defense Department reform its cumbersome logistics operations? Army Lt. Gen. Henry T. Glisson avows that changes are on the way, and that the military services will see significant improvements within the next several years. Glisson is the director of the $17 billion Defense Logistics Agency, which is responsible for stocking and delivering supplies and spare parts to the military services.

Glisson, whose tour of duty at DLA ends this summer, sat down this month with National Defense Senior Editor Joshua A. Kutner. In anticipation of a broad review of Pentagon agencies by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Glisson believes that DLA more than likely will be spared any significant downsizing because the agency has worked to become more efficient. The story begins on page 26.

The efficiencies promised by DLA in large measure will come from what Glisson calls "strategic partnerships with industry." These alliances are not like traditional defense contracts, but rather long-term agreements that allow suppliers to predict the demand for certain products over a long period of time. The goal is to do business like the commercial markets. More on this topic on page 30.

Cover Story

The U.S. Navy's flagship technologies for future surface warfare are the focus of our cover story this month. In late March or early April, the Navy is expected to announce the winner of a competition to build the DD-21, the next-generation surface combatant. Two industry teams, the Blue and the Gold, have been working...