NDIAAT 100: A TRACK RECORD OF THOUGHT LEADERSHIP.

This is part three of a six-part series looking at the history of the National Defense Industrial Association as it celebrates its centennial year.

"Past efforts have shoum that while acquisition is resistant to once-and-for-all reform, it can be improved. We called the report a 'Pathway' because continuous improvement of the acquisition system will be a journey, not a destination."

--NDIA Senior Policy Fellow Jon Etherton

While global military dominance has long been the modus operandus of the U.S. defense industry, such dominance should not be measured in taxpayer dollars. We have all seen charts detailing the $716 billion in U.S. defense spending, but this is not a data point the industry should wear as a badge of honor, especially when our budget is in some part due to inefficiency.

Efficiency problems in defense acquisition have existed for decades and have only worsened over time. While no shortage of blue-ribbon panels and research initiatives have prescribed reforms--none of which have engendered revolutionary change--incremental improvements in the past decade can be traced back to the efforts of the National Defense Industrial Association's policy experts and member organizations.

Estimates from 2008 pegged Pentagon development and procurement spending at $21 million per hour. Dozens of key programs take years to move through the process of procurement, design, testing, production, implementation and upgrading. This long project lifecycle, not to mention taxpayer burden, was not only an unsustainable spending problem but also a national security issue. If the government and industry cannot get necessary equipment into warfighters' hands in a timely manner, dominance on the battlefield is truly compromised.

Following the Budget Control Act of 2011 and sequestration in 2013--a $54.6 billion cut to the defense budget, ultimately adjusted down to $37.2 billion--the imperative was clear: acquisition reform was absolutely necessary.

Easier said than done.

"There's no silver bullet out there," said NDIA's Senior Vice President of Policy, retired Air Force Col. Wesley Hallman. The negative factors include the system's size and complexity, lack of trained personnel and accountability, and politicization and bureaucratic red tape. The acquisition process is long and complex, with each step purportedly aimed at reducing risk of failure and increasing the likelihood of meeting cost, schedule and technical promises. However, risk aversion, too...