The Association's Next 100 Years.

AuthorCarlisle, Hawk

As I reflect on my first 30 months as the National Defense Industrial Association's president and CEO, I'm proud of our team's accomplishments but, more importantly, excited about our future. I spent more than 39 years in uniform supporting and defending the Constitution, and when I retired, my main objective was to find a meaningful way to continue to serve. NDIA exceeded my expectations, providing me a unique opportunity to continue to contribute to our nation's security.

NDIA's mission is critical to the strength and security of America, because we focus on sustaining and growing a strong, resilient defense industrial base that can deliver decisive advantage to warfighters. Our dynamic mission provides daily challenges; we must bring together industry, academia and all branches of government, including the military's uniformed and civilian leaders, to solve our toughest national security challenges. And, while all stakeholders share the same ultimate goal, these groups face pressures to rapidly deliver the best capability at the lowest cost for taxpayers and the need to maximize shareholder value, conflicting imperatives that can drive friction.

So, mission success depends, as it always does, on a team. The association is fortunate to have an outstanding professional staff; they're hard-working, innovative and dedicated to our warfighters. And it works with an amazing group of chapter and division volunteers. All our volunteers, but especially our volunteer leaders, dedicate time and expertise to eliminating or at least mitigating friction, allowing us to provide warfighters with the training, equipment and capabilities to accomplish the missions our nation requires. Simply stated, the association and affiliates benefit from the talents and efforts of exceptional individuals and great patriots.

I'm particularly proud of our partnerships. We've built outstanding relationships with the services as well as the office of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and equally, the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. These relationships give NDIA and its members key insights into emerging threats and requirements, provide us with opportunities to educate about potential impacts and, when appropriate, offer recommendations and alternatives.

Our staff and members also worked hard to develop and enhance special trusted relationships with military and government partners such as Special...

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