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Site Last Modified: February 4, 2010


The goal of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information is to transform U.S. national security strategy to meet the missions and threats of the 21st century. Recognizing that security includes economic as well as military strength, the project considers both the fiscal and strategic implications of defense programs and promotes informed oversight of Pentagon activities. The Straus Military Reform Project provides analysis and fosters debate on the uses, strategy, doctrine and forces of the U.S. military and its role in the wider national security structure. It provides a forum for discussion and encourages the free expression of all views.

CDI and the Military Reform Project staff would like to thank Philip A. Straus Jr. and family for their generous support of our work.

  Next (10)
Two Assessments of the 2011 Defense Budget and Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) 
February 4, 2010  
Neither are favorable, but they both offer somewhat differing views of the latest output of the Gates-Flournoy Pentagon. One is a new commentary appearing at Counterpunch by former Pentagon insider Chuck Spinney. The other is a radio interview NPR affiliate Chicago Public Radio had with Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler.
 
No Surprise in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
February 3, 2010  
Some have remarked that the cost overruns, management screw-ups, performance failures and schedule delays on the F-35 were surprises, unexpected or unanticipated. This would be the case only if you are new to defense as an issue, willing to mindlessly follow empty-headed conventional wisdom as it wriggles its way through the corridors of power in Washington, or wake up each morning believing in the tooth fairy. Friend and military reform colleague Chuck Spinney explains and documents his more than decade-old prediction from the past of what is now happening in the F-35 program. Needless to say, all of Washington's national security elite ignored Chuck's predictions back then, just as they will hope to ignore his reminder and his broader lesson today.
 
George Wilson on DOD Budget and Reform
February 3, 2010  
Veteran defense journalist George Wilson notes the coddling President Obama continues to give to one of the worst managed (as noted by the GAO) agencies of the federal government. That Defense Secretary Gates has taken some important and needed actions against some of the lowest hanging procurement fruit earns him a reputation as one of the most in-charge secretaries of defense in a very long time, but it should not excuse him from an expectation that he address the more fundamental forces that continue to shrink and age our forces at ever-increasing cost. Having fired the F-35 program manager, Gates has opened up for himself an opportunity to give that program the radical restructuring it badly needs and still lacks (e.g. make it a true fly-before-buy program). Wilson also addresses some of the other fundamental reforms that are still lacking.
 
The Pentagon's "New" Budget
February 1, 2010  
Enough has leaked regarding the Pentagon's "new" 2011 budget and the recent Quadrennial Defense Review to understand their basic character and many details, explains CDI's Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler. In advance of the official release of these documents on Monday, Wheeler has written up his findings and conclusions.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
2009 Test Report on F-35
January 20, 2010  
The recently released 2009 Annual Report of the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) offers some interesting insight into the F-35's failure to complete its flight test schedule for last year.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
Just What We Need: More Pentagon Spending
January 15, 2010  
The recent news that President Obama wants more Pentagon spending, ostensibly to pay for the 30,000 U.S. troops and Marines to go to Afghanistan, should not make us feel more secure, explains CDI's Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
Is Accountability Expendable?
January 11, 2010  
Some seem to think so. They have for years. Earlier this week, we observed another painfully obvious example as the so-called intelligence community squirmed under the glare of a public all agog over its incompetence. The solution is to fire those responsible for the latest debacle, explains Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler in The Huffington Post.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
Eliminate the Senate?
January 4, 2010  
In response to what he found to be a poorly conceived piece in The Washington Post's Outlook section of Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009 ("After Health Care, We Need Senate Reform"), the Straus Military Reform Project's Winslow Wheeler has written a commentary in The Huffington Post, "Eliminate the Senate?"
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
"Oinkers" in the Inventory: A Tale of Two Pigs
December 28, 2009  
Winslow Wheeler, director of CDI's Straus Military Reform Project, and Pierre Sprey have authored a new commentary on the F-35 and its equally unimpressive heritage at The Huffington Post.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler
 
Quick Look Analysis of 2010 Defense Department Appropriations Conference Report: Porkers Engaging in Usual Tricks
December 17, 2009  
CDI's Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler reviews the recently released DOD Appropriations Conference Reports and explains how congressional porkers are once again obtaining their earmarks - at the cost of equipping and training the U.S. military.
Author(s): Winslow Wheeler