DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD RELEASES REPORT ON "ACHIEVING AN INNOVATIVE SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR 21ST CENTURY MILITARY SUPERIORITY
The Defense Science Board today released its 1996 Summer
Study Task Force report on Achieving an Innovative Support
Structure for 21st Century Military Superiority.
The task force presents a new vision for support to military
forces in the 21st century. This vision foresees the Department
of Defense operating only those support elements that are
inherently governmental--warfighting (and other military
operations), battlefield support, policy and decision making, and
oversight. All other functions would be provided by the
competitive, private sector--utilizing best practices.
Thus the Defense Science Board has recommended the dramatic
restructuring of DoD support, utilizing modern information
technology and management principles, and maximizing the use of
the competitive private sector. It also recommends creating a
new planning and budgeting process to institutionalize incentives
for aligning resources with requirements.
The report concludes that such recommendations could result
in the shift of up to $30 billion per year from support to
modernization/force requirements by the year 2002.
The Department of Defense will review these recommendations
in conjunction with ongoing deliberations of the Quadrennial
Defense Review.
The Defense Science Board is the senior advisory body of the
Department of Defense. It is composed of members appointed from
the private sector. The board advises the secretary of Defense,
the deputy secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, and the undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition and
Technology) on scientific, technical, manufacturing and other
matters of special importance to the Department of Defense.
