Former DOD Official Calls for Better Government Support of Defense Industrial Base

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense and now President and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association David Norquist, a Wash100 Awardee, asked the government on Wednesday at the Defense Logistics Agency Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition in Richmond, Virginia, to assist the defense industrial base or risk compromising an already vulnerable supply chain that could make or break the country’s national security strategy. Norquist said shifting demands and onerous rules are just some of the serious challenges that could discourage the defense industrial base from working with government clients, DVIDS reported.

Norquist said competition among global powers can no longer be won with size alone considering that China has a similar economy to the United States, a larger population and a central planning network. He said the U.S. will have to rely on its allies and partners as well as its defense industrial base, considered the country’s strategic advantage provided proper communication channels are established with the sector.

Data presented by Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Michelle Skubic during the conference showed that DLA had lost 22 percent of 3,000 vendors from 2016 to 2022. The number of workers in the defense industry has also gone down from 3 million in 1985 to only 1.1 million.