Center for Defense Information

The Center for Defense Information (CDI) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit and nonpartisan defense-policy research organization. It was established in 1971 by an independent group of retired military officers, among them Adm. Gene La Rocque and Adm. Eugene Carroll. The organization developed a public-facing role in examining U.S. military policy, defense spending, weapons procurement, strategic priorities, and the institutional performance of the Pentagon. CDI's work has traditionally combined research, policy analysis, public commentary, and education. Rather than operating as a defense contractor or an advocacy brand tied to a commercial product, it has functioned as an independent policy organization whose output is intended to inform Congress, journalists, specialists, and the wider public. Its analysis has addressed the practical and strategic consequences of military decisions, including whether major weapons programs deliver sufficient capability for their cost and whether defense institutions are accountable to elected officials and taxpayers. A major development came in 2005, when CDI created the Straus Military Reform Project. The project was intended to promote military reform within the Pentagon and Congress. Winslow T. Wheeler, a former Capitol Hill staff member and former assistant director at the U.S. General Accounting Office, directed the project. Its launch was supported by a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr.; the Straus family had longstanding ties to and support for CDI activities. The project broadened CDI's emphasis on oversight and acquisition reform by focusing directly on the systems and decision-making practices governing the U.S. defense establishment. Following the 2008 U.S. elections, CDI published "America's Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress," a collection of briefing papers written by defense intellectuals and retired military officers. The volume presented reform proposals for a new administration and Congress. In 2010, CDI issued "The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You through It," another collection designed to explain the organizational and policy complexity of the Pentagon and to identify areas requiring reform. From the mid-2000s onward, CDI gave particular attention to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program. The organization characterized the aircraft as a representative example of what it viewed as broader Pentagon acquisition problems, emphasizing cost, affordability, performance, and program management concerns. This work placed CDI within the wider public debate over the F-35's development and the governance of large-scale weapons procurement. CDI formerly operated under the umbrella of the World Security Institute. After the World Security Institute closed in 2012, CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), a nonprofit organization focused on government accountability. Following the merger, POGO continued publication of The Defense Monitor, a defense-focused publication associated with CDI. CDI therefore became part of a larger oversight and public-interest research network while retaining its identity as a defense-policy research center. Its present institutional affiliation is with POGO, and its public role remains centered on defense analysis, military reform, procurement oversight, and informed debate about U.S. national-security policy.

The Center for Defense Information was founded in 1971 in Washington, D.C., by an independent group of retired military officers that included Adm. Gene La Rocque and Adm. Eugene Carroll. Its creation reflected an effort to bring experienced military perspectives into public discussions of defense policy while maintaining an independent and nonpartisan institutional posture. CDI was not established as a commercial defense enterprise; its principal activities were research, analysis, public education, and commentary on military affairs. Over time, CDI examined the relationship between national-security policy, defense budgets, military capability, and government accountability. Its work addressed the operation of the Pentagon and the performance of major weapons programs, providing material for policymakers, journalists, and members of the public seeking independent analysis of defense issues. The organization became particularly associated with scrutiny of procurement decisions and the management of large, technically complex military programs. In 2005, CDI expanded its reform agenda through the creation of the Straus Military Reform Project. The project sought to encourage military reform in both the Pentagon and Congress. Winslow T. Wheeler, who had previously worked on Capitol Hill and served as an assistant director at the General Accounting Office, directed the project. It was launched with a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr., whose family had longstanding support for CDI-related activities. The project gave CDI a more defined institutional vehicle for analyzing defense management, congressional oversight, and acquisition practices. CDI's publishing program also became an important part of its public work. In the period following the 2008 U.S. elections, it released "America's Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress." The collection brought together briefing papers from defense intellectuals and retired military officers and framed Pentagon reform as an issue for the incoming administration and Congress. In 2010, CDI followed it with "The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You through It," a shorter collection intended to explain the complexity of Pentagon decision-making and defense policy. Beginning in the mid-2000s, CDI devoted sustained attention to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Its analysis presented the program as an example of wider acquisition challenges, particularly concerns involving affordability and performance. This focus connected CDI's institutional mission to a prominent national debate about the cost, development, testing, and operational value of the U.S. military's largest aircraft procurement effort. CDI previously operated under the World Security Institute. When that institute closed in 2012, CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight, a nonprofit organization known as POGO for its work on government transparency and accountability. POGO also continued publication of The Defense Monitor, a defense-focused publication associated with CDI. The merger placed CDI within a larger public-interest oversight organization while preserving its defense-policy identity. CDI's current public presence is consequently linked to POGO and continues to emphasize military analysis, Pentagon reform, defense procurement, and accountability in national-security decision-making.

• 2012

  Merged with Project On Government Oversight

  [1]Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org

  Following the closure of the World Security Institute, CDI merged with POGO and continued its defense-accountability work within that organization.

• 2010

  The Pentagon Labyrinth released

  [1]Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org

  CDI published ten essays explaining Pentagon organization and the difficulties of defense reform.

• 2009

  America's Defense Meltdown released

  [1]Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org

  CDI published a collection of reform-oriented briefing papers for the Obama administration and the new Congress.

• 2005

  Straus Military Reform Project established

  [1]Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org

  CDI created a project dedicated to promoting reform in the Pentagon and Congress, with Winslow T. Wheeler as its director.

• 1971

  Center for Defense Information founded

  [1]Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org

  An independent group of retired military officers, including Gene La Rocque and Eugene Carroll, established CDI as a nonprofit defense-policy research organization.

Independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan defense-policy analysis with a strong emphasis on military reform, government accountability, and the oversight of major weapons programs.

• Policy research program · 2005

  Straus Military Reform Project

  Established in 2005, the Straus Military Reform Project was CDI's dedicated vehicle for studying and promoting reform in the Pentagon and Congress. Its agenda covered defense management, military oversight, and the acquisition processes through which the U.S. government develops and purchases weapons systems. The project was directed by Winslow T. Wheeler and supported at launch by a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr.

• Policy publication · 2009

  America's Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress

  This anthology assembled briefing papers from defense intellectuals and retired military officers after the 2008 U.S. elections. It addressed Pentagon reform and was directed toward the incoming presidential administration and Congress. The publication expressed CDI's interest in translating independent defense analysis into practical institutional and policy recommendations.

• Policy publication · 2010

  The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You through It

  Released in 2010, this collection used ten short essays to explain the Pentagon's organizational and policy complexity. It was designed as an accessible guide to defense decision-making and reform issues, continuing CDI's effort to make specialized military-policy questions understandable to policymakers and the broader public.

• Defense-policy publication

  The Defense Monitor

  The Defense Monitor is a defense-focused publication associated with CDI. After CDI joined the Project On Government Oversight, POGO continued publishing it as part of the organization's broader work on defense oversight, military policy, and government accountability.

• 2012

  Merged with Project On Government OversightM&A

  Background

  The World Security Institute, under whose umbrella CDI had previously operated, closed in 2012.

  Action taken

  CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight, a nonprofit focused on government accountability.

  Aftermath

  CDI became part of POGO's public-interest oversight structure, while POGO continued publication of The Defense Monitor.

  Source

• 2005

  Created a dedicated military-reform projectStrategy

  Background

  CDI sought to strengthen its work on institutional reform and defense oversight inside the Pentagon and Congress.

  Action taken

  It established the Straus Military Reform Project, directed by Winslow T. Wheeler and supported by a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr.

  Aftermath

  The project became a defined platform for CDI's research into Pentagon management, congressional oversight, and military acquisition.

  Source

1. 1Center for Defense Informationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Center for Defense Information - Project On Government Oversightpogo.org