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The Defense Department finished the Quadrennial Defense Review in May 1997. This analysis forced the Defense Department to examine the availability of resources for research, development, engineering, testing, and procurement.
Secretary of Defense William Cohen, as a result, created the Task Force on Defense Reform to address the business side of the Defense Department. The findings of the task force became the foundation for the Defense Reform Initiative (DRI).
The DRI report lays the groundwork for the reduction of support costs by emphasizing the elimination of excess infrastructure, consolidating and regionalizing many defense support agencies, and requesting legislative authority to conduct two additional base closure rounds. Also, privatization initiatives are highlighted as a means to make the Pentagon leaner and more flexible.
In a recent hearing before the House National Security Committee, Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre listed the 'four pillars of the Defense Reform Initiative."
Adopting the best private sector business practices in defense support activities.
Consolidating and streamlining organizations to remove redundancy while moving program management out of corporate headquarters and back to the field.
Outsourcing functions now being performed inhouse. This will improve quality, cut costs, and make the Pentagon more responsive.