Is Corporate Management Dulling Our Technological Edge

摘要

The author examines funding trends in the Air Force technology and test base under the current DoD 'uniform funding policy' and concludes that the policy intended to encourage efficiency and full utilization of in-house test capability in support of weapons development has had the opposite effect. He postulates the several dilemmas that confront test facility managers and test users, namely, The Reimbursement Dilemma, The Facilities Utilization Dilemma, The Operating Budget Dilemma and The Investment Dilemma and their impact on testing high technology systems and on maintaining the capability to test. He theorizes that the 'uniform Funding policy' has given rise to a 'marketplace mentality' which has affected the way the Air Force allocates resources to the technology and test areas. He offers three suggestions to change this perception and to insure that we preserve the technological advantage that underpins our national defense strategy. (Author)