{"id":52181,"date":"2021-04-07T19:01:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T19:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/07\/the-pentagon-must-act-now-to-address-vulnerability-in-its-enterprise\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:48:25","slug":"the-pentagon-must-act-now-to-address-vulnerability-in-its-enterprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/04\/07\/the-pentagon-must-act-now-to-address-vulnerability-in-its-enterprise\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon must act now to address vulnerability in its enterprise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Learning and adaptation create successful military organizations. From the Revolutionary War through Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. armed forces have demonstrated a remarkable ability to absorb and adapt to combat\u2019s harsh lessons. Peacetime adaptation and innovation have proved more difficult and infrequent, but it is necessary to meet the challenges that China and Russia pose<\/a> to U.S. security. To achieve the \u201curgent change at significant scale,\u201d called for by the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the Department of Defense must learn lessons from peacetime experiences and adapt quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> is not combat, but it has stress-tested the DoD and the broader defense enterprise. It has degraded military readiness; disrupted modernization; and drawn U.S. armed forces into roles, such as vaccine distribution, beyond their core missions. This stress test exposed fragility in the defense enterprise to shocks like natural disasters and economic collapse. The DoD must heed the pandemic\u2019s lessons about systemic vulnerability and, as it has during our nation\u2019s wars, take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By adapting now, the DoD can inoculate itself against systemic collapse before the next crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Department\u2019s spare parts ecosystem provides an illuminating example of fragility and how targeted actions can mitigate risk. Maintaining the vast array of U.S. military equipment, from rifles to warships, requires millions of spare parts, many of which have just one approved supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\t