Former DOD official to lead industrial base review

One of Brett Lambert’s duties at the Pentagon was to lead efforts to improve communication between the department and the defense industrial base.

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A recently retired Pentagon policy leader is set to head up a review of the defense industrial base that will aim to help inform budgetary decision making. 

Brett Lambert, who stepped down last August as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for manufacturing and industrial base policy, will spearhead the review for the National Defense Industrial Association, according to the Washington Post.  

NDIA Chairman Arnold Punaro said the hope is that companies will be more open with an industry-led group than they might be with the government. The analysis comes as DOD leaders seek ways to implement billions of dollars in cuts and continue with acquisition reform efforts. 

While at the Pentagon, Lambert led efforts to improve communication between DOD and the defense industrial base. He told the Post that the NDIA study will be “a fact-finding mission,” and will evaluate how well current contractors are fulfilling military needs.  

“Not everybody in the industry is going to be joyful about this effort,” Lambert said. “This is not going to be another white paper that says you have to protect the industrial base; it’s going to be a fact-based understanding of what the industrial base looks like.”