Organic Industrial Base (OIB) –
Recent policy signals underscore this urgency. The 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) calls for resilient logistics networks and a robust industrial base. The FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) promotes sustainment transparency and acquisition reform. Executive Orders 14265, 14267, 14268, 14269, and 14278 emphasize innovation, skilled labor, allied cooperation, maritime revitalization, and regulatory streamlining. These directives make clear that sustainment modernization is now a national priority.
These recommendations align with the President’s Executive Orders of February 25, 2025 and April 9, 2025, the Secretary of Defense’s “Message to the Force” dated January 25, 2025, and the Army Transformation Initiative of May 1, 2025. Implementation could be resourced through the Secretary of Defense’s directive to reduce service-level outlays by 8 percent annually over five years, along with consolidation savings and the divestment of obsolete systems. Together, these actions can enable a modern, flexible, and forward-ready sustainment enterprise.
This report reflects a year of Eisenhower School research, drawing from Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) site visits, commercial and interagency engagements, and international partner consultations. Strategic frameworks and economic models were applied to assess readiness. The findings reveal that the current system is not prepared for a prolonged Indo-Pacific conflict. The report offers a framework of three interdependent reforms: Integrated Sustainment, Human Capital, and Infrastructure Recapitalization, to deliver an enterprise capable of sustaining joint force operations as early as 2027.
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