2009 Highlights
BENS In North Korea
If North Korea wants to create a positive foreign investment climate, it must end its nuclear weapons program. This message was delivered by a small group of BENS members to high-level North Korean government officials in BENS’ first-ever trip to the country Dec. 14-17. While in the capital Pyongyang, members held talks with the country’s second-highest ranking official, Kim Yong-nam, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, as well as Cabinet-level Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Electric Power Industry. The BENS group also toured factories and numerous cultural and education facilities. News coverage: Associated Press • Bloomberg • CCTV • North Korea Economy Watch • Yonhap • The Korea Times. Click here to view photos from the trip.
Logistics: The Future of National Security
Meeting the wide array of future national security challenges will depend on a well-oiled logistics operation—efficiently moving resources around the globe to support an increasingly expeditionary military force. That was the message from the Hon. Jacques Gansler at a Dec. 8 BENS roundtable discussion on defense logistics modernization in Washington, D.C. Gansler, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, joined Randy Fowler, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Materiel Readiness, and Lou Kratz, Lockheed Martin Vice President and Managing Director of Logistics & Sustainment, along with a group of 18 BENS members and experts to discuss how business sense can help the military overcome logistics challenges. The roundtable was the first in a series that will lay the foundation for a follow-up project to the BENS 2001 Tail-to-Tooth Commission. Click here for photos from the meeting.
Clinton: BENS a “Cutting-Edge Example”
BENS is “a cutting-edge example of what can be done when the business community becomes involved in supporting our diplomatic and development efforts alongside our defense,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the BENS Eisenhower Award black-tie gala in her honor in New York City on Nov. 30. With nearly 500 in attendance, Sec. Clinton was lauded by emcee Charlie Rose as “a leader who has served our nation with dedication and distinction for nearly four decades.” Keynote speaker Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave insight on the decision-making challenges faced by policymakers and also took questions from the audience. Click here for a video and transcript of Sec. Clinton's remarks. Click here for a transcript of Sec. Kissinger's remarks. News coverage: American Forces Press Service • CNN • Des Pardes • Foreign Policy. Click here to view photos from the dinner.
"The Foundation of National Resilience"
If America is attacked with a weapon of mass destruction, the public-private homeland security partnerships model pioneered by BENS would be one of the best ways to help the nation recover and bounce back. That was the message from former Senators Bob Graham and Jim Talent when they testified 
Sept. 22 to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Graham and Talent, who recently led the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, touted the BENS-established Safeguard Iowa Partnership and its key role in helping the state recover from historic floods last year. The model, they said, “should be emulated elsewhere across the country and is applicable to both natural disasters and WMD attacks” in helping to create an engaged and mobilized citizenry — “the foundation of national resilience.” To read the full testimony, click here and click “view testimony.”
An "Extraordinary Visit" With American Heroes
In what was described by BENS member Georgette Mosbacher as an “extraordinary experience,” eight BENS members toured the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, where they observed the latest medical technology and ate lunch with America’s wounded heroes. Walter Reed serves over 150,000 servicemen and women from all branches of the military and has a staff of over 6,000. After the tour, members were briefed on the latest developments of the BENS Warrior Gateway Project, which will help wounded veterans — like those recovering at Walter Reed — successfully reenter civilian life.
BENS Visits Mideast, Central Asia
What do the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, security
in Iraq and a girls school have in common? They were all part of a July 13-17 visit by a small group of BENS members to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen. To view pictures, click here. Read the August BENS Update for more about the trip.
BENS Releases Defense Acquisition Reform Study
On July 27, BENS released "Getting to Best," a 
comprehensive study of the laws, regulation and culture of the ailing acquisition system that offers business-minded recommendations to improve the process, save taxpayer dollars and better serve our warfighters. At a conference with news media, the study's chairman, Norm Augustine, gave an overview of the project and answered questions with BENS Chairman Joe Robert and BENS CEO Gen. Chuck Boyd. To read the report, click here. To listen to the news conference, click here.
News coverage: Government Executive • DefenseNews
“Good Faith, Good Will and High Intent”
BENS Honors Sens. Levin and Warner
It was a celebration of bipartisan accomplishment on May 13, as BENS honored Democratic Senator Carl Levin and former Republican Senator John Warner with its highest recognition—the Eisenhower Award—in front of the largest Washington dinner audience in BENS’ history. With over 530 members and guests in attendance, Time columnist Joe Klein thanked the honorees for “watching over our military.” Master of Ceremonies and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan called the two longtime Senate Armed Services Committee colleagues “leaders of good faith, good will and high intent.”
Earlier in the day, BENS hosted its 20th annual Washington Forum, which featured a diverse lineup of experts to discuss energy security. Over 200 attendees listened as National Security Advisor Gen. Jim Jones urged 
international cooperation in tackling energy issues and noted that “business has a key role to play” in developing energy efficient technologies. Former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden discussed how energy demands can affect foreign policy, saying “security and energy are interrelated.” BENS member and FedEx CEO Fred Smith argued that “after nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, our dependence on foreign oil is the biggest national security issue we face.”
Newly appointed Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ash Carter detailed current military efforts to conserve resources, but urged more, saying the Defense Department “must recognize the energy challenge.” Building on the forum, BENS is now working with energy experts to identify a project that will bring the energy efficient innovations of the private sector to the military.
To view photos from the dinner, click here.
To view photos from the forum, click here.
Cyber Security Collaboration
With the Obama Administration's review of government cyber security policy set to be released later in the week, BENS argues in a Washington Times opinion piece that any successful cyber security effort must include collaboration between the public and private sectors. To read the column, authored by Rep. James Langevin, BENS Board Member and Booz Allen Hamilton VP Mark Gerencser and BENS President and CEO Chuck Boyd, click here.
BENS Visits USS Harry S. Truman
The roar of F-18 Hornets highlighted two days aboard the USS Truman for a small group of BENS members in April. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that played 
key roles in the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina relief hosted the nine-member group for an extensive tour, breakfast with sailors and the always thrilling jet take-offs and landings on the flight deck. To view pictures from the visit, click here.
BENS On The Air
BENS took to the airwaves recently when Lynne Kidder, Senior Vice President, Regional Partnerships, discussed BENS' evolving partnerships work on Homeland Security Inside & Out, a weekly public radio program. To listen to the program online, click here.
BENS Earns Another Four-Star Rating
For the second year in a row, BENS has received a four-star
rating from Charity Navigator, a leading evaluator of non-profit organizations. In a message to BENS, the organization noted that our second consecutive four-star rating for effective financial management is “an exceptional feat, especially given the economic challenges many charities have had to face in the last year.” BENS’ latest Charity Navigator rating can be viewed here.
BENS Achieves WMD Milestone
In the latest achievement of BENS’ efforts to strengthen non-proliferation programs, a new chemical weapons disposal facility is now up and running in Russia. BENS worked closely with Sen. Richard Lugar—cosponsor of the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program—to build the facility in Shchuchye, 1,000 miles southeast of Moscow and home to nearly 2 million deadly chemical shells. Every shell destroyed means one less weapon at risk of falling into the wrong hands. To read more, click here.
Business Leaders in Action, Results for America – BENS Leadership Report 2009 - A report, summarizing our major activities: recent, ongoing and planned initiatives, their impact on our national security, the places we’ve visited, the leaders we’ve met and our never-ending effort to grow our membership and remain a good steward of our resources. Click here for the report.
Cyber Security Inquiry 2008 on USA Today blog
In a post on cyber security spending, USA Today's Technology Live blog cited the recently released BENS and Booz Allen Hamilton Cyber Strategic Inquiry report. The post's author also linked to a piece on his own blog about the simulation.
Defense Acquisition Law & Oversight Task Force
In preparation for its final meeting on Feb. 3, the BENS Task Force on Defense Acquisition Law & Oversight put finishing touches on its work in late January in a series of meetings in Washington, DC. Chairman Norm Augustine led a gathering of Task Force principals, while one of three focus groups, led by former Air Force General Speedy Martin, pounded out its findings over two days. The final report—an unprecedented slate of defense acquisition reform recommendations—is scheduled to be presented to Congress and the defense community in March.
As the BENS Defense Acquisition Law & Oversight Task Force continues its work, one of its three focus groups met in Washington, DC, on Jan. 14 to discuss how military requirements for new systems and services are developed. Chaired by BENS Board Member Frank Sica, the group formulated findings and recommendations for the final report, due in March. To view photos from the meeting, click here.
Stocks, Futures and Options Magazine Interview
With BENS CEO Charles Boyd
Stocks, Futures and Options Magazine interviewed BENS CEOGen. Charles Boyd for their January cover story. To read the interview featured in SFO magazine, click here.
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