Industry Insights
Making Senior Government Service More Attractive
BENS Expert Panel Review of the Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation (PAS) Process BENS believes that senior government service can be made more attractive to a broader range of quality…
Domestic Security: Confronting a Changing Threat to Ensure Public Safety and Civil Liberties
The terrorist threat to the United States has not abated. Instead, it is fundamentally differentthan it was on September 11, 2001: greater numbers; more sophisticated communications strategies, including through the…
Modernizing Military Compensation: Value Based Practices for Military Health Care
Military health care costs have grown significantly over the past decade and are now threatening to consume a larger portion of the military budget. If the military is to maintain…
Modernizing Military Compensation: Providing an Enduring Military Retirement Benefit
The military retirement benefit has come under scrutiny recently due to its rising costs and potentially outdated structure. Payments to military retirees rose by 49 percent between 2002 and 2012,…
Modernizing Military Compensation: The Commissary Benefit and Evaluating the Need for Reform
The commissary benefit is a traditional part of the military compensation package. The benefit provides service members, retirees, and their families’ access to military installation grocery stores known as commissaries…
Security in the New Energy Landscape: Accessing the Geostrategic Impact of the Unconventional Oil & Gas Revolution
The United States is experiencing a surge in the discovery and production of oil and gas resources. Whereas just several years ago experts warned of the decline in global oil…
Finding Efficiencies in the Business of Defense: Reducing Fuel Cost for the Defense Logistics Agency
An assessment of measures that reduce the Defense Logistics Agency’s fuel procurement, storage and transportation costs. In Fall 2012, Director of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Vice Admiral (VADM) Mark…
Power the Fight: Capturing Smart Microgrid Potential for DoD Installation Energy Security
Nearly 99% of the more than 500 DoD installations nationwide are dependent on the commercial grid for power. While the U.S. commercial grid is reliable and resilient, power outages have…
Defense Efficiency Initiative: BENS Recommendations
Consolidated recommendations of the BENS membership on what the Defense Department might do to improve and reduce the costs of defense business operations in six areas: civilian workforce, acquisition leadership,…
Getting to Best: Reforming the Defense Acquisition Enterprise
An effective defense acquisition enterprise must to a considerable degree be trust-based and founded upon ethical comportment by all parties. Today, a lack of trust interferes with the relationships between…