Center for Defense Information
Template:Short description Template:Infobox organization The Center for Defense Information (CDI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. It specialized in analyzing and advising on military matters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
The Center for Defense Information was founded in 1971 by an independent group of retired military officers including Adm. Gene La Rocque and Adm. Eugene Carroll.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2005, the Center for Defense Information expanded by creating the Straus Military Reform Project <ref name="auto"/> for the purpose of promoting military reform in the Pentagon and Congress. Winslow T. Wheeler, a former Capitol Hill staffer and General Accounting Office assistant director, directs the Straus Military Reform Project at CDI. The Project was launched by a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr. Straus and his family have long supported activities at CDI and continue to be major supporters of the Project's endeavors.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In May 2012, CDI joined the Project on Government Oversight.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After the 2008 United States elections, CDI released America’s Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress, a collection of briefing papers by a dozen defense intellectuals and retired military officers. In 2010, CDI released a second anthology, The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You through It.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Since the mid-2000s, CDI has focused on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as what it says is the embodiment of the Pentagon's acquisition problems—being both unaffordable and a huge disappointment in performance.Template:Citation needed
Formerly, CDI operated under the umbrella of the World Security Institute. In 2012, the World Security Institute closed,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, POGO continued the publication of The Defense Monitor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>