The National Security Act of 1947 was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first secretary of defense.
The military–industrial complex (MIC) is a phrase originally coined by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to describe the relationship between the military and the defense industry that supplies it with weapons, equipment, and services.
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department, was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, also bearing responsibility for naval affairs until the establishment of the Navy Department in 1798, and for most land-based air forces until the creation of the Department of the Air Force on September 18, 1947.
United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and precision munitions.
The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department and the Navy Department. Because the United States Department of Defense would only come into existence in 1947, this was an ad hoc construction to promote cooperation between the Army and the Navy, it was founded by the Council of National Defense. The War Industries Board was preceded by the General Munitions Board —which didn't have the authority it needed and was later strengthened and transformed into the WIB.
The arms industry, also known as the defence industry, military industry, or the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and other military technology to a variety of customers, including the armed forces of states and civilian individuals and organizations. Products of the arms industry include weapons, munitions, weapons platforms, communications systems and other electronics, and related equipment. The arms industry also provides defense-related services, such as logistical and operational support.
Benedict Crowell was a United States military officer and politician particularly influential in military organization during and following World War I. He was United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1917 to 1920.
The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) -- originally the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce (1922-1945), then Aircraft Industries Association (1945-1960) -- is an American trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, space systems, aircraft engines, missiles, material, and related components, equipment, services, and information technology in the United States. It also co-sponsors, with the National Association of Rocketry, the America Rocketry Challenge (TARC), an annual competition for high school students. Member companies also give awards and scholarships to top placing teams at the TARC national finals each year, and it is funded through sponsoring companies. AIA also develops the manufacturing standards called National Aerospace Standards, which are available to aerospace manufacturers that conform to United States Military Standards for equipment manufacturing and provide standards for other various components.
The Truman Committee, formally known as the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, was a United States Congressional investigative body, headed by Senator Harry S. Truman. The bipartisan special committee was formed in March 1941 to find and correct problems in US war production with waste, inefficiency, and war profiteering. The Truman Committee proved to be one of the most successful investigative efforts ever mounted by the U.S. government: an initial budget of $15,000 was expanded over three years to $360,000 to save an estimated $10–15 billion in military spending and thousands of lives of U.S. servicemen. For comparison, the entire cost of the simultaneous Manhattan Project, which created the first atomic bombs, was $2 billion. Chairing the committee helped Truman make a name for himself beyond his political machine origins and was a major factor in the decision to nominate him as vice president, which would propel him to the presidency after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The National Mining Association (NMA) is a United States trade organization that lists itself as the voice of the mining industry in Washington, D.C. The NMA was formed in 1995, and has more than 250 corporate members.
The Irrigation Association is a trade association of about 1800 companies in the agriculture and landscape industries. It was established in 1949.
Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consisted of the Elwood Ordnance Plant (EOP) and the Kankakee Ordnance Works (KNK). In 1945, the two were deactivated and combined forming the Joliet Arsenal. The plant was reactivated for the Korean War and renamed Joliet Army Ammunition Plant during the Vietnam War. Production of TNT ended in 1976, and the major plant operations closed shortly after in the late 1970s. The facility briefly revived an automated load-assemble-pack (LAP) artillery shell operation that was managed by the Honeywell Corporation during the Reagan administration in the 1980s before it was finally closed.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is an American national trade association for the firearms industry that is based in Newtown, Connecticut. Formed in 1961, the organization has more than 8,000 members:
The Motorcycle Industry Council, or MIC, is a not-for-profit, national trade association representing manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters, motorcycle/ATV parts and accessories and members of allied trades in the United States, located in Irvine, California. The MIC was incorporated in 1970, but the association has roots extending back to the early days of motorcycling when it existed under other names since 1914.
Offsets are compensatory trade agreements, reciprocal trade agreements, between an exporting foreign company, or possibly a government acting as intermediary, and an importing entity. Offset agreements often involve trade in military goods and services and are alternatively called: industrial compensations, industrial cooperation, offsets, industrial and regional benefits, balances, juste retour or equilibrium, to define mechanisms more complex than counter-trade. Counter-trade can also be considered one of the many forms of defense offset, to compensate a purchasing country. The incentive for the exporter results from the conditioning of the core transaction to the acceptance of the offset obligation.
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP), located in Des Moines County in southeastern Iowa, near the city of Burlington, produces and delivers component assembly, and medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the United States Department of Defense using modern production methods in support of worldwide operations. The facility is part of the US Army Joint Munitions Command.
The Security Industry Association (SIA), based in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a U.S. trade association, founded in 1969, representing global security solutions providers. The organization today represents nearly 1,400 firms and organizations in the security industry, and in 2017 the association expanded membership to include an academic category. Longtime CEO R. Walden Chace resigned under pressure in 2010 due to excessive spending and collaborations with Reed Exhibitions.
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is a trade association of manufacturers of personal protective equipment and other safety equipment, with its offices in Arlington, Virginia. More than 100 companies are members. The ISEA is the secretariat organization for several American National Standards Institute technical standards for products such as high visibility clothing, eye protection, hard hats, chemical and dust protection, hand protection, and others; formerly this role was filled by the American Society of Safety Engineers.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 is a proposed United States federal law which will specify the budget, expenditures, and policies of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2025.
