Science and Technology

Chief of the Laboratory's history office in Albuquerque, Duffner traces how the US Air Force consolidated 13 separate laboratories into one. He begins with a discussion of why the decision was made, then explores how the plan was implemented in the mid-1990s.


The thought of consolidating laboratories was not new. Over the last decade, this idea had grown out of the Packard Commission 's blue-ribbon study (begun in 1985) that looked at ways to operate the Department of Defense (DOD) in a more efficient and economical manner. David Packard, a former undersecretary of defense, headed a high-level team of investigators that focused on four core areas that were candidates for change: national security planning and budgeting, military organization and command, acquisition organization and procedures, and government-industry accountability. Packard's final report, A Quest for Excellence (released in June 1986), proposed sweeping reforms, including substantial personnel reductions , to improve efficiency and save money in DOD. President Ronald Reagan directed implementation of the Packard Commission 's recommendations in National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 219, issued on 1 April 1986. The model acquisition-reform plan called for the establishment of "strong centralized policies through highly decentralized management structures."