STEPPING UP Perry, then deputy secretary of defense, attends the NATO Defense Ministers meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, in March 1993. Perry, who served as deputy secretary in 1993 and 1994, initially turned down President Clinton’s request to serve as secretary over con- cerns that it would be difficult to be nonpartisan in that role. (DOD photo by Robert D. Ward)


at Sylvania’s Electronic Defense Laboratories in Mountain View, California, not far from Stanford.


If not as wildly successful as some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Perry founded two tech companies, Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory Inc. and Technology Strategies Alliances, and worked at the cutting edge of defense capabilities.


Despite his reluctance to enter the harsh glare of the public spotlight when first offered the job of secretary of defense, Perry now attempts to use whatever glow that remains to educate the public, especially young people, about the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 2007, along with former Secretaries of State George P. Shultz and Henry A. Kissinger and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, Perry co-authored an op-ed piece in Te Wall Street Journal, “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons,” in which the four urged the U.S. to lead the world in reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons. Perry continues to work for education and understanding of the dangers of nuclear weapons, especially in the hands of terrorists, through his organization, the William J. Perry Project.


As a scientist, and a man who was at the heart of significant acquisition reforms as secretary of defense and as a member of the Packard Commission in 1985-86, Perry led DOD dur- ing the 1990s, giving him an unusual and distinct perspective on acquisition reform then and now. He is an extraordinarily accomplished man who could be resting on his many laurels, but, as his advocacy on behalf of his project shows, Perry has no intention of putting his feet up any time soon.


Army AL&T: When you look at the oversight that Congress has and you look at the many layers and stakeholders with oversight responsibility throughout the acquisition system, do you have any idea what percentage of the defense budget goes to compli- ance with regulation and oversight?


Perry: Well, I’ve never seen a reliable percentage figure for that, but I have to believe it’s a pretty big figure because of all the people involved in it and the way it slows down the whole pro- cess. Tere’s no doubt that it’s an important part of the overall cost of our defense. Some of that, I have to believe, is necessary. I mean, we’re spending the public’s money. It’s a lot of money,


ASC.ARMY.MIL 101


CRITICAL THINKING


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