Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future. . - book review

Naval War College Review, Wntr, 2002 by William Turcotte

Carter, Ashton B., and John P. White, eds. Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2001. 326pp. $50

This book "addresses a need widely recognized but long neglected: to adapt and modernize the system by which the United States manages the largest and most successful security establishment in history." Do not be misled into thinking that the word "managing" in the title suggests a dry treatment of managerial practices requiring extensive change. Keeping the Edge deals with that, but it primarily examines many key organizational strategy issues; these studies will have comprehensive value to anyone within academia or the national security environment wishing to improve what the authors regard as management and organizational shortfalls that impede implementation of wise strategy and policy choices. Collectively, the distinguished editors and authors contend that, if unattended, these shortcomings will seriously diminish our unmatched military capability. At the same time, they hold that the "national security establishment is deficient not so much in deciding what to do" as in lacking the means to implement d efense policy effectively.

The book is organized into eleven chapters, each of which discusses deficiencies in a key area of national security. Each chapter describes the changing security environment relevant to the subject of discussion, then offers comprehensive suggestions to improve the execution of whatever policy choices are made. Most of the chapters also provide superb insight into what future policy choices should be. Among the chapters are: "Managing Defense for the Future, "Keeping the Edge in Joint Operations," "Exploiting the Internet Revolution," "Keeping the Edge in Intelligence," "Countering Asymmetric Threats," "Keeping the Technological Edge," "Advancing the Revolution in Business Affairs," "Ensuring Quality People in Defense," "Managing the Pentagon's International Relations," "Strengthening the National Security Interagency Process," and "Implementing Change." Each chapter is comprehensive and would serve as an excellent guide to new policy makers who wish actually to see their policies implemented. I doubt that an y organizational or managerial improvement has been omitted.

The material in the book resulted from a research collaboration project between the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and Stanford University. The list of contributors represents a who's who in national security experience and in the study of national security processes: Ashton B. Carter, David Chu, Victor A. DeMarines, John Deutch, Robert J. Hermann, Arnold Kanter, Michael J. Lippitz, Judith A. Miller, Sean O'Keefe, William J. Perry, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Brent Scowcroft, John M. Shalikashvili, and John P. White. The core group of authors have occupied practically every senior position in the national security environment, while others have dedicated their professional lives to the study of national security policies and supporting structures. They speak with as much authority as one could possibly find in a single book.

This book addresses those in policy positions who wish to reform organizations and practices that, according to the authors, increasingly sap the vitality of our military capability; it is concrete as well as comprehensive in its recommendations. Keeping the Edge will also help people who are not currently in positions to affect policy to understand the substantial flaws in the anatomy and physiology of the organizations that implement national security policies. Experienced national security scholars and practitioners will respond to the authors' contention that existing policy-implementing practices themselves are a threat to future U.S. national security.

The book must be read by anyone interested in improving these processes and structures; it contains important guides for people who can marshal the influence at least to begin organizational and managerial change, if only on the margin. The preface warns that the authors have no illusions that the chronic organizational and management problems will be solved any time soon. One can only hope, nevertheless, that this book's comprehensive recommendations will encourage and guide courageous leaders to make a start.