Every year it seems another new effort to “reform the Pentagon” is announced to great fanfare. And the Pentagon is indeed an attractive target. It has a large budget ($705.4 billion requested in 2021) and news stories abound of Pentagon inefficiencies. Every Secretary of Defense for the last five Administrations has made it a priority to address perceived bloat and inefficiency by making management reform a major priority. The congressional defense committees have been just as active, enacting hundreds of legislative provisions.

Yet few of these initiatives produce significant results, and the Pentagon appears to go on, as wasteful as ever. In his new book, Defense Management Reform, author Peter Levine addresses why, despite a long history of attempted reform, the Pentagon continues to struggle to reduce waste and inefficiency.

Few are more qualified to do so. Levine has been at the heart of several efforts to overhaul the Pentagon, most recently when he served as Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and prior to that, as the Deputy Chief Management Officer for DOD. Before his service in the Pentagon, Levine endeavored to legislate Pentagon reform while serving in multiple roles on Congressional staffs, notably, spending 18 years in the Senate Armed Services Committee including as staff director. He was instrumental in helping write key items of legislation such as the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 and many others. Levine has seen Pentagon reform from the inside and out.

Join Peter Levine for what promises to be a fascinating tour of Pentagon reform including his advice on what works well and what does not.

~ Books will be available for purchase and to be signed by the author. ~

_{Sign up to receive invitations to all public events.}

_{Terms and Conditions of Attendance}