![handle is hein.journals/txamrpl5 and id is 1 raw text is:
INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMPOSIUM EDITION OF THE
TEXAS A&M JOURNAL OF PROPERTY LAW AND
THE UNITED STATES DEFENSE INDUSTRY:
INNOVATION, ACQUISITION,
AND ANALYSIS
By Lisa A. Richt
On February 23, 2018, the Texas A&M Journal of Property Law
held an innovative and informative symposium on the United States
Defense Industry focused on the acquisition process from conception
to deployment and the scientific, budgetary, political, and legal frame-
work through which the United States joint force is forged. The sym-
posium brought together stakeholders from academia, private and
public sectors, and the military to explain, analyze, and assess the lab-
yrinthine weapons acquisition system and its role-and impact-on na-
tional security.
There is no perfect defense against the range of threats facing [the
United States].1 Nuclear, chemical, radiological, biological at-
tacks[,] cyber warfare, and natural disasters2 all require robust re-
sponses grounded in principle and exemplifying innovation. Balance
is the key to defense. . . . You want procurement to go along with
troops and readiness to have a cohesive whole.3
The United States national security platforms have received re-
newed focus and momentum in the last two years.4 Beginning with the
t Ms. Rich is the Director of the Residency Externship Program in Public Policy
at Texas A&M University School of Law. Ms. Rich has worked on a number of na-
tional security related projects and, immediately prior to attending law school, she
worked for the Marine Corps Historical Center for which she translated from Chinese
to English and archived military documents, including the personal papers of Marine
Corps General Samuel Griffith whose translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War is widely
used. She would like to thank Hayley Sauer, Jordan Simmons Hayes, and Catherine
Wirth for the opportunity to participate in this innovative and informative
symposium.
1. EXEC. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 (Dec. 2017), https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=
806478 [https://perma.cc/BC8W-LU9P] [hereinafter 2017 NATIONAL SECURITY
STRATEGY].
2. Id. at 7.
3. Andrew Clevenger, Pentagon Strategy Outstrips Its Budget Process, ROLL
CALL (Jan. 22, 2018, 5:05 AM), https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/pentagon-strat
egy-plans-not-match-budget-process [https://perma.cc/Z9S9-E7ZC].
4. Prior to 2017, the Budget Control Act of 2011 impacted funding and priorities
for the Department of Defense through the process of sequestration. Budget Control
Act of 2011, 2 U.S.C. § 900 (2012). For an industry perspective on the impact seques-
tration had on defense acquisitions and strategy, see, for example, RHYS MCCORMICK
& ANDREW HUNTER, AEROSPACE INDUS. ASS'N & CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INT'L
STUDIES, MEASURING THE IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION AND THE DEFENSE
DRAWDOWN ON THE INDUSTRIAL BASE, 2011-2015 (May 2017), https://www.aia-aero-
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/txamrpl5&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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