Recent studies at the National Defense University (NDU) have documented the important science and technology (S&T) contributions of the military service laboratories.1 These studies showed that in-house Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories, in cooperation with the private sector and academia, developed critical technologies for weapon systems that strongly impacted the outcomes of World War II and the Cold War. Involvement of the in-house laboratories continues today, undiminished, as our Nation battles the threat of international terrorism.

The Army science and technology (S&T) program is conducted both in-house and in external laboratories. The program consists of basic research, applied research, and advanced development, known by their respective budget codes of 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3. The 6.1 basic research program is conducted primarily through grants to academia, although some research is conducted in-house. There are also some 6.1 efforts, such as the Army's collaborative technology alliances (CTAs), that bring together subject matter expert from industry and academia with counterparts from the DOD laboratories. The 6.2...