Why a Defense Alliance?
By the Defense Alliance of Minnesota Staff
The Defense Alliance of Minnesota is the next logical step in an evolution to better organize the state’s diverse industries that contribute important products and services to the armed forces. “It’s all about networking, teaming, building relationships,” said Chip Laingen, Facilitator for the Alliance. “Minnesota has such a robust and diverse economy that can bring unique solutions to the table for our men and women in harm’s way… but it takes an ongoing dialogue and connections among the many players who can get it done.”
Minnesota is home to several large defense firms, or divisions of those firms, including Alliant Techsystems, United Defense, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. But even these impressive companies don’t go it alone. They rely on smaller suppliers across the board, and will increasingly need to do so as the economy continues to expand and the armed forces become engaged on new fronts.
There have been efforts to organize the state’s defense industry in the past, to good effect. The Minnesota Defense Consortium was a federally-funded initiative in the mid 1990s that made great strides in helping companies convert technology from defense to civilian applications following the Cold War. More recently, the Defense Industry Roundtable began a concerted effort to widen the discussion of issues that affect defense firms. The first annual Roundtable took place in August of 2003 thanks to the efforts of Lockheed Martin’s Eagan facility. The second Roundtable will be held at General Dynamics’ Advanced Information Systems division in Bloomington.
What has been lacking throughout these efforts is a forum for an ongoing discussion, rather than just an annual review. The Defense Alliance of Minnesota was formed to enable that process. The Alliance Web site, www.defensealliance.com will be the principal connection point to develop the ongoing dialogue.
The effort is also about growing the job base for the state. Laingen, a recently-retired Navy commander, said that a Web search of “Minnesota defense jobs” revealed virtually nothing, save connections to large, unfocused sites such as Monster.com. “I knew something was missing,” he said. “There should have been a built-in network that was readily available… and it just wasn’t there.” As Senator Coleman said at last year’s Defense Industry Roundtable, “It’s about jobs. It’s always been about jobs.”
Minnesota ranks near the bottom among the 50 states in terms of federal defense spending per capita. The reason, of course, is primarily geography and the resulting few military bases in the state. Yet Minnesota industry has made critical contributions to the nation’s defense efforts during its history. Examples include the Cuyuna Range mines that produced over 100 million tons of high-manganese ore during both World Wars, secretive and rapid modification of the Doolittle raid’s B-24 bombers at Mid-Continent Airlines, and the many large and small firms that now produce unique products to aid in the war on terror and protect the homeland.
Minnesota has always had a diverse industrial base that has been increasingly high-tech and medical-technology oriented. What has been missing is a collaborative effort to ensure those industries are contributing as much as possible to the nation’s need for defense products. There are many small to medium sized firms in the state that have industrial or service capabilities that could contribute, but don’t, often due to a lack of knowledge of the opportunities that exist.
Perhaps the best example is the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, signed into law early in the first Reagan term. 12 federal agencies, most notably the Department of Defense, are required to participate in the SBIR program by law, providing billions of dollars to small business annually. “It’s the American dream, really,” says Pat Dillon of Minnesota Project Innovation (MPI) who coaches those just getting into the highly competitive and often daunting government contracting business. “The SBIR program brings research money to commercialize the ideas and innovations of small business owners and entrepreneurs who might not otherwise have the seed capital to do it.”
President Bush recently signed an Executive Order to breathe more life into this important program and others like it. You can see the President’s mandate at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040224-6.html.
The Defense Alliance of Minnesota aims to shed more light on programs like these, as the relationships that develop help to share lessons learned and provide contacts. The Alliance can’t and shouldn’t be a total clearinghouse for the many complex issues surrounding the defense industry. What it will try to be is a connecting point, or a bridge to resources, news and information that will enhance the state’s contributions to the nation’s defense, and grow more jobs in the process. |
