{{Short description|U.S. nonprofit organization}} {{Infobox organization | name = Center for Defense Information | merged_into = Project on Government Oversight | formation = {{start date and age|1971}} | founder = Adm. Gene La Rocque, Adm. Eugene Carroll | headquarters = Washington, D.C., U.S. | leader_name = Mandy Smithberger<ref name= staff>"[https://www.pogo.org/about/people/ Board & Staff]". ''Center for Defense Information''. Retrieved March 15, 2020.</ref> | leader_title = Director | abbreviation = CDI | website = {{URL|https://www.pogo.org/center-for-defense-information/}} }} The '''Center for Defense Information''' ('''CDI''') was a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. It specialized in analyzing and advising on military matters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Center for Defense Information|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Organizations/Detail//?id=49510|publisher=The International Relations and Security Network}}</ref>
==History== The Center for Defense Information was founded in 1971 by an independent group of retired military officers including Adm. Gene La Rocque and Adm. Eugene Carroll.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=About the Straus Military Reform Project and the Center for Defense Information|url=http://www.pogo.org/our-work/straus-military-reform-project/about.html|publisher=Project On Government Oversight|access-date=2014-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518022634/http://www.pogo.org/our-work/straus-military-reform-project/about.html|archive-date=2014-05-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2005, the Center for Defense Information expanded by creating the Straus Military Reform Project<ref name="auto"/> for the purpose of promoting military reform in the Pentagon and Congress. Winslow T. Wheeler, a former Capitol Hill staffer and General Accounting Office assistant director, directs the Straus Military Reform Project at CDI. The Project was launched by a matching grant from Philip A. Straus Jr. Straus and his family have long supported activities at CDI and continue to be major supporters of the Project's endeavors.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://issuu.com/pogo.org/docs/2012_pogo_annual_report/9?e=3029923/3287985 |title=Annual Report 2012: Uncover Something Big |publisher=Project On Government Oversight |pages=8–9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-10-23 |access-date=2014-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023220739/http://issuu.com/pogo.org/docs/2012_pogo_annual_report/9?e=3029923/3287985 }}</ref> In May 2012, CDI joined the Project on Government Oversight.<ref name="JoinsPOGO">{{cite web |url=http://www.pogo.org/about/cdi-joins-pogo.html |title=CDI Joins POGO |publisher=pogo.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117064639/http://www.pogo.org/about/cdi-joins-pogo.html |archive-date=2014-11-17}}</ref>
After the 2008 United States elections, CDI released ''America’s Defense Meltdown: Pentagon Reform for President Obama and the New Congress'', a collection of briefing papers by a dozen defense intellectuals and retired military officers. In 2010, CDI released a second anthology, ''The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You through It''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pentagon Labyrinth: 10 Short Essays to Help You Through It|publisher=Project On Government Oversight|url=http://dnipogo.org/labyrinth/|access-date=2014-05-17|archive-date=2022-03-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331132023/https://dnipogo.org/labyrinth/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since the mid-2000s, CDI has focused on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as what it says is the embodiment of the Pentagon's acquisition problems—being both unaffordable and a huge disappointment in performance.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
Formerly, CDI operated under the umbrella of the World Security Institute. In 2012, the World Security Institute closed,<ref>{{cite web|title=World Security Institute|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Organizations/Detail//?id=19600|publisher=isn.ethz.chThe International Relations and Security Network}}</ref> and CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).<ref name="JoinsPOGO"/> In addition, POGO continued the publication of ''The Defense Monitor''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pogo.org/newsletters/defense-monitor|title=Defense Monitor|publisher=pogo.org}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.pogo.org/center-for-defense-information/}}
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Category:Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Category:American organizations established in 1971