Department of Defense Laboratories: Recalibrating the Culture

With the emergence of China as a near peer competitor and Russia still “saber rattling” with technological advances in missile and space technologies, DoD Labs need to recalibrate from a near term, terrorism mindset, focused on rapid transition, back to a more deliberate, threat informed technology development that supports Great Power competition with China and Russia. This recalibration will require a shift in the culture and taking on more risk in leap ahead science and technology. This paper examines the three levels of culture as offered by Edgar Schein and offers suggestions for how leaders in the DoD labs, as well as other R&D organizations, can change the culture back to support the pursuit of high risk, high reward innovation that will keep us ahead of near peers.