Association For Enterprise Integration (AFEI) National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) Precision Strike Association (PSA) Women in Defense (WID)
In 1917, Brigadier General Benedict Crowell[3] was called to active duty and served on the General Munitions Board. As a board member, he established a relationship with the steel industry and was almost immediately appointed Assistant Secretary of War and Director of Munitions. As Director of Munitions, Crowell was a significant catalyst in improving the country's capability to produce arms and ammunition. However, he recognized the nation's need for an association that fostered cooperation between civilian industry and government in support of industrial preparedness. He founded the Army Ordnance Association (AOA) in 1919 and served as president for its first 25 years. Over the ensuing decades, AOA became the American Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA), which then merged with the 1944 National Security Industrial Association (NSIA) in 1997, creating NDIA.
Advocacy
Opposition to military right-to-repair legislation
In July 2024, NDIA signed a letter to members of both the House Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Armed Services opposing Section 828 of S. 4628, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, entitled "Requirement for Contractors to Provide Reasonable Access to Repair Materials".[4] The proposed Section 828 raised concerns for NDIA that include "no carve-outs or limitations to protect sensitive trade secret information" and impacts on "the economics of a dealer distribution model by effectively eliminating dealer margins ... [impacting] ... small and medium-sized businesses",[4] amongst other issues.[5]
Publications
NDIA currently publishes National Defense, Weekly Policy Digest, Weekly Defense Insider, and Monthly Defense Watch.
National Defense magazine
National Defense has been published under a series of different titles since 1940:[6]
2005–Present - National Defense
1947–1954 - The Common Defense
1947–1970 - Ordnance
1945–1947 - Logistics
1920–1945 - Army Ordnance
Additional variations during the above periods:
1946 - Industrial Preparedness Bulletin
1943–1945 - Army Ordnance Report
1940–1946 - Army Ordnance Bulletin
Chapters
President of the Rocky Mountain Chapter presents the Patriot Award (2018)
NDIA has 29 chapters located throughout the United States.[7]
NDIA consists of subject-specific divisions that aim to promote defense and national security through access, influence, and education.[8]
NDIA Divisions
Agile Delivery for Agencies, Programs, and Teams (ADAPT)
Armaments
Bomb & Warhead
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense
Combat Survivability
Cyber-Augmented Operations (CAO)
Cybersecurity
Electronics
Expeditionary Warfare
Health Affairs
Human Systems
Integrated Program Management
International
Logistics Management
Manufacturing
Missile Defense
Munitions Technology
Procurement
Robotics
Science and Engineering Today
Security and Counterintelligence
Small Business
Space
Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict
Strike, Land Attack, and Air Defense (SLAAD)
Systems Engineering
Tactical Wheeled Vehicles
Technical Information
Test & Evaluation
Undersea Warfare
Committees and working groups
NDIA has 5 industrial committees and working groups that bring government and industry personnel together on important topics.
NDIA Industrial Committees and Working Groups
Chemical Biological Defense Acquisition Initiatives Forum
Industrial Committee of Ammunition Producers
Industrial Committee on Operational Test and Evaluation
Cybersecurity for Advanced Manufacturing Working Group
Trusted Microelectrics Joint Working Group
Affiliate associations
NDIA affiliates include the Association for Enterprise Information (AFEI), the Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI), the National Training & Simulation Association (NTSA), the Precision Strike Association (PSA), and Women in Defense (WID).[9]
^Appelbaum, Richard P; William I. Robinson (2005). Critical globalization studies. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN0-415-94961-0. The main military manufacturers' organization, National Defense Industrial Association, has 9000 corporate affiliates and 36000 individual members with no foreign membership. The association maintains close coordination with the DOD functioning through thirty-four committees, each with direct access to and a working relationship with the military. Divided up amongst these contractors is the largest single slice of the federal government budget. Current military spending has hit $383 billion with $62 billion for procurement and $51 billion in research and development.
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