Southwest Defense Complex Is The Foundation Of U.S. Military Dominance (from Forbes)

There’s a lot of talk this primary season about revitalizing infrastructure in America, but the focus is mainly on civil works like bridges and tunnels.  Another category of infrastructure — military infrastructure — may be just as important to the nation’s future.  The largest concentration of military labs, testing facilities,training bases and industrial sites is located in six southwestern states where the climate is favorable and vast amounts of restricted airspace are available.  The Pentagon has invested hundreds of billions of dollars since World War Two in making this “Southwest Defense Complex” the most sophisticated military network of its kind in the world.  But because there is a division of labor among the various facilities in the region, it is necessary to manage the complex in an integrated, holistic fashion, rather than through the piecemeal, state-by-state process that typically prevails in Washington.  I have written a commentary for Forbes here.