The Center for Defense Information (CDI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. It specialized in analyzing and advising on military matters.^[2]

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.^[3]

In 2005, the Center for Defense Information expanded by creating the Straus Military Reform Project ^[3] 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.^[4] In May 2012, CDI joined the Project on Government Oversight.^[5]

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.^[6] 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]}

Formerly, CDI operated under the umbrella of the World Security Institute. In 2012, the World Security Institute closed,^[7] and CDI merged with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).^[8] In addition, POGO continued the publication of The Defense Monitor.^[9]