DoD/Industry Partnership in the Development and Application of Standards.

The Department of Defense and-the Services do not have a paucity of standards. On the contrary. there exists a standard or, in most instances, standards, which address virtually anything and everything purchased and utilized by the DoD. A problem appears to be the acceptance and application of these standards by industry operating in our competitive democratic society All too often conflicts develop between the application of established DoDService standards and what is perceived to be the good of a given company or the unfair advantage of another. Consequently, systems and equipments do not work together without the expense and inherent operational drawbacks of developing and using black boxes . Furthermore, the pace of technology change sometimes outstrips the pace of standardization, thus rendering standards obsolete or requiring frequent change. Hence there is a need for a re-examination of the process for establishing DoD standards and the application of this process to JTC3As mission.