POGO’s Center for Defense Information Names New Military Advisory Board

The Project On Government Oversight’s Center for Defense Information (CDI), one of the nation’s leading advocates for Pentagon reform, announced today it has created a new advisory board of former military officers who will help guide CDI’s mission of increasing military effectiveness, promoting ethical and professional standards and reducing wasteful spending.

The members of CDI’s Military Advisory Board are, Lt. Col. Tony Carr, USAF (Ret.), Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA (Ret.), Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (Ret.), Col. Gary I. Wilson, USMC (Ret.) and Col. Michael D. Wyly, USMC (Ret.).

The new board will bring practical military reform experience to the Center for Defense Information, which was founded in 1971 by an independent group of retired military officers to analyze military matters, inform decision-makers and the public, and influence policy. Founders Adm. Gene LaRocque and Adm. Eugene Carroll formed CDI as an alternative voice to the Pentagon, which they saw as pushing self-serving data and analysis on decision-makers. CDI became part of POGO in May 2012.

The advisory board complements the work of former Marine Corps Capt. Dan Grazier, POGO’s first Jack Shanahan Fellow. Grazier, who has written and lectured extensively on military reform, joined POGO in June.

“I'm excited to work with true military reformers and to learn from their experience improving their respective services,” said Mandy Smithberger, director of POGO’s CDI and Straus Military Reform Project. “I appreciate their enthusiasm, heart and dedication to making a difference to the institutions they care so deeply about.”

The goal of the Straus Military Reform Project at CDI is to secure far more effective military forces and much more ethical and professional military and civilian leadership at significantly lower cost.

CDI’s Military Advisory Board

• Lt. Col. Tony Carr, USAF (Ret.) – He is a reform advocate, and third-year student at Harvard Law School, where he focuses on government accountability, national defense and international law. He is the editor of the National Security Journal.
• Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA (Ret.) – His work on defense, foreign affairs and social issues has been published in The New York Times, Financial Times, CNN, The Guardian, U.S. News & World Report, and other publications. He was also the recipient of the 2012 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.
• Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (Ret.) – He has authored and co-authored several books, which are used in numerous courses, including the Department of Military Instruction at West Point. His next book, “The Missing Link: Developing Personnel For Mission Command, a Superior Command Culture,” will be published soon.
• Col. Gary I. Wilson, USMC (Ret.) – He is a recognized civilian and military subject matter expert on fourth generation warfare. He has been published in numerous professional journals and has contributed to several books regarding national security and emerging threats.
• Col. Michael D. Wyly, USMC (Ret.) – He has published prolifically in military journals, and has taught in Marine Corps Professional Schools. He has led a revision of Marine Corps tactics with a view toward making them fully relevant to the exigencies of modern war.

The Jack Shanahan Fellowship honors Vice Admiral John “Jack” Shanahan, Jr., who joined CDI in the 1980s where he worked to end the corruption in the military industrial complex and to stop wasteful military spending. He became CDI's Executive Director in 1996. He died on September 10, 2013, at the age of 90.

Formed in 2005, the Straus Military Reform Project at POGO’s Center for Defense Information aims to secure far more effective military forces and much more ethical and professional military and civilian leadership at significantly lower budget levels. The project expands the work of the CDI in advancing military reform in the Pentagon and Congress. CDI became part of POGO in May 2012.