The Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition will travel to Washington DC March 14 to build awareness for the critical part of the U.S. industrial base that manufactures warfighter equipment, such as operational clothing, body armor, and night vision devices.


The WPRC, which counts several outdoor companies among its ranks, will advocate improvements to government procurement practices needed to maintain innovation programs and production capability.


Reforms being recommended by the WPRC include:


  • Adhere to Best Value contracting that allows trade-offs between price and performance for critical warfighter equipment. This practice will encourage innovation and preserve the industrial base. 
  • Increase visibility of warfighter equipment funding in Department of Defense (DOD) budgets by increasing the number of procurement line items to sustain industrys innovation investments. 
  • Maintain “unit level funding” to allow warfighter choice when sourcing mission-specific equipment. 
  • Develop life cycle management acquisition policies to facilitate modernization through sustainment. 
  • Streamline the process for developing new requirements to speed the fielding of new technologies.

“Sequestration will do irreparable harm to our industry and cost the economy vital manufacturing jobs, but by pursuing reforms to the way operational clothing and equipment is purchased, the Congress and Defense Department can save the modernization and manufacturing capabilities developed in this unique industry sector to support individual and small unit centric operations,” said Craig Heilman, Executive Director of the WPRC. “We are advocating for warfighter equipment acquisition reform to ensure U.S. war fighters never again enter conflict under-equipped against the threat. The investments required to continue modernizing in this sector are small given their impact on readiness, effectiveness, and morale of our combat forces. This can be done while also finding ways to reduce costs.”  


The WPRC represents companies that provide apparel, equipment and services for U.S. special forces and other war fights at the individual and unit level. WPRC companies are a critical component of Americas industrial base that supports warfighter readiness and include Darn Tough, Gore, Gerber, New Balance, Outdoor Research, Polartec, Smith Optics and Wild Things.