There is something about how the military used to be a huge repository of technical talent as we entered WW2 and the incentives were still there for people to b

There is something about how the military used to be a huge repository of technical talent as we entered WW2 and the incentives were still there for people to build their careers in the military as experts. Think about all the stories of experts who developed technology for the military, solved interesting problems for the military, public defense, all the aircraft and vehicle/vessel designs, systems that came out of that domain. And spun off useful companies that created whole industries of their own. And then over time, we as a country lost the desire to pay for that expertise (and lost an urgent need for it), and just like other areas of government, the expertise that was no longer being rewarded migrated to contractors to the point that the government agencies themselves do not know how to measure what they want to happen -- and have to ask the contractor to do that assessment for them... Just think of the FAA and Boeing lately...