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Explanation of the Strategic Defense Initiative TQM newsletters to Succeed by Studying the History of the United States' Strategic Defense Initiative. Also refer to Total Quality Management, Star Wars, Space Based Interceptor, SBI, program office, commander, Space Systems Division, SSD, Air force Systems Command, AFSC, Pentagon, President Ronald Reagan, politics, Soviets, USSR, Russians, defensive shield, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Strategic Defense Initiative TQM Newsletters
by Ron Kurtus (revised 21 November 2007)
As part of an effort to provide information on the implementation of the Total Quality Management (TQM) within the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) programs, as well as for other Air Force programs, a number of TQM newsletters were published. The first newsletter came out of the SDI Space Based Interceptor program office. This was then expanded to cover all Air Force SDI programs and finally to encompass all of the Space Systems Division (SSD) of the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC).
Questions you may have include:
- What were the SBI TQM newsletters?
- What were the SDI TQM newsletters?
- What were the SSD TQM newsletters?
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.
Space Based Interceptor TQM
A TQM newsletter was produced in the SBI program office to help in the implementation of that part of SDI. The following newsletters plot the progress of the program within the SBI offices. Each is a PDF file of the indicated size.
SBI April 1989 - PDF (174K)
SBI May 1989 - PDF (257K)
SBI June 1989 - PDF (288K)
SBI July 1989 - PDF (314K)
SBI August 1989 - PDF (484K)
SDI Programs TQM
Commander of the Air Force's SDI Programs, Col William O'Brien, saw the value of this newsletter and asked that it cover all of their programs. The following newsletters plots the progress of the program within the SDI program offices.
SDI September 1989 - PDF (331K)
SDI December 1989 - PDF (380K)
SDI March 1990 - PDF (496K)
SDI May 1990 - PDF (517K)
SDI July 1990 - PDF (513K)
SDI November 1990 - PDF (484K)
Space Systems Division AFSC TQM
Commander of the Air Force Space Systems Division, Lt Gen Donald Cromer, saw the value of this newsletter and asked that it cover all of the their programs. The following newsletters plot the progress of TQM within the SSD program offices.
SSD January 1991 - PDF (665K)
SSD March 1991 - PDF (1079K)
SSD May 1991 - PDF (1057K)
Summary
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was an attempt to put a defensive shield around the United States to protect against Soviet missile attacks. The Russians spent so much money trying to counter this shield, that it contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system.
Lessons learned from studying SDI are:
- You can win a conflict through economics instead of war.
- Members of the press often become blind to what is really happening.
- Military spending needs accountability.
You can sometimes win without defeating the opponent
Resources
The following are some resources on this topic.
Websites
The Strategic Defense Initiative - political risks - from Air University Review 1985
Books
US Strategic And Defensive Missile Systems 1950-2004 by Mark A. Berhow, Chris Taylor; Osprey Books (2005) $16.95
Quality Government: Designing, Developing, and Implementing TQM by Jerry W. Koehler; CRC (1996) $84.95
Mini-quiz to check your understanding
If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in learning from SDI History. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.
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Strategic Defense Initiative TQM Newsletters