In a document released in November 1997, Defense Reform Initiative: The Busi- ness Strategy for Defense in the 21st Century, then–Secretary of Defense William Cohen stated, “To carry out our defense strategy into the 21st century with military forces able to meet the challenges of the new era, there is no alternative to achieving fundamental reform in how the Defense Department conducts business.”1 One initiative spelled out in the document concerns how Defense Department business practices are related to the management of technical data supporting defense weapons systems