The Army science and technology (S&T) program is conducted both in-house and in external laboratories. The program consists of basic research, applied research, and advanced development, known by their respective budget codes of 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3. The 6.1 basic research program is conducted primarily through grants to academia, although some research is conducted in-house. There are also some 6.1 efforts, such as the Army's collaborative technology alliances (CTAs), that bring together subject matter expert from industry and academia with counterparts from the DOD laboratories. The 6.2 applied research program also consists of in-house and external efforts. Here, the external efforts involve m ore industry technologists than are seen in the 6.1 program . The 6.3 program, because of its developmental nature, is primarily executed by industry, but is overseen by in-house technologists.

This paper reviews the technology forecast assessments of the Strategic Technologies for the Army of the Twenty-First Century (STAR21) study conducted for the Army by the National Research Council in the early 1990s. The review in this paper was requested by the Army Chief Scientist, Dr. Tom Killion. The goal for STAR21 was "to assist the Army in improving its ability to incorporate advanced technologies into its weapons, equipment, and doctrine."1 The objectives were to: identify the advanced technologies most likely to be important to ground warfare in the next century, suggest strategies for developing the full potential of these technologies, and project implications for force structure and strategy for the technology changes."

This paper originated with the concerns of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology (DASA(R&T)), whose duty is to assess the Army's science and technology (S&T) program.1 The Deputy Assistant Secretary has aggressively sought innovative ideas for measuring the impact of the Army's S&T on the future fighting force. Recently, the National Defense University's Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP) conducted a full review of the past contributions of Army laboratories to today's military capabilities.2 Aware of that review, the Deputy Assistant Secretary asked CTNSP to develop approaches for measuring the benefits of today's S&T investments on the future military.