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U.S. Technological Edge in Peril

Other countries are catching up and threatening to overtake the country in innovation

The economic and military superiority brought about by technological innovation may be disappearing sooner than most people expect. Other countries are educating their students in the very fields the United States used to dominate, and potential rivals are focusing on eliminating the U.S. military’s technological edge.

Adm. Harry B. Harris, USN, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, warned of this process on the final day of TechNet Asia-Pacific 2014, being held December 9-11 in Honolulu. He described how limitations and distractions have inhibited progress that might have kept the U.S. technology lead secure.

“We’ve had a different focus lately,” the admiral pointed out. “For 13 years now, our nation has been engaged in two land wars that have demanded our concentrated effort and attention. Meanwhile, many potential adversaries have taken that time to modernize their capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict.

“Traditionally we have always counted on our overmatch in capability and capacity to offset challenges of distance and initiative in those areas where strife is most likely,” he continued. “Now, according to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, ‘That overmatch is now in jeopardy.’ And that’s got my attention.”

Adm. Harris called for a renewed effort to generate innovation in the United States. “I believe America should always bring a gun to a knife fight ... not a butter knife.”