About Us

History

 In 1997 the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) was founded by reason of a merger between the American Defense Preparedness Association and the National Security Industrial Association which was founded in 1944.  The NDIA is a non-partisan, non-profit international association with a mission to provide a legal and ethical forum for the interchange of ideas between government and industry to resolve industrial problems of join concern.  The primary interest are the business and technical aspects of the government-industry relationship, encompassing government policies and practicesin the entire acquisition process, including research and development, procurement, logistics support, and many technical areas.  The NDIA headquarters are located in Arlington, Virginia.

The association’s membership base consists of over 1,100 corporate members and more than 29,000 individuals from the entire spectrum of the defense and national industrial bases, from government and from foreign nations with whom the United States, through DoD, has a Memorandum of Understanding. Included in the Association’s membership are organizations who sell goods and services to the various Departments of the Executive Branch or government. Also included are organizations who advise and assist these companies or who desire to develop a relationship with them through the networking opportunities inherent in association membership.

The Lone Star Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association can trace its origin back to 1948 when it was originally the Lone Star Chapter of the American Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA).   The ADPA was founded in 1919. Its  purpose was to keep alive a knowledge of ordnance and armament design and production; to assist in the solution of the ramified technical, scientific, and economic problems incident to ordnance and armament preparedness; to weld into an active, alert, and skilled group all eligible citizens for the advancement of scientific and industrial preparedness, and to contribute to the strength of our national security and maintenance of peace.

The Lone Star Chapter of the ADPA hosted meetings and conferences of important speakers that included Frank S. Goodel, Brigadier General USAF, Special Assistant for Reliability and Maintainability, Office of Secretary of the Air Force; Darold L. Griffin, Deputy Chief of Staff for Production, U.S. Army Materiel Command; Douglas O. Patterson, Technical Director, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance Directorate, Office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy; General Lawrence A. Skantze, Commander, Air Force Systems Command; and Colleen A. Preston, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Reform.

Recent Activities

After the merger into the NDIA, the Lone Star Chapter of the NDIA co-hosted events with other organizations such as in February 2006 when it hosted General Ronald E. Keys, Commander, Air Combat Command, Air Component Commander for U.S. Joint Forces Command and U.S. Northern Command. In March 2004 it co-hosted with the Fort Worth Council of the Navy League, the Honorable Gordan England, Secretary of the Navy.

The NDIA board meets at least once annually at the LA CIMA Club in Irving, Texas. The board members elect new officers and decide how to make contributions and to host events during the year. Each year the Lone Star Chapter provides financial awards to selected ROTC recipients from local universities. This years recipients were from Texas Christian University, University of Texas at Arlington and University of North Texas.  The chapter recently donated $500 for aid to the wounded soldiers from Iraq and $100 to purchase 10 "Dear Soldier" books to be sent to troops serving in Iraq.

The Lone Star Chapter has over 700 members and is supported by numerous companies and professional organizations such as Bell Helicopter-Textron, BAE Systems, Boeing, Cantey Hanger LLP, EFW, Ernest & Young,  General Dynamics Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, L-3 Communications, Perot Systems, Retz & Associates, Raytheon Company and Zeda Soft, Inc.