Brief 06 · Preparedness
Rotate the stockpile.
Buy-and-hold until it expires is the most expensive way to be prepared.
Brief
The problem
Product bought for a stockpile and left on a shelf expires. It costs money to store, protects no one when it is out of date, and does nothing for the industrial base that would have to refill it in a crisis.
The model already exists
The Defense Logistics Agency’s Warstopper program shows how: pay domestic manufacturers to maintain ready surge capacity, keep inventory moving through normal distribution channels so stock is always fresh, and back the arrangement with multi-year commitments that outlast a news cycle.
What it would look like for PPE
- Warm-base contracts that pay for capacity that can be switched on, not only for units delivered.
- Vendor-managed rotation, so stockpiled gloves and respirators are sold into everyday use before they expire and replaced with fresh domestic product.
- Multi-year terms so the commitment survives budget cycles.
The ask
Make domestic manufacturing the core of preparedness plans, and fund it the way the warfighter supply chain already does.
Dan Izhaky · October 2026 · All briefs · Next: Orders, not grants.