A Call to Action, a Cause to Commemorate

Salt Lake City · July 2026

America at 250 and the Next Arsenal of Freedom

This year of commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence has been particularly exciting for this guy who has fond and vivid memories of our nation’s bicentennial celebration when I was truly developing a love for our history and heritage. As the son of a patriotic family with a father who was a Department of Defense industrial engineer, I feel fortunate to have developed an early and deep respect for this nation’s economic and manufacturing might. With a WW II Army Air Forces aviator grandfather in the family too, my familiarity with aerospace and technology long preceded my own career in these exciting fields. As we are now reaching the semiquincentennial year of United States freedom, it is particularly satisfying to see all the displays of airpower and military prowess that have accompanied this Summer’s celebrations and commemorations.

The specter of WW II led to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1940 “Arsenal of Democracy” concept, which called on American industry and ingenuity to out-produce tyranny. From patriot industry executives who waived their salaries for the good of the war effort, to individuals and families who sacrificed on the homefront by conserving and rationing, buying war bonds, and even sending their loved ones off to fight around the globe, the nation was unmistakenly mobilized and on a wartime footing that was and remains unprecedented. There was universal recognition that a whole-of-nation approach, not merely our military might, would be required to defeat the Axis powers on a worldwide scale.

More than any industry sector and technology, airpower was the catalyst that distinguished the United States from not only our adversaries, but also our allies and partners. Airpower and prosecution of the air wars over Africa, Europe, and the Pacific proved decisive as the United States Army Air Forces and civilian manufacturers transitioned from peacetime production to wartime dominance, building the logistical foundation for Allied victory.

Victory and the conclusion of WW II spelled the dawning days of Cold War where, once again, American ingenuity, industry, and economic might saved the Free World. That foundational spirit of the Arsenal Democracy expanded manufacturing capability on the consumer front which enabled and funded the overwhelming technological advantage of the United States, the West, and Asian allies on a scale that demoralized and defeated the Warsaw Pact and built NATO and other allied nations with 3rd and 4th generation military weapons systems that even now provide deterrent and operational capability.

On the airpower front especially, USAF leaders partnered with private sector engineering to pioneer speed, “concurrency,” and revolutionary weapon systems, but so did Naval aviation (including the Marine Corps). Airpower also became an essential pillar of Army Air-Land Battle and also increased the need for transformative growth in organic aviation capability for Army maneuver warfare to augment the air dominance platforms of the “flying services” in their support for integrated and joint fires. Simultaneous and complementary technological development also continued with NASA in the space program, in academia, and in commercial aviation funded and developed in the private sector. In short- airpower and aerospace technology led to the economic and military advantages that progressed to a war-winning force in the first Gulf War and underpinned the military technology employed in the past three decades of the Global War on Terror.

The advent of 2026 and our commemorations find us at the fringes of a new frontier, an exciting and promising juncture in the development of national security, defense, and aerospace. But “frontier” is a synonym for “challenge”, isn’t it? And the modern challenges that we face warrant an effort equal to or even exceeding the power brought to bear by the wartime mobilization of industry and the populace. In fact, our current era could accurately be characterized as World War III, with the cost inflicted on our society and economy far exceeding the conditions under which the United States and her allies entered the previous World Wars. But there is good news here: all of the ingredients for deterrent and kinetic power exist and we in industry can voluntarily act with the same resolve and urgency as if there were a formal declaration of mobilization. Yes, industry holds the keys and the capability needed to provide war-winning capability and capacity against today’s peer and near-peer adversaries, and acute regional and terrorist and criminal organizations that constitute today’s threats.

In fact, our American spirit of innovation and entrepreneurialship constitue a competitive advantage that our adversaries and their cultures and economies could only ever hope to possess. Capitalism won the previous World Wars and the Global War on Terror, and will provide the deterrent and operational capabilities to win in all domains, under all conditions, and the new imperatives in hypersonics, advanced munitions, low-observable materials, electronic warfare, and space are recognized opportunities for industry growth that benefits all ecosystems. These are good and exciting times for industry and Black Star Syndicate is poised and well-positioned to enable industry leaders and emerging organizations to seize the initiative.

How can help and what can you do? Easy! The call to action has been issued for a whole-of-nation approach. We can assist you in educating and urging policymakers, government and industry, and military and federal interagency leaders to support and foster the conditions and political and fiscal incentives for your effective and productive participation to build and expand the capability, capacity, and agility of the defense industrial base, now termed the Arsenal of Freedom. And just as the Arsenal of Democracy preserved global liberty in the 1940s, continuous technological superiority remains the best and most important deterrent to assure United States might and strength for the next 250 years. And we at Black Star Syndicate look forward to partnering with you in your contribution to those successes.

Onward,

Brig Gen Max Stitzer, USAF (Ret.)

Black Star Syndicate