The Key to Defense STEM Workforce Development

In “Connecting the Dots for Defense STEM Workforce Development” (Issues, Winter 2026), Payuna Uday, Ruth David, and Jeff Wilcox correctly argue that a highly skilled workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is a critical component of defense innovation infrastructure and, moreover, that the United States should treat STEM talent development “as a core pillar of national security, on par with modernizing weapons platforms, rebuilding industrial capacity, and securing supply chains.”

However, as they illustrate, current efforts supporting STEM workforce training and education by the Department of Defense—as well as by the broader defense industrial base (DIB) comprising the companies, organizations, laboratories, and facilities that provide DOD and the US government with defense-related materials, products, and services—are scattered, decentralized, and ultimately fail to produce “a coordinated national pathway into defense-related STEM careers.” Part of the issue, the authors argue, is that traditional paths to a STEM job over-rely on attainment of a baccalaureate degree, even though “workers with less than a bachelor’s degree who possess strong science, engineering, and technical skills play an essential role in supporting the nation’s STEM capabilities.” Another challenge lies in the fact that the most common forms of outreach across the DIB emphasize employee volunteerism or educational competitions at the K–12 level, provide scholarships and fellowships at the master’s or doctoral levels, or incorporate both approaches.

As a result of this focus on the young and the hyper-specialized, DOD and DIB programs and collaborations intended to support STEM talent development generally overlook the institutions that could have the biggest impact on defense STEM workforce development: community colleges. Indeed, in their extensive landscape analysis, the authors found few contemporary collaborations between DOD/DIB and community colleges, even though community colleges are key partners in two of the three exemplary cross-sector programs identified in the article: Manufacturing USA, Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), and the 4-H Military Partnership.

Community colleges are key to “connecting the dots” and preparing the defense workforce of the future. As the premier providers of high-quality occupational degrees, certificates, micro-credentials, and short-term skills training, community colleges are already building the skilled technical workforce (although, due to lack of DOD and DIB attention, not necessarily in defense-related areas).

Furthermore, community colleges are primed to support defense-related STEM talent development and contribute to the type of “cross-sectoral partnerships capable of scaling, adapting, and delivering measurable impacts” that Uday, David, and Wilcox call for. The institutions have decades of experience collaborating with government and private enterprise to meet national, regional, and local workforce demands, and many colleges already have extensive programs geared toward veterans, active-duty military servicemembers, and their families.

In their conclusion, the authors argue that building coordinated, mission-driven cross-sector partnerships will “enable the US defense sector to treat the acquisition and development of the next generation of STEM talent as a core strategy, not an add on.” I agree and would remind Congress and DOD that the nation’s community colleges—located within commuting distance to all military installations and DIB hubs—stand ready to play a major role in these collaborations.

Carrie B. Kisker