Sir

As a 37-year employee of the US Department of the Navy, I have had a 360 ° view of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) mentioned in your News story “Senators attack Pentagon over weak state of defence research” (Nature 418, 711; 2002). It is my personal view that she is still a vigorous centre of excellence in science and technology related to US naval services. The shrinking of the workforce noted by Vice Admiral Paul Gaffney results from declining funds allocated for in-house research, and the expectation that the commercial products of the 'new economy' will replace the specialized basic knowledge and engineering skill necessary to buttress US naval superiority.

The perception that the private sector can provide superior innovation and be a more generous source of compensation for the stellar contributor or daring innovator rose with the US stock market and may be collapsing along with the Internet bubble. Revelations of accounting that is more creative than accurate, the 'Dilbertization' of engineering and programming with meaningless and unrewarding jobs, recent terrorist attacks on the United States and economic uncertainty are all making public service seem attractive again.

NRL's 'demonstration programme' for personnel already allows competitive offers to be made to all but the top few per cent of researchers. The lab's excellent facilities, access to actual data, continuing education opportunities, creative environment and sense of mission all help maintain the continuity of the world-class research programmes over the decades that it sometimes takes to move first-principles research to deployed capability. Restoring NRL's workforce to previous levels will be necessary to meet the needs of knowledge-centred warfare. This will require greater support and wider appreciation of the distinction between useful research and commercial product development.

NRL is not “all at sea” and is neither dead nor in need of revitalization, but is firmly perched on the left bank of the Potomac, flush with qualified applicants, ready to serve the national defence of the United States.