An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (Jan 16,2012) describes the impact of the Berry Amendment, a 1941 amendment requiring self sufficiency of Army supplies.  A current plan to have combat clothing made of silk to reduce the impact of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), runs afoul of this law because of the difficulty in finding domestic suppliers of silk garments. Should the current exception, which permits imports from Ireland, a necessary alternative ? Should adherence to the law, and thus a need to find alternative specifications that can be domestically sourced, even at the cost of reduced effectiveness be the acceptable solution ? Should the Berry Amendment be dropped as an out of date requirement in today’s global supply chain ?