Warren Kanders, once a banker-turned-industrialist, has quietly become a poster child for American private-sector strength in national security, building Cadre into a powerhouse that makes body armor, bomb suits and other mission-critical safety gear. The company’s recent push into nuclear cleanup and safety underscores a simple truth: when government lags, entrepreneurial Americans step up to solve hard problems and keep the country safe.
Cadre’s expansion hasn’t been accidental—management has moved aggressively on acquisitions and government contracts, buying specialized nuclear engineering firms and snapping up tactical gear makers like TYR Tactical while winning Department of Defense work. Those moves show smart capital allocation that translates into jobs, domestic manufacturing and real capabilities rather than virtue-signaling press releases.
The nuclear cleanup angle is especially important: decades of botched government programs and red tape have left a multi-billion-dollar niche for remediation, remote handling and instrumentation—work Cadre is now targeting with purpose. Private firms that can scale these technologies will reduce long-term liabilities, protect communities, and recycle know-how back into American industry.
Let’s be clear: free enterprise is not a dirty word when it comes to national security. Cadre’s 2024 and 2025 financials show real profitability and reinvestment into R&D and capacity, proving that patriotism and profit can coexist when they are directed at defending the homeland. Policymakers who clamp down on private contractors out of ideological pique risk hollowing out the very supply chain that shields our troops and first responders.
Of course, Kanders’s story isn’t without controversy—his past ties to companies that sold crowd-control equipment drew fierce protests and forced him off a museum board in 2019. Conservatives should not pretend there aren’t legitimate cultural disputes, but neither should we applaud cancel campaigns that punish successful industrialists for doing work that supports law enforcement and national defense.
That episode only underlines a broader point: America needs resilient manufacturers, not moral grandstanding that drives capital overseas or into the hands of adversaries. If we want safer communities and secure borders, we support companies that make lifesaving equipment and hold them accountable through contracts and law—not through Twitter mobs and art-world theatrics.
Warren Kanders and Cadre are examples of what happens when entrepreneurs are allowed to compete on capability and execution, especially in an era when Europe is rearming and the federal government is increasing defense spending. Conservatives should celebrate and defend this kind of industrial resurgence—push for clear rules, fast procurement where needed, and an America-first industrial policy that rewards makers, not performative critics.
