At the same time, the need for speed to get the new department up and running must be balanced with the need to maintain readiness for new and existing threats during the transition period.
During the transition period they wanted to form the department quickly.
As obvious as this insight seems today, though, it wasn't in 1983--Steve Jobs didn't realize it, my computer nerd friends and I didn't realize it and, I suspect, James Surowiecki didn't realize it either.