Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will preview the 2017 defense budget tomorrow. In her Wall Street Journal piece out today, AEI defense expert Mackenzie Eaglen addresses America’s declining technological superiority and how Secretary Carter can help America regain its technological edge by partnering with Silicon Valley tech companies. She notes:
Secretary Carter should set realistic expectations for his outreach to the tech industry. While the Pentagon leased 12,000-square feet of Class A real estate in Silicon Valley, the staff there is limited to just seven people. The Pentagon should work to identify useful innovative commercial-sector technologies while it learns how to apply the business processes used by Silicon Valley to rekindle innovation within the Defense Department itself.The Secretary might also weave this outreach into his “Force of the Future” initiative, which seeks to build a flexible, modern personnel management system at the Pentagon. Such a partnership could promote Silicon Valley involvement in the field of acquisition and send defense professionals to learn from high-tech startups. The effort could also profitably be linked to the push by chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator John McCain to reform acquisition so that non-traditional firms can participate more easily.
Read the full piece: Tech-challenged Pentagon searches for a Silicon ally.
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