On July 18, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Defense Innovation Board Chair Michael Bloomberg and members for their third quarterly meeting for Fiscal Year 2023 at the Pentagon in a closed, classified session to discuss ways to leverage U.S. technological leadership to prepare the Department for the challenges of the 21st century.
During the session with Secretary Austin, DIB members discussed study recommendations presented by task force chairs Mac Thornberry on "An Innovation Strategy for the Decisive Decade" and Dr. Will Roper on "Terraforming the Valley of Death."
The DIB members emphasized the need for a culture of innovation that fosters experimentation, risk-taking, and the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to the warfighter, and outlined new paradigms and processes for DOD to be a better partner with the non-traditional start-up sector. They also discussed how to bridge the valley of death with organizations like the Office of Strategic Capital and how to apply best practices from broader Department innovation organizations.
Secretary Austin noted the importance of the National Defense Strategy and of building enduring technological advantage by working with the commercial technology sector, academia, and with the innovation ecosystems of our Allies and partners. The secretary also emphasized the critical importance of tapping into larger pools of talent who are inspired to work in national security.
Following the meeting, Secretary Austin thanked the board members for dedicating their time and expertise toward improving innovation in the Department of Defense and asked them to continue fostering new ideas for how to lower barriers to innovation in DOD.
The DIB members also had a chance to meet with other senior leaders – Defense Innovation Unit Director Doug Beck, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Dr. Craig Martell, Principal Director for Trusted AI and Autonomy Dr. Kim Sablon, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force and nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. – to discuss how the Department is leveraging cutting-edge disruptive technologies.
