![]() He’d want me to focus on what DoD is doing now to innovate so we can accomplish the mission - which he often described as “defending the country and making a better world for our children.” So that’s what I’m here to tell you about.Īmerica’s DNA is to innovate - Ash knew this as well as anyone. Or the opening of all combat roles to women, which not only expanded the pool of talented people serving and leading across the military services, but has also contributed to high rates of retention in recent years.īut I know if Ash were here in my place, a trip down memory lane wouldn’t satisfy him. He was there with Ash from DIU’s earliest days, back when it was DIU-X. Or the Defense Innovation Unit, whose new director Doug Beck you just heard from. Or the Strategic Capabilities Office Ash started when he was in this job, which turned the SM-6 interceptor into an offensive anti-ship missile - a big reason why we’re continuing to maximize procurement and grow production of SM-6s. ![]() Like the B-21 stealth bomber that Ash helped start development on, and that Secretary Austin just unveiled in December. Now, I could spend all my time up here updating you on the many seeds of innovation that Ash planted that have blossomed at DoD. One of Ash’s hallmark phrases, was how he continually encouraged everyone in and around the Pentagon to “think outside our five-sided box.” It was a shorthand for his dedication to innovation, in many areas: our technology, our operations, our organization, and our people. From the 1995 Nuclear Posture Review, when I was a Presidential Management Intern on his Assistant Secretary of Defense staff to the beginning of his tenure as Deputy Secretary of Defense, where I helped him lead efforts to rebalance our capabilities to the Indo-Pacific all the way up to this past year, when Secretary Carter generously gave of his time to host me for innovation discussions in Cambridge, or stop in for breakfast at the Pentagon to confer on our ongoing innovation agenda. I was fortunate to work for, or with, Ash Carter throughout the past 30 years. Thank you to Stephanie, and the Special Competitive Studies Project for the invitation - and for bringing us together to celebrate, and advance, the legacy of innovation that Secretary Carter left over more than four decades of incredible contributions to America’s security.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |