Can SecDef Carter Win Over Silicon Valley?

By on August 28, 2015 at 6:00 AM

Ash Carter Defense Secretary

PENTAGON: The US military really, really wants Silicon Valley to help it find technologies to keep ahead of the Russians and Chinese and Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s visit there today is proof. But Silicon Valley has rejected the Pentagon’s blandishments or just plain ignored them for three decades.

Today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is holding his first meeting with Silicon Valley leaders at the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUX), trying to put some meat on the bones of the effort he announced at an April speech at Stanford University. The DIUX is at Moffet Field, next to a facility owned by Google. Carter’s meeting comes just three weeks after his deputy, Bob Work, made the first visit to highlight the new office.

One of the few defense experts with experience in Silicon Valley and who has spoken with Defense Secretary Ash Carter about these issues, is not optimistic about the Pentagon’s efforts to forge closer and productive links with the hugely profitable and fast-moving companies in northern California.

DIUX in Silicon Valley

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work visits the DIUX in Silicon Valley

“In my opinion, they need to tack, hard,” says David Slayton, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution about the Pentagon’s efforts to get some of Silicon Valley’s magic sauce.

“You don’t just parachute in with a flag officer, staff and set yourself up in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) and start to operate in the valley.” Slayton says the military’s approach has been “too traditional.”

“Ash gets it,” he tells me. “I talked with him about these issues before he was appointed. i can imagine he also feels somewhat frustrated by what’s happened.”

You can tell from this statement by Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook that, five months after announcing this effort to work with the tech wizards, the Pentagon’s senior leadership knows it must start showing results.

“Secretary Carter is demonstrating tangible progress in building relationships with Silicon Valley, which he believes is necessary to help the U.S. military remain on the cutting edge well into the future,” Cook says in a statement. The DIUX is a component feeding the Third Offset Strategy, a Pentagon effort to field technologies that will keep America ahead of the increasingly bold and innovative Chinese and Russian militaries.

In an appearance before troops at Camp Pendleton yesterday, Carter said people would be key to success of the DIUX, saying they “don’t have to be geeks. They don’t have to be technologists. They have to be some of our most innovative military personnel who are willing to listen, learn connect.”

Carter said many of the folks working with the unit may work with them only for a year or two.

But Slayton says the Pentagon will find it very challenging to hire the kind of people who could really make a difference.

“If you look at the majority of people DoD has assigned to this, they don’t have the right background to deal with this industry. They have to get people who already have street cred in the valley,” he says. “I think the SOF guys get this but (Rear Adm. Brian) Hendrickson isn’t someone who has a lot of time in the valley. He’s a SEAL, but that’s only going to go so far. It’s going to take a lot more people at the mid- and lower-levels to make this work. It’s also going to take a bigger budget.”

The DIUX director is George Duchak. He was head of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s  information directorate and worked at DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory,.  Hendrickson, his deputy, graduated from the Naval Academy and has a Harvard MBA (a good thing to have when working for a former Harvard professor). And he has decades of cool experience in special operations. One reason to put a SEAL in that job –aside from the fact even people in Silicon Valley know about them — is that Special Operations Command operates under special legal authority when buying weapons and is exempt from most of the folderol and regulations and laws that govern Pentagon acquisition. So they know how to deal with the private sector and they know how to do things fast.

Carter will also announce a $170 million effort to build flexible hybrid electronics during his appearance in Silicon Valley today. The FlexTech Alliance award, backed by companies from Apple to Lockheed Martin and major research universities such as Stanford and MIT, will be managed by the Air Force Research laboratory (AFRL). It will get $75 million in DoD funding over five years. That will be matched by more than $90 million from the civilian sector.

In addition to DIUX feeding the Third Offset Strategy, there’s also the Long Range Research Development Plan, which is designed to attract ideas from any industrial sector. The ideas sent are being screened by five groups of five of the Pentagon’s best and brightest, each specializing in a particular top-priority area: undersea technology; air dominance and strike technology; air and missile defense technology; other technology-driven concepts.

Comments

  • Luke

    Part of the problem is that Silicon Valley often is not politically synchronized with military types in Washington. Their view of national security interests are often at variance with the DOD’s.

    • Don Bacon

      Yes, there will be those who would insist that their contributions be oriented on peaceful, positive results.

      • http://www.breakingdefense.com/ Colin Clark

        No DARPA, no Pentagon, no Internet equals not much Silicon Valley. Simple. True.

        • Luke

          People have short memories. The reality is that many in Silicon Valley do not want to be too closely identified with the US military. For some firms their leadership’s political philosophy and lifestyles are at odds with those of the military.

          • Curtis Conway

            So they are going to live in China . . . or perhaps Russia?

          • Jawaralal_Schwartz

            Respectfully, Mr. C., this reply is somewhat silly; perhaps you were being cute. Here’s some real definers of the gulf between SV and “the military.” (And, pardon me, these need to be generalizations.) 1. Extent to which the MIC purports we need to have SOA weaponry and the number of units–disgust for the analytical methods and processes to make these weighty decisions and the extreme politicization of them, making defense into just one more jobs program, complete with entitlements. 2. Need for the Surveillance State. 3. Putrid business management and gamey business ethics of the weapons and systems buying Federal bureaucracy and its customers in the military and the vast supplier community. 4. MIC’s distaste for things foreign, except when there are FMS deals and allies to entreat. 5. The ambient social values of the MIC, especially the sometimes seemy side of military culture that rears its ugly heads increasingly. 6. The non fluency of MIC bureaucrats and policymakers regarding the kinds of businesses and business practices of the Valley 7. Poisonous envy of the MIC for perceived SV wealth. 8. The yawning demographic differences. 9. Inability of many military members to relate to the SV community because it is not an obvious post-service job sump as the traditional defense contractors are; most sizable defense contractors could never make it in the Valley. 10. Government disregard and disrespect for many aspects of the intellectual property laws and the practices and ethics that go with them.

          • Curtis Conway

            1. I suspect that there are few, if any, in our military today, especially those placing themselves in danger and therefore their lives on the line, that think the Oath they took, and the job they did/do defending this great nation . . . is a jobs program. They not only do a tough job, they actually
            do SOMETHING for their pay. Try picking up a weapon and standing a post. It’s a real challenge. A couple of females in Ranger School found that our recently.
            2. I do not support the Patriot Act unfettered, and neither should anyone else, but if you think the bad guys overseas are just going to let us live in peace, well the twin towers should have demonstrated differently, which requires a response, and that response has to be PROACTIVE, not Reactive, which requires presence and that requires forces.
            3. Reform of DoD acquisition is probably something we should just throw out the old system and start over, and it does require reform. However, casting words at it won’t get it done. A new administration might, but
            there is no guarantee.
            4. G-d has blessed me to travel to many countries, and the common thread in most all is the desire to live free, and the US Military does it’s best to make that happen. THAT is the mission of the US Military, and anyone who thinks differently should don the uniform and prove me wrong. I’m no company man, I’m my own man. and I have been there and done that, and it’s a sight to see. Can’t be everywhere, and today with the
            shrinking force levels we are less able to, and Tyranny reigns larger than
            before. If you want strife and atrocities, just remove American Armed Forces presence. We have an all professional force, not a load of conscripts like in Viet Nam. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsman are there because the want to be. They took an Oath to Almighty G-d, and most do their best to keep it.
            5. I served following the example of My LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice He made. Woefully able to perform well as He did, I did all I could in every venue I was able. I am so sorry you have run into those who have been able to conduct themselves in this current force environment where Faith is frowned upon, and the self-control required of believers, but if we are to include those who believe otherwise in our forces . . . this is what you get.
            6. I know not of the Valley of which you speak (save the one Ash Carter visited recently looking for Patriot Geeks [if they exist]), and in These United States it’s not supposed to matter where you come from, the law is the law, the rules are the rules, and then we have those who break them all, and we never see justice . . . in this life time. There is a prominent name in the news these days that . . . if I had done what they are being proved they did . . . would be making big rocks into little rocks in a federal pen would be my lot.
            7. Thou Shalt Not Covet! Live with what you have and be content in
            it. How the Wisdom of the Big 10 rings true, yet many cannot hear it, and sure do not want to go there.
            8. As previously stated, G-d blesses you and you do with it what you will. Man has a choice. What is yours? Peace or strife. Solutions for the future and engaging in the constant struggle, keeping one’s eye on the prize. It’s a mindset. Either you have it . . . or you don’t!
            9. Lack of humility is something that infects its host like a plague.

            As for your #10, I could not agree with you
            more.

          • vegass04 .

            Seriously if you mention god one more time i swear I’ll find you and bitch slap you.. You’re catholic taliban, no better then the real ones.

          • Nelson Kerr

            The military sounding like you , especially on 6 through 10 is a large part of the problem.

          • Jawaralal_Schwartz

            Don’t presume most who serve do so/did so in harm’s way; that is always a minor fraction. And as a country, we have no tolerance for casualties or sacrifices, compared with WWII, K, or even Vietnam. 6,000 US KIA per month in WWII; that’s more than the cum. of Iraq or Afgh., by far. The MIC is built on job creation and sustainment–look at the unseemly bloat of the bureaucracy, the “tail” part of the Services, and the vast industrial base enabled by the Congress. Look at how slothful and ineffective the leadership and bureaucracies are. Don’t spoil for war; that’s easy–avoiding war is much harder. If you believe in Amurican Exceptionalism, you’ll surely get war and the everlasting lack of respect of Allies and the rest of the world, whether they are the opposition or not. Amurican Exceptionalism got us Iraq and the grossly mismanaged Afgh. war. Hillary is a hawk, and so are almost all of the Repubs. Trump, actually, may not be, but he may not be a fit leader–but who is, these days.

          • Curtis Conway

            “Don’t spoil for war; that’s easy–avoiding war is much harder.” . . . HHUMMM?!

            President and General George Washington, and many American leaders since, have said the ONLY way to prevent war is be ready to Win it before it begins. Preparedness and PROACTIVE PRESENCE has served this nation well, and HiStory supports that truth. When ever we shrink from the task, evil fills the gap and we wear more problems in the end because those problems don’t “just stay over there” (WWI, WWII, 911 cases in point). We are a Maritime Nation with an Service Oriented internationally based economy. If we (and our economic and military Allies) do not have secure Sea Lines Of Communications we do not have an secure, robust and growing economy . . . and current foreign policy, and economy, testifies to this fact.

            Does DoD procurement stink to High Heaven and need reform ? . . absolutely. But Isolationism and shrinking from the task is self defeating and the most dangerous route. You will reap short term benefits (sorta) then you will pay for every thing you gave up ‘with blood’ defending it from aggression, then you will have to go eliminate the source. We must deal with Reality within the HiStorical context, not ignore that context so we can find solace and feel better. Action requires character, wisdom, and sacrifice. I did my part . . . how about you? Anyone can make an excuse and shrink from the task. The current administration is a case in point!

          • Jawaralal_Schwartz

            Yes, I did my part, Mr. C., in an undertaking that was grossly mismanaged and unsuccessful. That is besides the point, though. Look at the quality of US military leadership that we have had in Iraq all the way along, and most of the time in Afghan. Look at the quality of Pentagon appointees. Look at the swollen, ineffective NSC. Look at the IC. Do you think we are preparing well for anything? The answer is no, across Bush and Obama administrations. Wasted acquisition efforts are symptomatic of the problem, but the MIC is not why we are ill prepared. We get the kind of government we deserve.

          • Curtis Conway

            The current Chain of Command compared to some of the real leaders who have been passed over, or ushered out, is really disturbing. Many of our top warriors are turning into politicians, and they just get people killed. They do not understand winning by destruction of the enemy. AND . . . Yes . . .we get the government we deserve. We voted them in, or stayed at home and did not vote.

          • Jawaralal_Schwartz

            Get real. A minor fraction of company grade officers have had some limited combat experience in the recent wars. And a few LTCs. The rest are a thick overhead of “planners,” and military leaders of limited capability and experience. And they have precious little clock time in harms way. They cannot conceive and think it is none of their business to devote some attention to what happens later, e.g., after a–now impossible–win. This not WWI–stacking bodies and holding geography are not what we are doing. Yet, the numbers of flags we have and medals we give out are vastly out of proportion for the limp performance–ordered and tolerated by Bush officials and current officials. This is largely a leadership and a political problem, and the flags are a big part of the problem. Force Protection is the foremost Mission, or so it seems. That is why our very capable, brave troops are not able to accomplish much more than protecting themselves. Does any one notice that? Your approach would also require vast tolerance for casualties; but as a country we don’t have that tolerance (partly a very good thing), but that explains why combat experience is thin and the will to fight is often not there. This goes way back to GW Bush but continues to present day.

          • Curtis Conway

            I find it difficult to fault your analysis.

          • Jawaralal_Schwartz

            Said another way, he means: many US military views are at odds with the political, civilian leadership and at odds with the majority of Americans. SV’s views align better with the White House, the Congress and the majority of Amuricans. Make sense to you, eh?

        • Don Bacon

          Not pertinent to the point, Colin.

          • http://www.breakingdefense.com/ Colin Clark

            Sure. If you say so.

  • Marcus Aurelius

    Revealed: The U.S. can’t afford to continue buying high technology with old-style Pentagon programs, defense officials argue.
    Carter’s implication is the Pentagon’s current slate of contractors can’t come up with new ideas — which is “kind of a slap in the face to some of the cool things going on in industry,” the official said.

  • Robert Warner

    We have to start somewhere.

  • originalone

    A day late and a dollar short. Just like the caricature the “Octopus Squid” describing “Wall Street”, so too, is the Pentagon I may be wrong here, but I was under the impression that the “Internet” was thought up by a “Brit”, that it was used between “Universities” to begin with? As for DARPA, well, it does have its fingers in just about every academic activity going in this country’s schools. Again, I could be wrong, but I seem to remember that when the “Cold War” with “Russia” ended, “Pandora’s Box” was opened and all this wonderful stuff that we see today, like a “Tsunami”, gushed forth? Let’s face it, once the “Genie” got out of the bottle, I think you understand? Then as now, there are those who don’t want to be associated with making war, no matter how much the picture is painted. And just how will this endeavor to enlist the help of SV go over with the giants and lessor’s in the MIC? Either this is a P.R. spoof that the DoD is behind the proverbial “8 ball”, when it’s not, or the whole system need overhauling, from top to bottom, which won’t see the light of day.

    • vegass04 .

      They don’t want to be associated with making war but they have no trouble bleeding the Third world country’s population that works for a few dollars a day. They also have no problem with tax evasion, pollution, suicide in their factories, etc…A bunch of fucking hypocrites. If they don’t want to help, if they don’t have an ounce of patriotism in them then I would tax them and divert that money into buying more F-35/Abrams, Raptors or whatever. But look at me here rambling about patriotism when we all know these SV idiots have no country, their only value is green, ever since they transfered millions of jobs to Gooks along with the technology.

  • VK HAM

    US Military run out of money,….?

    August 2015 Citigroup transferred huge money to Russia.

    Curious Ministry of Finance (MoF) report circulating in the Kremlin today says that the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has “accepted for protection” 3 million ounces of gold worth over $3.5 billon from US banking and financial services giant Citigroup along with a further nearly $100 billion in cash.

  • Ineluctable

    Carter was hired because he is a liberal lick spittle, not because he is qualified. Obama picks his stooges for their ability to abandoned common morals, not occupational skills.

  • Reginald Bronner

    The real fear is that the technology like drones, robots, encryption, data mining, etc. innovated under the new defense programs would be used against the American people. There is no evidence to the contrary. No one believes the defense industry as to ultimate objectives.

  • Marcus Aurelius

    Add all the ‘Defense’ spending together and you come up with $1.08 Trillion (in 2012).

    US Congress (70%) warmongers: ” I’m guessing we split it down into separate chunks so the voters don’t see how absurd it really is”.
    Really if there is one thing we have plenty of it is money to spend on the military. For grandma’s food, not so much.

    See B. Ritholtz chart 2012 “US Military vs World:

  • GreenDragon13

    From what I’ve read, the big issue with the Silicon Valley crowd is the Federal Acquisition Regulations are so cumbersome and draconian to follow, that it really isn’t worth the pain and suffering to do business with the DoD. In the private sector, you can almost write a contract on the back of an envelope if you have the right kind of lawyers in the room. That process is not acceptable under the FAR. Again, from my limited experience, it appears to take months to get a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract in place under the FAR. Perhaps, modifying the FAR would help. Need a FAR professional to weigh in here.

  • Defense_StartUp

    Your coverage of the DoD and its attempt to engage with Silicon Valley is much appreciated. “Silicon Valley” means so many things these days. Is Carter focusing on the big corporations (e.g. Apple, Intel, Oracle, Google) in the Valley, Venture Capitalists, or tech-startups? I have observed VC’s repeatedly reject USG/DoD focused early-stage high-tech endeavors as too risky in the current political climate…perhaps barring data security and data exploitation. A lack of VC interest in the market seems linked to the numerous USG/DoD program delays, crises and cancellations, especially since the 2011 Debt Ceiling Crisis.

    This “market” behavior leaves DOD tech-startups, a dynamo of advanced technology product development, in a patriotic yet highly unpredictable and dubious position in terms of cash flow, opportunity and resource focus (let’s not forget that FAR and ITAR compliance are ongoing costs in the start-up despite funding gaps). It also leaves VC’s and large M&A driven corporations wondering why they should invest in what is considered by some as a toxic market. My $0.02. Thanks again for your coverage!