The Defense Innovation Board met for the first time Wednesday to discuss a list of interim recommendations meant to help the Pentagon act more like a tech startup. The recommendations are focused on ways to enhance “the department’s culture, organization, and process,” according to a Defense Department news release. They include: appointing a chief innovation officer, establishing a career track for computer science, building a culture of “evidence-based and outcome-driven policies,” directing US Cyber Command to conduct a security review, establishing an institute for studying artificial intelligence, increasing the speed of acquisition as well as investment in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and establishing a computer science resource of programmers and developers. There are 15 members on the board, which Defense Secretary Ash Carter formed in March, including Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and former US Special Operations Command boss retired Navy Adm. William McRaven. (See also: Making the DOD More Googley.)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
