Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks at the Defense Innovation Board's Public Meeting

View Online Deputy Secretary of Defense Speech Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks at the Defense Innovation Board's Public Meeting Jan. 13, 2025 Thank you very much, Mike . It's great to see you and the whole Defense Innovation Board. Thank you all for the very hard work that you put forward on the studies that you published today. Delivering innovations at scale, with speed, is so important, as you've heard me emphasize before. Innovation is a never-ending imperative for DoD, but I'm really deeply proud of the progress we've made over the last four years — substantially lowering barriers to innovation across the DoD-enterprise, from the boardroom to the battlespace. From day one, we focused on the urgency to innovate and enabled DoD to deliver: using a clear and comprehensive warfighter-centric approach, supporting game-changing initiatives, assuming risk, and investing in the workforce. Innovation adoption is fundamentally a change management problem. That's why we've employed an effective theory of change — building trust and confidence across the defense enterprise, demonstrating what's possible, rewarding game-changers, and promoting the best ideas and success through teamwork. For instance, DoD's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, or RDER initiative, begun in October 2021; Competitive Advantage Pathfinders (CAP), established in April of 2022; and the Replicator initiative, launched in August of 2023 — they all show how we've realized the benefits of focused senior-leader attention on improving process to accelerate the development and fielding of innovative solutions that address warfighter needs. To be clear, these were all pathfinders, not the sum total of the changes we have pursued or seek. In launching, developing, and executing RDER, CAP, and Replicator, DoD leaders took on risk to show others what is necessary to unleash what is possible within the defense enterprise and with the private sector. Beyond those three examples, we've elevated and resourced organizations like the Defense Innovation Unit and Strategic Capabilities Office, which are scaling our capacity for rapid prototyping and fielding, working closely with the services and COCOMs. We've ignited a culture shift in combatant commands, in military services, and in our Research and Engineering enterprise. For example: by supporting innovation leaders in CENTCOM, INDOPACOM, and elsewhere that are getting after Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control; by accelerating the Marine Corps' Force Design to deliver agility, innovation, and technological advancement — and in 2027 rather than the previously planned 2030; and, by creating the Office of Strategic Capital, which has already begun accepting applications for loans to accelerate commercialization and scale production of critical technologies. You can also see the progress monetarily: Over the last four years, at least $375 billion DoD dollars have gone to non-traditional defense companies, from commercial firms to venture-backed defense tech start-ups and scale-ups. Because, as you've heard me say before, staying ahead in strategic competition requires DoD to work better with newcomers to our mission who have game-changing technologies that can benefit the warfighter. In all, when we look across four annual defense budgets and multiple supplemental funding bills — adding up all our capability investments, for R&D-plus-procurement — the real-dollar total is over $1.2 trillion. Even after controlling for inflation, that's more than DoD invested in those areas across any four-year period during the Cold War. Money matters, but at the same time, we cannot achieve the level of innovation we need without talented people — critical, outside-the-box thinkers with top-tier training. And it's important that we get out of the way of skilled, talented experts, because smart, creative people will go further and widen the path of what's possible. Over the last four years, top tech talent from the private-sector increasingly chose to work for and with us — leaving lucrative jobs at places like Lyft, Apple, Google AI, and others. We also created the position of Chief Talent Management Officer and hired the inaugural CTMO, who is working closely with leaders throughout the department. And, we continue to invest in processes to modernize DoD talent management, where we are woefully behind the private sector. This is especially necessary for the civilian workforce. And speeding security clearances, maintaining a short time-to-hire, and attracting the finest talent are all important goals we have only started to advance. Looking ahead, I want to share five key insights for success — because, recognizing the bipartisan consensus around the imperative to innovate, there is still so much work to do. First: Innovation cannot be the sole province of any one slice of DoD, or only the Executive Branch. Just as there are no silver bullets, there's no sole owner of defense innovation. Rather, it must always be the responsibility of everyone, every component, every leader. To do otherwise gives the rest of the bureaucracy a pass to say "it's not my problem, not my lane, not born here" — and such excuses too often hinder defense innovation in the first place. And we must have support in Congress for new ways of business: from authorizers and appropriators alike. Ending the routine, now even casual use of continuing resolutions — a highly destructive habit Congress can't seem to kick — is a great place to start. CRs often challenge the core of my second insight, which is that execution is paramount. And it must occur across the entire delivery chain that turns vision into capabilities, at scale. It's easy to talk a big game, but if you do, you have to be ready to deliver. We knew execution would be key with Replicator — it's where other innovation visions had stumbled in the past — so that was part of our thinking from the very beginning. My third insight: well-intentioned disruptors have more allies than they realize. Sometimes they're hard to find. They can even be encased in the so-called frozen middle. You've got to find the mavericks, thaw them out, and embrace them — hold them accountable, but embrace them. Then create and align incentives to build more disruptors, because so much depends on talent. Make no mistake, DoD will always need bold change agents from top to bottom and bottom to top, willing to challenge the status quo. It takes leadership at all levels. The fourth insight is something we can never forget: Moving fast and breaking things is necessary to win wars, but we cannot break the law, our oaths to the Constitution, or the public's trust. Those who do cross those lines always make it 10-times harder for themselves and the well-intentioned change agents that come after them. That brings me to my fifth insight: we can never get complacent, because this is a protracted campaign. Technology will keep changing. Today's good habits and best practices will one day be stale, and outdated. Our global competitors will continue to advance their capabilities, especially the PRC. We're in a generational competition for transient advantage with a dynamic adversary. So we must also be constantly learning, growing, evolving, and pushing ourselves. It's all hands on deck. The Pentagon may be made of Indiana limestone, but its processes weren't meant to calcify for all eternity, nor be stuck in concrete blocks. I've heard plenty of salty language in my days, but the most profane and damaging seven words I hear in the Pentagon are, "this is how we've always done it." That is simply unacceptable today. The Defense Innovation Board has kept DoD accountable on this score, and I'm confident it will continue to do so. A final thought: America excels at innovation because of our democratic system, borne of free minds, free markets, and free people. DoD can only benefit from that as long as our democracy endures. If we want to keep changing the world, we have to strengthen the democratic principles that make this nation so worth defending, and make changing the world even possible. When you think about it, these things are deeply interconnected: Enforcing contracts and protecting IP depends on upholding the rule of law. Hiring a talented workforce depends on having good schools, universities, and legal pathways for immigration. The flourishing of all Americans depends on ensuring equal rights and equal opportunity for all. And starting a business, investing in others, inventing a product and taking it to market depends on safeguarding the institutions that provide the blanket of liberty under which Americans do so. Each of you on this board has contributed to all of that. I'm grateful to you for it. And I look forward to the contributions you'll make in the future — just as I'll be watching for our successors at DoD to build on our successes with their own. Thank you very much for your service.

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