In a meeting held with a group of association executives representing the defense contracting industry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter took another step toward establishing more common ground with the commercial sector.
The March 29 meeting, in which Carter was accompanied by Frank Kendall – who occupies Carter’s former post as undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, logistics and technology – served as a forum for industry leaders and the Pentagon chiefs to discuss their mutual interests, successes and future goals.
“Secretary Carter appreciated the invitation to talk to these groups, as well as hear directly from top executives from some of their member companies. The secretary highlighted the strong and longstanding partnership between the department the defense industry,” Peter Cook, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on March 29. “He reiterated that he views defense contractors and their employees as part of the broader DoD mission to keep the country safe and secure. It was a private conversation, but I can tell you they did discuss the secretary’s innovation agenda, the budget picture, Goldwater-Nichols reform and foreign military sales, among other issues.”
The industry groups included the Professional Services Council, the Aerospace Industries Association and National Defense Industrial Association, and included dozens of executives from the defense contracting community. The meeting was held at AIA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
“Defense leaders have sent a strong message on the need to improve tradecraft in the acquisition of services,” John Goodman, chief operating officer of Accenture Federal Services and chairman of the PSC board of directors, told the secretary, according to a PSC release. “It is now crucial to ensure the rest of the Department embraces contract types that reward innovation, bring greater speed and agility, and provide increased access to new ideas and approaches.”
Though the meeting was private, Kendall after the meeting did tell NDIA’s National Defense magazine that the meeting was productive and a long time coming – particularly in the wake of multiple high-profile meetings and partnerships with Silicon Valley tech companies Carter has spearheaded.
“We had a constructive dialogue…it had been a while since we did something like this,” Kendall said. “The secretary has made it clear he values the innovation that comes out of the defense industry. What we’re trying to do is accelerate the flow of commercial technologies into defense, and we’re trying to tap into human capital that might not be working on defense problems. That does not disparage in any way the companies that made us the best in the world.”
