{"id":42020,"date":"2018-07-09T08:30:15","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T08:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/09\/the-pentagons-external-technology-office-looks-inward\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:15:30","slug":"the-pentagons-external-technology-office-looks-inward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/07\/09\/the-pentagons-external-technology-office-looks-inward\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon\u2019s external technology office looks inward"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At the 2017 Reagan National Defense Forum, Raj Shah, the managing director of Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, is pushing for the Pentagon to adapt to cloud computing practices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 The Pentagon\u2019s commercial technology hub<\/a>, Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, has outposts in Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin<\/a>. But it\u2019s now stepping up its commitment to one vital region to which it has not paid as much attention in the last three years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tech office has brought on Michael Madsen as their new head of Washington operations, a new role that puts him just under the director for the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retired U.S. Air Force colonel who flew C-17s and spent time both in Air Force legislative affairs and with the Pentagon\u2019s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, Madsen tacitly acknowledged that it will be his job to help make sure DIUx is seen as relevant inside the beltway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think DIUx has been so focused on building that relationship with Silicon Valley tech companies, which has been critical, but what they\u2019ve missed is telling the story, especially the return-on-investment story, to the Hill and inside the building,\u201d Madsen told Defense News in his first interview since joining the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s one of my top priorities, is to start clearly articulating the return on investment of all the activities that DIUx is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His appointment comes at a sensitive time for the office. Created by then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in 2015, DIUx reported directly to the defense secretary until February of this year, when it was rolled under the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. Raj Shah<\/a>, who led the group for the last two years, recently stepped down as the office\u2019s leader<\/a>. And three years after the office was formed, some have questioned what exactly<\/a> the group has accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While acknowledging the \u201cskepticism\u201d out there about the organization, Madsen cast his new role as part of the normal pace for an organization like DIUx, a lean group that by function and form had to spend its efforts focusing away from D.C. and into the commercial hubs it wanted to penetrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it was an absolute necessity for how streamlined it had to be,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a natural life cycle of an organization. It\u2019s time to really start getting out and telling our story, and the return on investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Hunter, a former Pentagon official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notes that DIUx has always had some Washington representation. But he says boosting that office now makes total sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\t