The great debate regarding the slow pace of innovation in the U.S. military is long overdue and is perhaps the most urgent problem our military faces. Vincent Viola and John Spencer articulate this well in “U.S. Defense Reform Must Match the Speed of Modern War.” Historical perspective suggests the need for faster innovation is even more acute.
The army led by Alexander the Great in 330 BC conquered the world. That same army, equipped with spears, bows, and cavalry, could have appeared on a battlefield a thousand years later and performed well. Despite some progress in metallurgy and the invention of the stirrup making mounted cavalry more effective, Alexander’s army from 350 BC would have been a serious match for Robert the Bruce who defeated the English Army in 1314, more than 1,500 years later.
However. as the War in Ukraine clearly demonstrates, the pace of military innovation is frighteningly fast and accelerating. The sudden weaponization of drones and the emergence of AI have shown that military technology built just a decade ago is woefully inadequate. Once, it took over 1,500 years for a military to become obsolete, now it takes less than 10.
The need for faster innovation has gained much attention but, to date, there have been few really effective breakthroughs. New defense contractors from Silicon Valley have emerged as competitors to traditional defense contractors, which is positive. However, so far at least, the tech-bros have focused most of their energy on leveraging political support and conducting PR campaigns designed to gain more government contracts. True innovation is lagging. One notable exception is SpaceX, which has been a model of innovation and technical advancement.
While acquisition reform is necessary, my experience running a venture fund suggests the problems our military faces are not primarily about outdated technology or acquisition processes, but rather cultural. The wrong people are too often making the wrong decisions.
Here are some ideas to address this cultural problem:
First, we must recognize that rapid development of combat solutions in Ukraine is primarily being done by active-duty service members operating close to the battlefield. We should move innovation closer to our soldiers and sailors, taking full advantage of their creativity in solving complex problems. Give unit commanders, at the battalion level and above, $5 million in discretionary funding to use as they see fit—whether funding small innovative companies with untested solutions or contracting for specialized skills. Many ideas won’t work, but the successful ones can be scaled across the force. Venture fund experience shows that one great idea can yield enormous returns, even if nine out of ten fails.
Second, let’s embrace innovative leaders willing to take more risk in trying new ideas. The primary reason our acquisition system is so slow and inefficient is because contracting officers are punished for backing ideas that don’t work. Yet, the experience from our most innovative companies is very clear. Many (Amazon, Walmart, Google, Apple, SpaceX, Uber et al) have revealed that they tried different programs that failed and were discontinued. The point here is that true innovation requires some risk. Excessive internal legal reviews and overbearing IGs intent on taking zero risk is punishing our contracting officers and innovators. Unless we change the culture, our military will be stuck with yesterday’s technology that arrives tomorrow.
Third, we need urgent reform of our senior military education, which is currently inefficient and an embarrassment. We spend billions sending senior military leaders nearing retirement to two-year programs at institutions like NDU, Army War College, or Naval War College. Instead, we should refocus these colleges on generating great ideas and innovation by opening these schools to younger active-duty members with innovative solutions. Let’s steal another idea from VC funds and encourage military personnel to pitch their ideas and select the most creative ones for development and implementation.
Fourth, we should double down on what’s working. The Army Reserves are forming a special unit to recruit tech-savvy personnel, a great initiative that brings new talent to the military while giving tech professionals valuable experience. Our service academies are also making progress; West Point now requires seniors to develop entrepreneurial projects, which are attracting interest from defense contractors seeking fresh thinking. Those are great programs.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned while leading a VC Fund is that the military already has much of the required innovative talent serving on active duty. Military veterans are often leading some of the most impactful innovations from Amazon’s AWS (led by an Army Ranger) to identify theft issues led by Blake Hall (Army vet at ID.ME), to companies addressing rare earth magnet shortages, like Vulcan Elements (John Maslin (Navy Vet) and a score of other vet-led companies advancing AI. As a leader of a VC fund, I have learned that military vets excel in leading new start-ups and advancing novel technology solving some of today’s most challenging problems. Put another way, the innovation DoD desperately seeks is already within its ranks.
When I was a young Boy Scout, my troop leader steered me away from bringing a big heavy entrenching tool on our 50 mile hike. Instead, he led me to a small aluminum spade that was much smaller and weighed 10% of the big clunky thing I wanted to pack. The aluminum spade had a convenient hole and a sticker that read “the handle is already there.” Good lesson from a wise scout leader. Same is true for DoD, the innovation that they seek so desperately is already there.
Douglas Doan is the General Partner of Hivers and Strivers VC Fund that invests exclusively in early-stage companies led by U.S. military veterans. Hivers and Strivers has invested over $80m in military vet founders. A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, Douglas also served on the Board of Visitors for the National Defense University.