Saturday, September 12, 2015

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at DARPA "Wait, What?": Innovation & National Security

Dr. Ashton Carter spoke to DARPA's "Wait, What? A Future Technology Forum" on September 9, 2015 in St. Louis, MO, the city where the famous Lewis & Clark expedition began in 1804, the site of the St Louis World's Fair a century later, and the city whose spirit was the inspiration for Charles Lindbergh's plane The Spirit of St Louis, in which he crossed the Atlantic solo in 1927. It is also the site of a Boeing plant which the Secretary visited earlier in the day.

The full text of the Secretary's remarks is available here, I found the following excerpt is particularly inspiring:

"...our strength also comes from the longstanding link between the technology community and the government, and that's why I've made building and rebuilding the bridges between us one of my core goals as secretary of defense. Because, going forward, we need the best people, the best technology and the best innovation to remain the world's finest fighting force. Over most of the last 75 years, the bonds between us have been remarkable close. I've observed that from -- seen it from both sides. As a technologist myself, and also serving a number of times in the Defense Department. But while our ties have endured through successes and strains, the challenges and opportunities we face today demand we strengthen our partnership, and it has to be in ways that benefit both of us. We live in a changing world, and our military's excellence is not a birthright. It's not a guarantee. We have to earn it again and again." (emphasis added)

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is the second person with a PhD in physics to hold the post, Harold Brown having been the first, while his mentor, Dr. William Perry, who held the post 1994-97, was a mathematics PhD. But he is also majored in Medieval History at Yale, and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, during which time he earned his PhD in theoretical physics. He is truly an inspiring figure in many ways.