President Donald Trump appointed Michael Dodd to be a deputy defense secretary for critical technologies – a key role in the direction of pentagon research and engineering.
The appointment was received on Monday in Capitol Hill and referred to the Senate armed services committee for examination, according to a notice Posted on Congress.Gov.
Dodd – who publishes a newsletter called the ” Doddfather Diaries“About defense and innovation technology – is currently director of the energy portfolio of the Capital Component of National Security Innovation of the Pentagon Defense Innovation Unit. Previously, he was Director of University Program at the National Security Innovation Network in Diu and served for more than 11 years in the Marine Corps, according to his LinkedIn.
The capital of national security innovation aims to accelerate the development of new generation material technologies essential for American national security and economic competitiveness. The organization grants other transaction agreements to suppliers to allow “double -use hardware startups to advance the key stages of their product development by approaching the deficit of private investment from sources of trust” and “bypass the opponent”, according to its website.
The main areas of intervention include technology linked to autonomy, communications, energy, sensors and space.
The position of the ASD for critical technologies was established in 2023 as part of a reorganization within the R&S – which oversees the development of new generation capacities for the US military – in the office of the Secretary of Defense.
Maynard Holliday fulfilled the positions of the post during the Biden administration, but no one has ever been confirmed in the Senate for the role.
Its responsibilities include the establishment of roadmaps to define the technical orientation of the Department of Defense and the Aligned Industry, Universities and international partners with the vision of DOD; Identify and take advantage of “synergies” between critical technological fields “to amplify the impact” for combatants; Increase the technical literacy of the workforce; Keep a constant eye on the state of the art; And recognize “the quickest route to critical technology, quickly follow the commercial sector if necessary, (and) take the lead when they are not,” according to the Pentagon.
The employment holder has the monitoring of 11 main directors focused on 5G; Advanced IT and software, directed energy, human machine interfaces, hypersonia, integrated network systems systems, integrated detection and cyber, microelectronics, generation and renewable energy storage, space and AI and autonomy.
If he is confirmed, Dodd could end up working under Emil Michael, that Trump has appointed the next Defense Under-Secretary for research and engineering. Michael – whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday – was previously director of business in Uber, the carpooling company, from 2013 to 2017. He was also president of Technology Advisory and Consulting Services, KLOUT operations manager, and special assistant to the Secretary of Defense.