Lloyd Austin, secretary of defense and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, said the U.S. military needs to place emphasis on emerging technologies and strategies that make use of these assets, FedScoop reported Wednesday.
Gen. Austin, who placed third in this year's Wash100 Vote Standings, said at the Indo-Pacific Command's change of command ceremony that the modern era requires faster decision making.
“So what we need is the right mix of technology, operational concepts and capabilities — all woven together in a networked way that is so credible, flexible and formidable that it will give any adversary pause,” Austin said.
Kathleen Hicks, deputy defense secretary and fellow 2021 Wash100 Award winner, similarly said the Department of Defense (DOD) needs to aggressively pursue its transformation into a data-centric organization.
Hicks said at the Aspen Security Forum that this need stems from threats posed by China and other adversaries.
