Pentagon elite on warpath against Elon Musk: “What they’re doing is tearing everything apart”

“I think the best way to say it is that we die fast or we die slowly,” said Jennifer Hay, director of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), who may leave the Trump administration next May (according to Politico). Along with her, several more members are expected to resign over the next month.

And they’re not alone. The Pentagon’s elite tech unit is collapsing after clashing with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), currently overseen by Elon Musk.

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The DDS was created in 2015 with the goal of modernizing defense operations with fast tech solutions and digital tools for the military. The DDS works on a variety of projects, including bug bounty programs to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities, drone detection technologies, improvement of digital services for military families, and optimization of training processes for cyber soldiers.

The aim is to improve the efficiency and security of military operations through advanced technology and innovative practices.

This upcoming void in the DDS could have been avoided, as they’ve said, if DOGE had called on them to help optimize the department that Trump tasked the Tesla CEO with managing. The Pentagon (U.S. Department of Defense) contacted Elon Musk in October 2022 to discuss the use of his Starlink satellite network in Ukraine. And that wasn’t the last time, just a month ago, he had to visit the offices again.

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If the DDS staff resignations go through, critical U.S. initiatives will be abandoned, such as improving the Pentagon’s tech talent pool and countering enemy drone use. “They’re not actually using AI, they’re not driving efficiency. What they’re doing is tearing everything apart,” said a former official who requested anonymity.

Now, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAIO) is expected to take over these DDS functions, led by Margaret Palmieri and Garrett Berntsen. Their main mission is to accelerate the adoption of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across the organization to improve decision-making and operational efficiency, ensuring that the Department of Defense maintains a competitive edge and is ready to face future technological challenges.