ONE ‘PECULIAR’ FELLOWSHIP
complex that could help fill the void that military and civilian curricula could not fill, and could host officers for training assignments.
Currently, military assignments in the corporate world include the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program, the Army’s Training with Industry, the Air Force’s Education with Industry and, as of October 2015, the Navy’s Tours with Industry, with varying requirements for participation. Ideally, these cohorts will be strategically placed in follow-on assignments that make the most of their newly acquired higher-level managerial techniques and in-depth understanding of private-sector business methods to help the government collaborate and conduct business with industry more effectively. (For a U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center perspective on the TWI program, see “Shrinking the Divide,” Page 152.)
For example, military fellows assigned to Amazon are exposed to a commercial business culture that shuns PowerPoint presentations in favor of narrative white papers. Juan Garcia, formerly assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs and now director of asso- ciate career development with Amazon, acknowledged that, “It’s one of Amazon’s many cultural norms that vary sharply from traditional Pentagon practices.” Favoring substance over style, Amazon believes
that written documentation
is better for decision-making, forcing organization of thought, avoiding mis- interpretation and generating thoughtful inquiry from a better-informed audience.
Capt. Matthew Getts, an Air Force Edu- cation with Industry fellow, worked with Amazon Transportation Services and was impressed with the company’s ability to harness “big data” and automation to make more informed decisions. “Metrics
164
MEETING THE BOSS Carter meets Frederick Thomas, a Marine veteran now working for Amazon, during a visit March 3 to company headquarters in Seattle. Next to Thomas is Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Eric M. Smith, Carter’s senior military assistant. Carter has taken a keen interest in forging ties with the tech indus- try, becoming the first secretary of defense in 20 years to tour Silicon Valley. (DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tim D. Godbee, OSD Public Affairs)
were automated, at the $0.01 level of granularity, and with changes expressed in basis points (one-hundredth of 1 per- cent),” Getts said. “Tis data is packed into a six-page narrative and reviewed by the team together. Tis approach enables near-real-time informed decisions and cuts out unnecessary information that slows down decisions.”
Te content of white papers is often dense, heavy on business analytics and light on anecdotal material. Consequently, mili- tary fellows assigned to Amazon tend to return to the government with expertise in presenting actionable information. In exchange, the company gains a seasoned military leader providing an exclusive perspective on projects and programs from the “other side.” As the government expands its business with Amazon Web Services for cloud computing services, this will become increasingly critical.
Tese mutually beneficial exchanges are expanding and evolving as both officers and enlisted personnel participate in fel- lowships with corporations in the world of technology beyond the confines of the military-industrial complex. Te intent is that the fellowships be exchanges, with industry partners scheduled to send par- ticipants to government agencies.
TODAY’S FORCE OF THE FUTURE Te nascent military associations with Amazon reflect Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s ambition to collaborate
rather
than compete with industry for the talent pool of free-thinking innovators. It is just that kind of thinking, outside the “five- sided box,” that the secretary of defense believes will help prevent conflict, shape security environments, win wars
and
maintain our military’s superiority in this complex world.
Army AL&T Magazine
July-September 2016
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