WASHINGTON — As the US military attempts to put its industrial base on a wartime production footing, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg has requested that large firms send their board members to the Pentagon to receive briefings from department leaders, industry sources told Breaking Defense.
While it’s not uncommon for top Defense Department leaders to have a direct line to defense CEOs — and Feinberg is reportedly in regular communication with top executives — it’s highly unusual for members of a company’s board of directors to be called into the Pentagon for an in-person meeting.
Sources said the initial request came from Feinberg, though it is unclear which defense companies have actually sent board members to the Pentagon. A department official, speaking on background, told Breaking Defense that some board members have met with officials through the Business Operators for National Defense (BOND), a new organization set up by the Pentagon in February.
“These discussions centered on connecting defense industry leaders face-to-face with their government customer and addressing procurement modernization and production scaling,” the official told Breaking Defense. “Our industry partners must have a clear understanding of the global strategic competition, particularly as our adversaries target aggressive production timelines. Ultimately, the warfighter and the taxpayer stand to gain when we foster a more responsive, collaborative, and mission-aligned defense industrial base.”
