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A look back at the origins of DIU

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2 months ago

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What: The creation of the Defense Innovation Unit
When: Defense Secretary Ash Carter launched the organization as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, or DIUx, in 2015.
Why it matters: The creation of the DIU marked a pivotal shift in how the Pentagon approached innovation.
To celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2025, we’re spotlighting 25 pivotal moments that reshaped the way the government operates. Visit our anniversary page each week as we look back on these defining moments.

In a 2001 paper, Ashton Carter, then a professor at Harvard, wrote about how commercial technology would play a decisive role in deterring and prevailing in conflict. Carter warned the U.S military must become adept at rapidly integrating commercial innovations into its operations — or a technological revolution that began in the Defense Department would quickly pass it by. 

In the years to follow, Silicon Valley surged ahead, driving technological advancements across various sectors, while the military continued to fall further behind due to outdated procurement processes, bureaucratic hurdles and cultural resistance, among other factors. 

“It was as if the military had resigned itself to becoming a display in the Museum of Computer History,” Raj Shah and Christopher Kirchhoff wrote in “Unit X.” “You could visit an Army, Air Force or [a] naval base to see what people used in the past, then go to Best Buy to see how far technology had evolved.”

Carter saw it in 2001 — the Defense Department needed to become “the world’s fastest adapter and adopter of commercial technology into defense systems”— and nearly 15 years later, shortly after becoming Defense secretary in 2015, he created the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx).

“There’s a lot of people with a lot of visions and ideas. There’s very few that know how to execute — and Secretary Ash Carter knew both. He had a vision; he had the knowledge and the wherewithal to actually get anything done. It was his brainchild, and he made it come together and fought all the bureaucrats and pivoted the department,” Shah, who was one of the DIUx’s early leaders, told Federal News Network. 

Carter’s vision for DIUx was to create a bridge between the Pentagon and the commercial technology sector — using funding to quickly buy existing products, help companies develop new ones and leverage venture capital to grow a broader ecosystem of firms serving the Defense Department.

The organization had a rocky start, but when Carter asked Shah and Kirchhoff to lead the unit, the pair created a whole list of things they thought they needed to get the unit off the ground. They wanted the unit to report directly to the secretary, instead of being buried in layers of the Pentagon hierarchy. They wanted Carter to assign one of his special assistants to the unit. If the unit asked other parts of the military for help, they were expected to comply. The unit could request a policy waiver should it get in the way. And the unit would oversee its own budget and staffing. 

The early days of DIUx were challenging — there were budget troubles, and the organization needed a way to buy technology faster. 

“I think our strategy was just to prove that we could exist. We went from 8 people to 100 in two years. And one small office to four. We were just trying to stay alive. When I joined the organization, we had zero written contracts, so we had to build a whole contracting apparatus and system,” Shah said. 

“I think the biggest battles in government outside the Pentagon were all budget battles with the Office of Management and Budget and Congress, trying to defend what we were doing and why we needed our budget. And because it was so high profile, being the Secretary cared about it, a lot of entities would try to use it as leverage. They would hold us hostage to try to extract something, some concession, from the department, and so we would get in the car in the middle of a lot of these fights. It’s very painful,” he added.

Finding a ‘loophole’

The Defense Department has traditionally operated as a monopoly buyer, but when it came to Silicon Valley, the Pentagon wasn’t even a minority buyer. DIUx knew it had to fundamentally rethink how it did business — it needed to become a better customer, be able to move quickly and get companies on contract fast. DIUx knew it had to find an alternative to the traditional acquisition process under the Federal Acquisition Regulations, which can take at least a year to negotiate. 

At the same time, the 2016 defense policy bill drastically expanded the DoD’s ability to use Other Transaction Authority (OTA). OTAs have been around for decades, but agencies mostly used it for work with research labs, universities and small businesses to build prototypes. 

But the 2016 defense legislation enabled the Defense Department to start using OTAs to not just buy prototypes, but to move from prototype into production. 

Lauren Dailey, who was the director of acquisitions at the time, took it a step further by designing a “Commercial Solutions Opening” process, which would let DIUx work directly with commercial companies and buy technology at scale. 

One of DIU’s early success stories was with Shield AI, a startup that makes autonomous quadcopters. The company wanted to work with the Defense Department but struggled to raise money since investors did not view DoD as a reliable customer. DIUx, however, liked the technology and brought the company through the CSO process — within about a month, Shield AI received an OTA contract to prototype its technology. The contract then helped unlock private investment in the company. 

Michael Brown, who succeeded Shah as DIU director, came in to scale that model.

“We got the transition rate, or the rate from a vendor coming in to compete on a military contract to having a production contract, in half to 50%. It wasn’t surefire, because it wasn’t 100% but you had a very good shot now of getting a production contract if you came in through a DIU process. We introduced over 50 capabilities to DoD and 50 new vendors to DOD. We really expanded on the concept,” Brown told Federal News Network.

During his time as the director, Brown’s team, along with the office of the under secretary for acquisition and sustainment, created an OTA guide to make these authorities more accessible across the acquisition workforce. The guide helped clarify not only how OTAs work, but also what their limits are. 

In addition, the organization launched the Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program, a yearlong rotational initiative that embedded acquisition professionals from each military service inside DIU. The goal was to cultivate a new cadre of acquisition experts equipped with practical experience in non-traditional contracting. Plus, the Defense Acquisition University introduced specialized training programs to teach the fundamentals of OTAs.

Brown said while the combination of those efforts yielded some positive results, it is nothing like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directing the Defense Department to use the Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transactions as the default contracting approaches for buying capabilities under the software acquisition pathway. 

“Now everyone is going to be interested in figuring out, ‘How do I do this?’ That pull effect is going to be very strong. I think that will be the start of a complete change in the order of magnitude of OTAs are being used,” Brown said.

“We’ll start to see a lot more change more quickly. Previously, I would say there was some concern about who all was endorsing the use of the OT versus FAR. If FAR is the way we buy most things and it’s already well understood by the General Councils, by the acquisition officials within the services, OTs would have remained on the fringe. But now there’s an emphasis to go commercial first. So let’s finally start implementing something Congress asked for 20 years ago called modular open system architecture,” he added.

Now, a decade later, DIU has evolved from a small experimental organization into a central player backed by a billion-dollar budget and expanded support from Congress. Plus, in 2016, around the time the CSO process was launched, there was approximately $8 billion in venture capital investment going into companies working on defense technologies. By 2024, the number went up to about $43 billion — a 525% increase.

“I’m disappointed that we still need DIU, that the whole department has not transformed itself into being a very innovative organization. So to that point, I think there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Shah said.

The post A look back at the origins of DIU first appeared on Federal News Network.

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GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess

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13 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R‑SD) has unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

John Thune has quietly secured unanimous‑consent for a paper‑thin Senate schedule through the Trump appointee confirmation deadline, ensuring only pro forma sessions on five key dates in early August.

Under the agreement, the chamber will adjourn after today’s business and reconvene without conducting any votes or business on:

  • Tue, Aug 5 – 1:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 8 – 1:05 p.m.
  • Tue, Aug 12 – 8:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 15 – 10:15 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 19 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 22 – 9:00 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 26 – 12:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 29 – 7:00 a.m.

WATCH:

Thune’s pro forma blueprint comes amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump, who has demanded the Senate remain open until all 150+ administration nominees are confirmed.

Under the Recess Appointments Clause, a president may only install nominees without Senate approval if both chambers are in formal recess for at least 10 days. By convening the Senate just long enough every few days, Thune blocks the possibility of Trump making unilateral appointees.

The Senate went into its August recess without confirming all of Trump’s pending judicial and district‑level appointments.

By the time lawmakers left town on Saturday evening, no deal had been reached to move dozens of Trump’s nominees, including U.S. district court picks, through final floor votes.

Only a small handful of nominees (such as Jeanine Pirro to be U.S. Attorney in D.C.) had advanced. Otherwise, nominees remained stalled in committees or waiting for cloture roll‑calls on the executive calendar.

Roughly 150–160 executive and judicial nominations, including over a dozen district court judges and U.S. attorney nominations, remained scheduled but unconfirmed.

The post GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road

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13 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that there have been about 1,500 truck drivers who do not speak English taken off the roads as part of a push to ensure foreign truck drivers are not causing accidents.

Back in 2016, the Obama administration stopped enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers, according to a report from The Daily Signal.

But in May, Duffy issued a guidance making clear that truck drivers who cannot demonstrate a proficiency in English cannot drive.

The 1,500 drivers were taken off the roads within the first 3o days of the rules once more being enforced, according to The Daily Signal.

“Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!” Duffy posted on X.

“If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger the driving public.”

He added, “America First = Safety First.”

Duffy’s concerns were far from unfounded.

In January, there was a truck driver involved in a fatal crash that had to use a language interpreter for the post-crash investigation, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Another incident from 2019 involved a truck driver who could not proficiently speak English speeding through signs that warned of steep grades and dangerous curves, all at more than 100 miles per hour.

Four people died in that crash, per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

President Donald Trump had likewise insisted with an April executive order that the move centered on public safety.

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order said of truck drivers.

They also “need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English,” a position the order called “common sense.”

“It is the policy of my Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers,” the notice added.

“This order will help ensure a safe, secure, and efficient motor carrier industry.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post ‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict

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13 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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via Wikimedia Commons

Slovenia has imposed an arms embargo on Israel, banning the export, import, and transit of weapons to and from the country.

This decision was announced by Prime Minister Robert Golob following a government session on July 31, 2025.

Slovenia claims to be the first European Union member to take such a step, citing the EU’s inability to act due to internal disagreements.

The government stated that no permits for military exports to Israel have been issued since October 2023, when the conflict in Gaza began.

Officials emphasized that the embargo is an independent measure to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Slovenia has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and increased aid deliveries to the region.

In early July 2025, Slovenia declared two Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, persona non grata, barring them from entry.

This action was based on their public statements regarding the conflict. Earlier, in June 2024, Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood, joining countries like Ireland, Norway, and Spain in this move.

The conflict in Gaza started after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israeli territory, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the taking of hostages.

Israel responded with a military operation aimed at dismantling Hamas infrastructure. Reports from Gaza’s health ministry indicate significant casualties, with ongoing international efforts to negotiate truces and provide aid.

Several other nations have taken similar diplomatic steps, including France, Britain, and Canada announcing potential recognition of a Palestinian state. Australia has also indicated that recognizing Palestinian statehood is under consideration.

Israel has criticized these declarations, arguing they could reward Hamas for its actions.

Israeli officials dismissed Slovenia’s embargo as insignificant, noting that Israel does not procure any defense materials from Slovenia.

An unnamed official stated that the country buys nothing from Slovenia, not even minor items.

Within the EU, there is growing pressure for measures against Israel, with Sweden and the Netherlands advocating for suspending parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The European Commission has proposed limiting Israel’s participation in the Horizon research program, though Germany opposes such steps.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed concerns about Israel’s potential diplomatic isolation during a visit to Jerusalem.

The United States remains a key ally to Israel, with President Donald Trump warning that recognizing Palestinian statehood might benefit Hamas.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance Gaza truce talks. These efforts aim to address the humanitarian crisis and secure a ceasefire.

The post Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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