Department Seeks Counsel of Industry Leaders to Advance Arsenal of Freedom

The War Department is asking industry experts to help the department better work with the defense industrial base, eliminate bureaucratic bloat in the acquisition process and more quickly field weapons to warfighters.

"For far too long, the Pentagon's acquisition process valued paperwork over outcomes and performance," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in a video released to social media today. "This created a bureaucratic maze that stifled production and delayed critical deliveries to our warfighters when they needed them most. Well, I'm here today to tell you that era of managed decline is over."

The deputy secretary of war created the Business Operators for National Defense program, or BOND, to bring in experienced industry experts to help the War Department overhaul its acquisition process.

"To support the War Department's Arsenal of Freedom initiative, our great Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg and his team are harnessing the best and brightest private sector talent to fundamentally change how we equip our warriors for the future fight," Hegseth said. "BOND embeds elite, private-sector patriots - leaders with decades of experience at world-class private companies such as Apple, Ford, Microsoft and Tesla - directly into our acquisition process."

In the last two months, Hegseth said, the department has met with more than 100 industry experts. Today, as part of BOND, more than 70 former corporate officers are serving alongside the War Department's leaders to advance the Arsenal of Freedom initiative.

"Working side by side with teams in research and engineering, acquisition and sustainment, personnel and readiness, the chief information officer and the comptroller ... BOND executives are driving major reforms," Hegseth said. "Through these collaborations, we are actively accelerating acquisition speed, increasing manufacturing, optimizing production and strengthening supply chain resilience."

Hegseth said the War Department is seeking about 250 industry executives to participate in BOND.

"If you're a leader in your field or know somebody who is a leader in their field interested in participating in the BOND program - a patriot with private sector expertise who knows they can give more - contact [us]," he said. "When it comes to solving our most complex warfighting challenges, we will accept nothing less than world-class talent and total mission success."

Industry veterans who believe they have what it takes to help the War Department rebuild the nation's Arsenal of Freedom can email to volunteer their services.