Key Issues Iron Dome industry day F-35 upgrade package ER GMLRS
Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work today advised the Pentagon workforce to “buckle up” for the upcoming tenure of Ashton Carter, who took the helm at DOD this week.
Work, who introduced Cater during an all-hands meeting held in the Pentagon auditorium, called the new secretary “uniquely qualified” to manage the building amid current fiscal obstacles and ongoing global threats.
“Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up,” Work said. “We're in for a heck of a ride over the next two years and it's time for all of us to redouble our efforts.”
Carter, known by many as a creature of the Pentagon, has served 11 different defense secretaries in his previous jobs, which include deputy secretary and chief acquisition executive.
As illustration of how comfortable he was in his return to the Pentagon, Carter said he likely knew at least two-thirds of those gathered in the auditorium by name.
“I look forward once again to be in your ranks and working with you,” he said.
While Carter pledged to do his best to lobby Congress to overturn the automatic budget cuts set to be triggered by sequestration in fiscal year 2016, he noted that DOD must begin doing its part to run leaner and meaner than ever before.
“If we're going to convincingly make the case to our people that they need to spend more on their defense, which I believe they do, we need to, at the same time, show them that we know we can do better at spending that money,” he said.
Carter advised the Pentagon workforce to embrace a future that was more open to change.
“We've very proud of our traditions,” he said. But “for us to excel in today's world and in the future, we have to be open; we have to be open to change.”