Griffin nominated for key defense innovation job

Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin has been nominated to be the Pentagon's under secretary of defense for research and engineering, a new post created by Congress to serve as the department's de facto chief innovation officer.

Griffin, formerly chief executive of the Schafer Corp., was previously nominated to be principal deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. But now he will be considered for the USD R&E post, for which he was considered the leading candidate.

Ellen Lord, the USD AT&L, who has been directed by Congress to divide the duties of her existing office between the new USD R&E and a new USD for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters  this week that the Pentagon is on track to break up AT&L by Feb. 1. She is expected to be nominated to serve as the new USD A&S.

Meanwhile, Lord and the military service chiefs are headed to Capitol Hill on Thursday to update the Senate Armed Services Committee on the ongoing restructuring of DOD's acquisition system.