Griffin to step down

Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's top technology officer, and his deputy Lisa Porter, will step down next month, according to a Defense Department official.

The pair will vacate the top two posts in the office of the under secretary of defense for research and engineering July 10, the official said.

This afternoon, Griffin and Porter sent their staff an email, with the subject "Farewell," to their colleagues:

R&E Team,

As has been our practice, this is from Mike's email, but equally from both of us. We want to inform you that we have submitted our resignations from our present positions, effective 10 July. A private-sector opportunity has presented itself to us, offering an opportunity we have decided to pursue together. It has been a pleasure leading this great team over the past few years. We greatly appreciate your hard work, diligence, integrity, and devotion to technical excellence and technical truth in furtherance of the R&E mission. We wish you all the very best.

Sincerely,

Lisa and Mike

In a separate statement issued June 23, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: "During their tenures, Dr. Griffin and Dr. Porter advanced critical work on the department's modernization priorities. They leave an office with a legacy of excellence in the research and development of technology that ensures American military advantage on land, at sea, in the air and in space. Mike and Lisa have my sincere thanks for their dedicated service to the department and the nation, and I wish them the very best as they enter this new chapter of their lives."