Exclusive: Hicks, Thornberry spearhead Atlantic Council defense study
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The Atlantic Council today launched the ReForge Commission, tasked with examining the industrial demands of modern warfare and building a blueprint for future manufacturing health and national security innovation.
Why it matters: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a defense-acquisitions speech Nov. 7 that portions of the Pentagon must be on a wartime footing.
State of play: ReForge is led by former Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and former Rep. William "Mac" Thornberry, a Texas Republican once at the head of the House Armed Services Committee.
- The bipartisan commission's 20-plus other members include: James Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Nadia Schadlow, former deputy national security adviser; Lael Brainard, former director of the National Economic Council; Jon Tester, former Montana senator; Paul Kwan at General Catalyst; Steve Escaravage at Booz Allen Hamilton; and Megan Dake at Lockheed Martin.
The intrigue: One area of keen interest is how the U.S. and its friends can mobilize for a potential two-theater war (versus China and Russia, perhaps).
What they're saying: "I've been working on acquisition reform since before I became chairman, so more than 10 years or so. But I don't think I've ever seen a time where you had Congress and the department so aligned to take really significant action," Thornberry told Axios.
- "It's not just about what might happen someday; it's what's happening right now," he said. "The key challenge for this commission is to have specific, concrete recommendations — not just pie in the sky stuff."
Between the lines: The ReForge Commission builds on previous work done by the Atlantic Council's defense-innovation adoption and software-defined warfare panels.
Go deeper: Hypersonic weapons are lethal advantage for China, Russia
