Defense Department's new Silicon Valley office aims to nurture security-tech innovations

The Defense Department's new Silicon Valley office received a surprise visit on Tuesday by Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall.

As part of Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's Defense Innovation Initiative (DII), the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) is establishing an office at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, to serve as a catalyst for nurturing relationships and accessing opportunities to benefit national security and industry.

Work and Kendall visited the new DIUx office to meet with the unit's new leadership: DIUx Director George Duchak and Rear Adm. Brian Hendrickson, who is serving as the DIUx military deputy.

Discussions focused on technological superiority, the rapid evolution of emerging commercial technologies and integrating those ideas within military systems and concepts of operations.

Work said Duchak and Hendrickson are the right people for the job, having the right qualities needed to build and foster relationships and scout out breakthrough technologies in the Silicon Valley community.

DIUx leaders will help nurture ideas and opportunities, as they guide these tech innovators toward advancements in security.