'Sidelined by DOGE’s efforts', Pentagon’s entire ‘SWAT team of nerds’ resigns

In what can be called as a significant blow to the Pentagon's technological innovation efforts, nearly the entire staff – called "SWAT team of nerds” – of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), its fast-track tech development arm, is reportedly resigning en masse over the coming month. The exodus has been attributed to the increasing influence of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Citing the director and three other current members of the office, as well as internal emails, Politico claims that the move threatens to effectively shut down the decade-old programme by the end of April. The DDS was established in 2015 to inject Silicon Valley-style agility into the Department of Defense (DOD), rapidly developing technological solutions for national security crises and fostering innovation within the Pentagon's vast bureaucracy.

The report says that this particular unit played a crucial role in developing rapid response tools during the Afghanistan withdrawal, creating databases for the transfer of Ukrainian military and humanitarian aid, and pioneering drone detection technologies, among other critical projects.

The sources told the publication that the programme's demise will lead to the shutdown of key initiatives aimed at streamlining the DOD's tech talent pipeline and countering adversarial drones.

All staff members are slated to leave soon

The 14-person DDS has seen its director, Jennifer Hay, plan her departure by May 1. Eleven other employees intend to accept President Donald Trump’s deferred resignation package by the same date, with the remaining two staffers also slated to leave.

A Pentagon spokesperson indicated that the functions of the DDS would be absorbed by the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), under which the DDS currently operates.

Director Hay revealed that her team initially anticipated being integrated into Musk's efforts to automate Pentagon operations and adopt artificial intelligence.

“The reason we stuck it out as long as we have is that we thought we were going to be called in,” Hay stated.

The fate of the DDS is similar to that of other digital modernisation efforts within the government under the purview of DOGE. The US Digital Service, which focused on modernising government technology and attracting tech talent, has reportedly been subsumed by DOGE amid significant layoffs and firings.


Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search.


AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now