'SWAT Team of Nerds' Expanding Operations

摘要

The Pentagon's Defense Digital Service - which is made up of software developers, engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers focusing on high-impact projects - is expanding its portfolio and workforce to tackle tough problems facing the military. The "Horde of Nerds," or "SWAT Team of Nerds," as director Brett Goldstein calls the organization, is made up of about 80 people, with around 30 being onboarded since the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year. That workforce is made up of mostly civilians coming from Silicon Valley who serve two- to four-year terms, Goldstein said during an October event hosted by the Center for a New American Security. DDS can work agilely and "if there's a terrible tech fire somewhere we're able to go right away, we don't have to call anyone," he said. "We work on some of the hardest problems that we can find here at the DoD." When the office was established in 2015 the founding officials focused on bringing innovation to the Defense Department, Goldstein said. Now he wants to expand on that.