Two veterans now serving in Congress took a step Friday to institutionalize one of the Defense Department’s most effective—but lesser-known—bridges between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon: the Joint Reserve Detachment of the Defense Innovation Unit.
Formalizing the jobs of the roughly 50 members of the JRD would “increase their ability to consult and advise on critical national security ideas and solutions” according to a one-page explainer from the office of Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, viewed exclusively by Defense One. Nunn retired from the Air Force as a colonel.
“By leveraging our greatest asset—talented, patriotic Americans willing to bring their technical expertise to bear to serve our nation’s defense—we’re actively driving and enabling DOD to adopt new tech and capabilities and rapidly put them in the hands of our troops,” said Rep. Pat Ryan, D-NY, an Army veteran.
The Joint Reserve Detachment (JRD) Formalization Act would amend Title 10 of the U.S. Code to mandate what has until now been voluntary. The bill changes a single phrase in Section 1766(a) from “may establish” to “shall establish and maintain,” making it a legal requirement for the Secretary of Defense to sustain the JRD as a permanent component of DIU, according to the bill’s text.
This linguistic pivot could have larger implications. The current legal framing allows DIU—an organization tasked with accelerating the adoption of commercial technology across the Department of Defense—to build a part-time force of tech-savvy reservists if it chooses. The proposed change would require it to do so, requiring what has been, until now, a discretionary experiment.
These personnel operate at the seam between the armed services and the tech world—serving not only DIU’s internal mission but also supporting combatant commands and joint forces by advising on the operational use of cutting-edge commercial technologies. Formalizing the JRD billets, the one-pager argues, would “increase their ability to consult and advise on critical national security ideas and solutions.”
”The JRD Formalization Act ensures we have a permanent, agile force inside the Department of Defense to accelerate new technology and keep America ahead of emerging threats,” Nunn told Defense One in an email.
Military leaders have begun to recognize that allowing service members the flexibility to work while serving, particularly in the tech sector, brings benefits to the Defense Department, not just to the individual. In April 2018, then-NSA and Cyber Command head Adm. Michael Rogers testified that “The Reserve Component is especially valuable because Reservists often bring cyber skills from the private sector; many others come to us with insights from extensive federal or state government experience.”
In March 2023, then-Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger told lawmakers about a new component in Troy, Michigan, made up almost entirely of reservists. “Their regular day job is in the fields where we need to draw that technology you’re talking about. So they become our connecting file to the small companies, the businesses that are doing the innovation. But because they’re Marines and they’re plugged into the Marine Corps, they’re going to know what our requirements are.”
Raj Shah, the former head of DUI, is currently a partner with venture capital firm Shield Capital as well as the director of the JRD and an active Air Force reservist. He said he supports the legislation.
“I think it’s going to do a lot for the department and the department’s ability to work with technologists and innovation centers,” Shah said.
The JRD, housed within DIU, serves an even bigger role as a living translator between defense planners and venture-backed founders. The formalization of this hybrid force could lead the way for other services or components to follow suit.
A person familiar with the matter said the office of the secretary of defense is currently considering proposals to scale similar programs more broadly across the military.
Discussion about this post