New Defense Secretary Needs Better White House Access

Ashton Carter, the nominee to replace Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, should have better access to the White House than did his predecessor, said a former Defense Department official. John Grimes, former assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration, offered that Carter will need to be able to reach beyond the barriers that Hagel faced to be effective in a time of great change in the department.

Speaking during the Tuesday panel at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2014 in Honolulu, being held December 9-11, Grimes said Carter “could not have been a better selection for being knowledgeable about the department,” especially for the final two years of an administration. Grimes stated that “major changes” in the Defense Department will happen in the coming weeks, although he declined to say what they would be. The office of the chief information officer will be consolidated and increased to a level 2 authority over time, he allowed.

Grimes expressed optimism about the Joint Information Environment, although he admitted it will have its ups and downs over time. “Right now, I have a warm feeling that this program is over the hump—if they get funding for it,” he said.