Secretary of Defense
Corporate Fellows Program

The Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program (SDCFP) established by the Secretary of Defense in 1994 to become a long-term investment in transforming our forces and capabilities and, as such, is a key part of the Department of Defense (DoD) strategy to achieve its transformational goals.  Two or more officers from each military service are selected each year to receive their military senior service college credit by training with sponsoring institutions, i.e., corporations, companies, commercial enterprises, etc., who have earned a reputation for insightful long-range planning, organizational and management innovation, and implementation of new information and other technologies.  SDCFP Fellows form a cadre of future leaders made knowledgeable in the organizational and operational opportunities made possible by their training throughout the year.  Fellows have been assigned to such diverse and innovative businesses as: Amgen, Boeing, CNN, Caterpillar, Cisco, Citicorp, DuPont, FedEx, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, McKinsey, Merck, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Oracle, Pfizer, Raytheon, Sears, Southern Company, Sun, 3M, United Technologies, and more.

"WE MUST TRANSFORM NOT ONLY OUR ARMED FORCES, BUT ALSO THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT THAT SERVES THEM-BY ENCOURAGING A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY AND INTELLIGENT RISK TAKING. WE MUST PROMOTE A MORE ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPING MILITARY CAPABILITIES-ONE THAT ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO BE PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE, AND TO BEHAVE LESS LIKE BUREAUCRATS AND MORE LIKE VENTURE CAPITALISTS..."

Secretary of Defense
Remarks to The National Defense University
31 January 2002