The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, also referred to as the Defense Policy Board (DPBAC or DPB), is a
federal advisory committee The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (), is a United States federal law which governs the behavior of federal advisory committees. In particular, it has special emphasis on open meetings, chartering, public involvement, and reporting. The U.S. ...
to the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
. Their charter is available online through the office of the
Director of Administration and Management
The Director of Administration and Management, or DA&M, is a position within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) at the Department of Defense. As the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense ...
of the Department of Defense. The committee type is discretionary.
Excerpt of Objectives and Scope of Activities from charter:
1. The Defense Policy Board will serve the public interest by providing the
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
,
Deputy Secretary of Defense and the
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning major matters of defense policy. It will focus upon long-term, enduring issues central to strategic planning for the Department of Defense and will be responsible for research and analysis of topics, long or short range, addressed to it by the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
Announcements for upcoming meetings of the DPBAC are published in the ''
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
''.
History
The board was created under the
Reagan Administration. Historically, the DPBAC has mostly served as a method for the Pentagon to leverage consulting expertise in the private sector. However, the DPBAC served a very powerful and influential role in foreign policy in the George W. Bush presidency.
In the early years of the
Bush Administration, Defense Policy Board chairman
Richard Perle was an influence in the decision to go to war in Iraq. Later in the administration
Jack Keane was instrumental in the implementation of the
Iraq War troop surge of 2007
The Iraq War troop surge of 2007, commonly known as the troop surge, or simply the surge, refers to the George W. Bush administration, George W. Bush administration's 2007 increase in the number of U.S. military combat troops in Iraq in order to ...
.
On 1 July 2009, Secretary of Defense
Robert M. Gates
Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...
announced a new lineup that Matthew B. Stannard said offered a look at Gates' defense priorities.
On 25 November 2020, just before the Thanksgiving weekend, the Trump administration removed at least 11 of 13 board members, including senior defense policy experts such as
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
,
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
and
Jane Harman, leaving
Paula Dobriansky
Paula Jon Dobriansky (born September 14, 1955) is an American diplomat, public official, and foreign policy expert who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs (2001-2009) and the President's Envoy to Northern Ireland (2007-2009). A sp ...
and
Jim Talent. As of 27 November 2020, replacements have not been named.
In December 2020 Trump administration's Department of Defense announced several replacements to the Defense Policy Board. The included a
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporat ...
analyst
Michael Pillsbury as the new board chair, former
National Nuclear Security Administration
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and e ...
Administrator
Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, former House Speaker
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, former Ambassador Thomas Carter, a historian and consultant
Edward Luttwak
Edward Nicolae Luttwak (born 4 November 1942) is an American author known for his works on grand strategy, military strategy, geoeconomics, military history, and international relations. He is best known for being the author of '' Coup d'État: ...
, a retired Air Force Capt.
Scott O'Grady, presidential adviser Thomas Stewart, former Rep.
Randy Forbes
James Randy Forbes (born February 17, 1952) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2001 to 2017.
Prior to joining the United States Congress, he was a member of the Virgin ...
, former Sen.
Robert Smith and former Ambassador
Charles Glazer
Charles Louis Glazer (born June 21, 1943) is a United States diplomat. He was sworn in as United States Ambassador to El Salvador on January 16, 2007. Mr. Glazer tendered his resignation, effective Tuesday, January 20, 2009, following an order b ...
. On 19 January 2021, Trump's last full day in office,
Kash Patel
Kashyap Pramod "Kash" Patel (born February 25, 1980) is an American attorney, children's book author and former government official. He served as chief of staff to the Acting United States Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump. Pa ...
and
Anthony Tata
Anthony Jean Tata (born September 7, 1959) (), is an American retired United States Army officer, author, and government official. He is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army (1981–2009), and later served as a school district ad ...
were named to the board as well.
In a 30 January 2021 memo, newly confirmed
president Biden's Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin ordered a "zero-based" review of all the Pentagon advisory boards, and fired all members of the Pentagon advisory boards who are appointed by the DoD effective 16 February 2021. That includes all members of the Defense Police Board.
Current members of the board
* Herman Bulls
*
Ash Carter
Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the Be ...
*
Victor Cha
Victor D. Cha (born 1960) is an American academic, author and former national foreign policy advisor.
He is a former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House's National Security Council, with responsibility for Japan, North and South Korea, ...
*
Janine Davidson
*
Thomas E. Donilon
Thomas Edward Donilon (born May 14, 1955) is an American lawyer, business executive, and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013.
*
Eric S. Edelman
Eric Steven Edelman (born October 27, 1951) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Princip ...
*
Michèle Flournoy
* Richard Fontaine
*
Nina L. Hachigian
*
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.
*
John "Jack" Keane
*
Henry A. Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the preside ...
* Anja Manuel
* Michael O'Hanlon
*
BJ Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was th ...
*
Kori Schake
*
Rajiv J. Shah
*
Dana Shell Smith
*
H. Patrick Swygert
Haywood Patrick Swygert (born March 17, 1943) was the president of Howard University in Washington, DC from 1995 until 2008.
Career
He is a graduate of South Philadelphia High School and has been inducted into the SPHS Alumni Cultural Hall of Fa ...
References
External links
Defense Policy Board*
Federal RegisterCurrent members
{{authority control
Policy Board Advisory Committee
American advisory organizations
United States defense policymaking