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US Army Commissions Top Industry AI Execs as Lt. Colonels in New Innovation Unit
This initiative aims to strengthen the connection between commercial technology and military applications.
Written by: CDO Magazine Bureau
Updated 6:07 PM UTC, Fri June 20, 2025
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George administers the Oath of Office to four new U.S. Army Lt. Cols. during a Detachment 201: The Army’s Executive Innovation Corps (EIC) commissioning ceremony in Conmy Hall, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., June 13, 2025. The Army’s EIC is an initiative that places top tech executives into uniformed service within the Army Reserve. (U.S. Army photo by Leroy Council).
The U.S. Army recently announced that it is commissioning four prominent AI executives as lieutenant colonels in a new innovation-focused unit within the Army Reserve, known as Detachment 201 (Det. 201).
According to a media update by the U.S. Army Public Affairs, Det. 201 is an effort to recruit senior tech executives to serve part-time in the Army Reserve as senior advisors. In this role they will work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems. By bringing private-sector know-how into uniform, Det. 201 is supercharging efforts like the Army Transformation Initiative, which aims to make the force leaner, smarter and more lethal.
The executives — Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer at Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer at OpenAI; and Bob McGrew, former Chief Research Officer at OpenAI — will be officially sworn in this evening, just ahead of the Army’s 250th birthday celebration on Saturday.
This initiative aims to strengthen the connection between commercial technology and military applications.
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