US Army names tech execs from OpenAI, Meta, Palantir as Lt Colonels in Executive Innovation Corps

In an attempt to modernize its technological capabilities, the US Army Reserve has commissioned four top tech executives as lieutenant colonels.

The Army announced the launch of Detachment 201: The Army’s Executive Innovation Corps earlier this month. The program is designed to recruit senior technology leaders to serve part-time as senior advisors in the Army Reserve.

“In this role they will work on targeted projects to help guide rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems,” the US Army said in a statement. “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 first four tech executives sworn in include 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 and current advisor at Thinking Machines Lab.

The new officers will not be required to attend traditional basic training. However, they will still undergo some form of limited training. 

"They'll do marksmanship training, physical training, they'll learn the Army rank structure and history, and uniforms," said  Col. Dave Butler, spokesman for the chief of staff of the Army, in an interview with Business Insider. 

While it is unusual for the service to allow officers to skip “direct commissioning” boot camp, it is not unprecedented. "The Army has allowed the direct commission of civilians since 1861 to bring experts with critically needed skills into the force," Butler explained.

The Army emphasized that although these new officers bypassed boot camp, they are still required to meet service standards, including passing the Army’s annual fitness test. They are expected to spend about two weeks a year working, which is about the minimum required for those in military reserves.

“Their swearing-in is just the start of a bigger mission to inspire more tech pros to serve without leaving their careers, showing the next generation how to make a difference in uniform,” the Army added in its statement.