The Conversation with Dasha Burns

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on transforming the armed forces


Listen Later

Dan Driscoll made history earlier this year when, at 38, he was sworn in as the youngest Army secretary in U.S. history.


And he just made news again this week when he became the highest-level Trump administration official to visit Kyiv for the White House’s secret peace talks in effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Driscoll joined high-level talks with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as news broke about a potential peace deal on the horizon.


Driscoll is a veteran of the Iraq War, and as a result, has felt the effects of Pentagon decisions firsthand. He’s set out to reshape the U.S. Army and the Pentagon into an agile institution that can make better use of existing resources and channel the best practices of the private sector.


“When you are creating defensive and offensive solutions, you have to think even 10 years out when the war really gets to its most catastrophic moment, ‘What are the very basic tools of warfare that can't be impacted by the enemy,” Driscoll said.


In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Driscoll sits down with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to delve into the future of warfare, his plans for reinvigorating the Army’s technology and the innovation spurred by conflict.


“I think the best guess is if the United States entered a conflict with a peer in a couple of years, it would be a hybrid war where nearly every human being on the battlefield would be empowered and enabled with a digital tool,” Driscoll said. “I think we believe every infantryman in the United States Army will carry a drone with them into battle.”


CNN "NewsNight" host Abby Phillip also joined Dasha to chat about her new book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power,” Jackson’s influence on today’s political landscape and Phillip’s approach to her own roundtable show.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Conversation with Dasha BurnsBy POLITICO

  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4

4

1,498 ratings


More shows like The Conversation with Dasha Burns

View all
The NPR Politics Podcast by NPR

The NPR Politics Podcast

25,905 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,463 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

4,099 Listeners

POLITICO's Off Message by POLITICO

POLITICO's Off Message

609 Listeners

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

3,553 Listeners

POLITICO's Pulse Check by POLITICO

POLITICO's Pulse Check

454 Listeners

The Playbook Podcast by POLITICO

The Playbook Podcast

701 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

113,069 Listeners

Power Play by POLITICO

Power Play

962 Listeners

Women Rule by POLITICO

Women Rule

307 Listeners

Brussels Playbook Podcast by POLITICO

Brussels Playbook Podcast

107 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,364 Listeners

POLITICO Money by POLITICO

POLITICO Money

206 Listeners

The Atlantic Interview by The Atlantic

The Atlantic Interview

27 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

7,281 Listeners

Post Reports by The Washington Post

Post Reports

5,419 Listeners

Hacks On Tap by Vox Media

Hacks On Tap

8,120 Listeners

POLITICO Energy by POLITICO

POLITICO Energy

139 Listeners

POLITICO Tech by POLITICO

POLITICO Tech

386 Listeners

Westminster Insider by POLITICO

Westminster Insider

42 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,464 Listeners

The Daily Punch by Punchbowl News

The Daily Punch

717 Listeners

The Focus Group Podcast by The Bulwark

The Focus Group Podcast

2,611 Listeners

POLITICO Berlin Playbook by POLITICO

POLITICO Berlin Playbook

10 Listeners

The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

The Opinions

623 Listeners