From The Green Notebook No More Business as Usual: Secretary Dan Driscoll on Fighting for the Force
In this candid conversation, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll joins Joe to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to modernize a military while staying grounded in soldier-level feedback. From wrestling with “irrationality and stupidity at scale” in the Pentagon to launching the Army Transformation Initiative, Driscoll shares why he’s flipping tables—sometimes almost literally—to give soldiers the tools and trust they need to win the next fight.
In this episode, they explore:
- How a 15-year “gap decade” in law, finance, and private equity enriched Driscoll’s return to uniform and deepened his respect for everyday soldiers
- The Army Transformation Initiative—delivering critical warfighting capabilities, optimizing force structure, and eliminating waste and obsolete programs
- A Fort Jackson drone drill where recruits with just five weeks in the Army changed training doctrine—proof that innovation starts at E-1
- Seasons vs. “work-life balance”: why high-tempo service demands conscious trade-offs at home, and how Driscoll keeps perspective as a husband and dad of two
- The IED-factory raid where rules forbade cutting a $2 padlock, and what it taught him about broken feedback loops in combat
- Concrete ways leaders at every level can accelerate change: send honest ground-truth up the chain, embrace small-unit credit-card innovation, and demand that processes serve soldiers first
Whether you’re a private, a Pentagon staffer, or a curious civilian, this episode offers a front-row seat to the Army’s most ambitious overhaul in decades—and a master class in leading large-scale change without losing sight of character, family, and the people who do the fighting.
Daniel P. Driscoll is the 26th Secretary of the Army, sworn in on February 25, 2025. He leads the Army’s efforts in operations, modernization, and resource management for nearly one million Soldiers and more than 265,000 Army Civilians.
A former Army officer and business executive, Driscoll brings a diverse background in military service, law, and the private sector. Commissioned as an Armor Officer in 2007, he served with the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His military honors include the Army Commendation Medal, Ranger Tab, and Combat Action Badge.
Following his service, he earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and held leadership roles in investment banking, private equity, and venture capital, including serving as COO of a $200 million fund. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He is married to his high-school sweetheart, and they have two children.
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