The Defense Tech Underground

009: Jeff Decker - The Hacking for Defense Manual

9 snips
Mar 3, 2025
Dr. Jeff Decker, a former U.S. Army Ranger and now a professor at Stanford, shares riveting stories from his combat experience, including his participation in over 200 raids. He discusses his ambitious leap from military service to academia, fueled by a passion for innovation in defense. Decker also dives into the Hacking for Defense methodology—emphasizing the importance of understanding user needs and real-world challenges in defense technology. He highlights how this approach has scaled nationally, transforming the future of defense innovation.
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ADVICE

Validate Before Building

  • Don’t build solutions in isolation; validate with real users first.
  • Get out of the lab and talk to the people who face the problem daily.
ANECDOTE

Drones Failed First Field Test

  • Stanford students brought drone solutions to 29 Palms expecting flight tests.
  • Marines couldn’t get drones issued and the few that flew crashed, exposing wrong assumptions.
INSIGHT

Government Is No Longer The Tech Frontier

  • The government once led innovation but now must scout commercial tech.
  • Rapid commercial advances mean the DoD can't always know what it needs.
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