Tech whiz and CEOs found homes in the Corps’ new Reserve Innovation Unit

Sgt. After nearly a decade with the Marine Corps, William Tresseder talks about the Marine Innovation Unit — a reserve unit that seeks to connect the Corps with innovation as it realigns its forces.

Treseder graduated from Stanford University after active duty including service in Iraq and Afghanistan, worked on energy startups and co-founded BMNT, which helps US national security agencies implement Silicon Valley technology. He thought his time in the Marine Corps was behind him.

But then Treasure, While on the inactive status list, he met with Innovation Unit leadership and learned more about his mission.

Part of the unit’s impetus is Force Design 2030, an overhaul of the Marine Corps that seeks to modernize a potential conflict with its closest allies, particularly the technologically advanced Chinese military. The unit was established to help the corporation acquire the most widely defined technology as it makes that transition.

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Treseder told the Marine Corps Times that he was “blown away” by the leaders and the opportunity to put the ideas of modernization into practice.

“I was confident that the effort would be worthwhile to return to the Marine Corps to bring the many skills and abilities and explore the relationships I had developed over the past decade — outside of the Marine Corps to the Marine Innovation Unit and the greater Marine Corps,” he said.

But before he could join the waiting room, Treseder had to cut off his flowing blonde locks. (This wasn’t the first time he’d made a dramatic physical transformation for the Marine Corps—he had to lose roughly 100 pounds before enlisting in 2001.)

Now Treseder is the division’s chief strategy officer, managing manpower for the division’s initiatives — a level of responsibility unusual for an E-5. But, then again, it’s an odd class.

Help with corporate reform

The idea behind the class is that reservists can be uniquely positioned to help modernize the active force thanks to the knowledge and connections they’ve developed in their civilian careers.

“The Marine Corps is unsure how to implement changes coming to MIU, and with MIU’s support, MIU Marines can propose other changes (if needed) to the Marine Corps,” 1st Lt. Devin Nathan, a unit spokesman, told Marine Corps Times in an email. They wrote.

When an active force unit faces a thorny technological problem, that’s where the Navy’s innovation unit comes in. May refer the unit to appropriate civil technology. It may link the unit to another military unit or government agency working on a solution.

“We don’t always have the answers, but we can offer perspectives and also connect individuals with people who already have answers,” Treseder said.

And then it typically backs off — it doesn’t have the resources to support the program long-term, said Sgt. Major Robert Lusk, assigned leader. The class is made up of only a few hundred and will stay that way for at least the next two years.

When the Reserve wanted to experiment with small boats that the Reserve might one day use for shore-based operations, it was a connection in the Defense Innovation Unit that helped the Reserve plan a fast-track acquisition process for the boats. Col. Craig Thomas said. (The Defense Innovation Unit is a Department of Defense agency that focuses on the adoption of commercial technology for military use.)

Now the Reserve is set to receive four or five commercially available submarines by spring — a faster timeline than most defense purchases.

“It wasn’t a heavy lift,” added Thomas. “It was just MIU having the right connections and the right people to make things happen.”

The unit is working with the force on revising the Marine Corps’ personnel policies and systems. And the innovation department puts those ideas into action, Nathan said. One of the goals of Talent Management 2030 is to recruit and retain Navy personnel with deep technological expertise — like the Navy’s Innovation Unit reservists.

The unit’s command is rank-agnostic, meaning that Marine skills and experience levels are more relevant than rank when it comes to deciding who leads a team. The Marines there do a lot of their work remotely, Nathan says.

The room In the year It started operations in March 2022, but the activation ceremony is scheduled for May 5.

Although it operates globally, the Marine Innovation Unit is headquartered in Newburgh, New York, outside of Stewart Air National Guard Base, about an hour and a half’s drive from New York City’s talent pool. It’s also in the Hudson River Valley, home to an emerging tech industry.

The start comes as the Marine Corps leans on the reserves, not just as a small, part-time version of the active force, but as a force that can contribute its own unique talents.

The unit’s commander, Colonel Matthew Swindle, is the chairman, CEO and founder of the renewable energy company Enline Energy. And the unit’s senior enlisted Marine, Lusk, is director of information technology and security operations at OpenSpace, an artificial intelligence company.

One department’s application says it wants candidates with “substantial professional experience or domain knowledge” and “obvious special skills.” One question on the application states, “If you could make one change in the Marine Corps, what would it be and why?”

The unit welcomes reservists with experience in startups, venture capital, management consulting and civilian and military applications, according to the unit’s website. Artificial intelligence, cyber, energy, quantum computing, space and synthetic biology are some of the areas of expertise the department is looking for.

Competition from the private sector and other federal agencies, particularly cyber-savvy soldiers, has proven a challenge for the services. The Pentagon has invested millions in retention bonuses to secure in-demand cyber talent.

According to Nathan, the unit has no active-duty equivalent. The Marine Corps Warfare Laboratory, headquartered in Quantico, Virginia, oversees technology provided by commercial vendors. As one of its functions, the Marine Innovation Unit helps it acquire some dual-use technology.

The unit has already attracted significant interest from Navy reservists. A week after he advertised 100 openings in the unit in January 2022, 300 applications came in from across the Reserve, Swindle told Marine Corps Times in June 2022. It received 975 applications in June.

In the year In fiscal year 2022, the department had about 132 employees. It is authorized to grow to 270 this fiscal year and 380 in fiscal year 2024, Swindell said.

“Personally, for the creative space, bigger isn’t necessarily better,” Swindle said of the room size. “Small teams organized around the problem you’re trying to solve have proven over time to be a recipe for success, especially in the defense innovation space.”

Treseder said he was a casually assigned roommate, reserve major, and chief financial officer of a space technology startup during his many speeches at the Marine Innovation Unit’s annual training in Quantico, Virginia. Despite his prowess and prowess, he was essentially humble and enthusiastic about Treseder’s work, Treseder recalled.

That’s true for other Marines in the unit, Treseder said.

“Most people I meet – and I meet a lot of PhDs – are very quick to get into the abstract world of whatever field they’re interested in,” Treseder said. “MIU subject matter experts don’t give themselves permission to do that.”

“They’re more focused on the mission and more focused on how things are going to come back down to earth and how they can carry it on behalf of the Marine Corps.”