The Department of Defense (DOD) tech innovation chief stepped down from his role, the latest departure, coming just days after DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted three top military officials last week.
Doug Beck, who has led the California-based Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) since 2023, resigned on Monday, a U.S. official familiar with the matter and speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Hill on Monday.
The DIU did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The DIU works on accelerating the adoption of commercial technology throughout the U.S. military and partners with organizations across the DOD to “rapidly prototype and field dual-use capabilities that solve operational challenges at speed and scale.”
The DIU has five offices around the country: Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, Chicago and at the Pentagon itself.
Beck, who is a captain in the Navy Reserve, served in Iraq and Afghanistan with a joint special operations task force. Before leading the DIU, which was established in 2015, Beck was a vice president at Apple and was with the tech behemoth for more than 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Beck’s departure from the DOD comes just three days after Hegseth terminated three senior military officials — the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse; Rear Adm. Milton Sands, who oversaw Naval Special Warfare Command; and Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, the head of the Navy Reserve.
Also last week, the Air Force announced that its chief of staff, Gen. David Allvin, will retire two years into his four-year term.
Beck’s departure was first reported by Politico.
