William Lynn

Deputy Defense Secretary (since February 2009)

(U.S. Dept. of Defense)

Why He Matters

Lynn's confirmation as deputy defense secretary mattered, at least initially, because it tested President Barack Obama's campaign trail promise that lobbyists wouldn't run his administration.

The former senior Pentagon official-turned-director of government operations and strategy for defense giant Raytheon, Lynn matters a great deal to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The sole high-level holdover from the George W. Bush administration, Gates requested a waiver and the Obama administration quickly obliged, despite sweeping ethics rules issued in Obama's first days as president. And key senators were ready to push Lynn's confirmation through that chamber.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Senior vice president, Raytheon (2002 to 2008; DFI International (2001 to 2002); Program Analysis and Evaluation Director, Pentagon (1993 to 2001)

Alma Mater: Dartmouth College, Cornell Law School, Princeton University

Path to Power

After earning degrees from Dartmouth College, Cornell Law School and Princeton University, Lynn headed to Washington to head up the Defense Organization Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He held that post from 1982 until 1985.

Two years later, Lynn signed up for a tour on Capitol Hill, where he was legislative counsel for defense and arms control for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass), a post he held until 1993. From there, Lynn moved on to the Pentagon, becoming a special assistant to then Defense Secretary Les Aspin on budget matters.

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The Issues

In its final months, Bush administration officials opted against making several key decisions with broad implications that might have ended several major U.S. defense programs. They also delayed competitions to buy new combat systems. Defense experts often say Bush appointees "punted" these big decisions to the next president and his Pentagon management team.

But Gates and Lynn tackled those decisions in April 2009 when they announced a 2010 Pentagon budget with radically different priorities that sharply curtailed expensive weapons programs in favor of more low-tech armaments suited for today's uncoventional warfare.

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In an April 2009 news conference, Gates said the Navy would purchase just three additional DDG-1000 destroyers, a ship whose costs has ballooned over the years, and then return to making the Arleigh-Burke class destroyer. Gates announced a halt to production of the Air Force's F-22 fighter at 187 jets, four more than it has currently, and cuts to the Future Combat Systems program that has been in production for years and had envisioned replacing heavily-armored vehicles with less protected ones because of improved surveillance capabilities.

In May 2009, Gates announced that the Pentagon would hire 20,000 new engineers over five years to streamline and improve the weapons aquisition process.

The "City Manager"

As deputy defense secretary, Lynn will essentially be the "city manager" of the Pentagon, with Gates as its mayor.

Defense secretaries typically focus on the pressing national security issues of the time. This framework tasks the deputy secretary with managing a myriad of other things, such as doctrinal development, budgeting, planning and next-generation weapons programs.

Lynn also will decide whether to maintain much of the Pentagon management structure put in place by his predecessor, Gordon England. In short, Lynn will have a major hand in determining how the U.S. military fights in the future, plans for that future and spends an annual budget.

The complex job will require Lynn to work closely with his White House bosses, powerful lawmakers and key industry executives. And with Gates warning that significant funding reductions are likely for some major weapons programs, Lynn has been deputized to help determine which programs should be cut.

DoD Acquisition Reform

Snickers and head shaking. Ask many Pentagon analysts and even some former DoD officials about the latest think tank-generated plan to repair the military's embattled weapons-buying system and that is the first response you get. Even Gates is fond of noting that over 130 studies on the subject have been done over the last few decades, but "to no avail."

This skeptical reaction comes after several decades of big think and beefy reports - but little progress - on reversing the trend of weapon programs that come in significantly over budget and years behind schedule. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama vowed to finally reform the acquisition system.

And during a Jan. 15, 2009, confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lynn made similar promises. "Acquisition reform is not an option. It's an imperative," Lynn told Chairman Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) In his written testimony, Lynn told the panel the overall goal of any coming acquisition reform would be "improving stability, realism, accountability and effective execution."

Specifically, Lynn wants to depend more on prototyping, independent cost assessments, among other steps.

Two weeks later, during an appearance before the same committee to testify about the top challenges facing the Obama Pentagon, Gates indicated that, after focusing primarily on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars under Bush, acquisition reform would be a major priority during his second run in the E-Ring.

The Network

Lynn's connections in Washington are what made him an attractive candidate to oversee Raytheon's government-operations shop. Those connections, defense observers say, are also part of what make him an appealing deputy defense secretary.

During his long stint in the Clinton Pentagon, Lynn worked with several of Obama's other DoD officials. Michele Flournoy and Robert Hale are undersecretary of defense for policy and Pentagon comptroller, respectively.

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Campaign Contributions

Since entering the private sector in the early 2000s, Lynn has donated to several prominent Democratic candidates for various national offices. Notably, he made two $2,300 donations in June 2007 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) White House bid. His first - and only - donation to then-candidate Obama's campaign, a $2,300 donation, came in September 2008, just weeks before the Democrat defeated Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to grab the White House.

In the 2007-2008 campaign cycle, Lynn donated a total of $6,600 to the campaign of Jeff Merkley, who secured Oregon's junior U.S. Senate seat in November 2008. In 2008, he also donated $1,000 to now-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and $500 to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). In 2006 and 2004, Lynn donated $500 each to Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.), and Reps. Jane Harman and and Edward Markey (D-Mass.).

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