OpenAI has hired former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to advise on national security modernization, adding military and congressional experience to the company’s growing defense work. The appointment places him in a role connecting OpenAI with governments, industry, academia and US allies.
A new role focused on security needs
OpenAI named Driscoll Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization. The company says he will work with public and private sector partners to strengthen national security and cyber defense through AI, while helping its teams understand what security institutions need in practice.
Driscoll has argued that national security requirements are changing faster than at any point in the past 50 years. He sees a potential role for AI in reducing administrative burdens, processing more intelligence and getting answers to the people who need them faster.
That remit connects two questions OpenAI faces as it pursues defense work: where AI tools could support security organizations, and how those organizations will define and adopt the tools. Driscoll’s job is to help the company engage with those needs across government and with allied partners.
Army experience meets AI modernization
As the 26th Secretary of the Army, Driscoll oversaw nearly one million soldiers and more than 265,000 civilian employees. During his tenure, he advanced AI modernization efforts across the service.
One effort was Project ARIA, which brought AI tools into budgeting, logistics and tactical model deployment. That experience gives Driscoll direct exposure to military AI procurement and the operational settings where such systems may be used.
His background could help OpenAI make sense of how defense organizations evaluate technology, from administrative applications to tactical use. It also gives the company an adviser familiar with the scale and complexity of the Army’s workforce and operations.
Congressional ties add another dimension
Driscoll’s experience extends beyond the Pentagon. He is a close ally of Vice President JD Vance and has strong relationships with members of both parties in Congress, according to AP.
Those connections may matter as OpenAI seeks government contracts and as lawmakers consider rules for AI in the armed forces and intelligence agencies. A bipartisan network could be particularly useful if the balance of power changes after the current midterm elections.
Driscoll submitted his resignation in late August 2026. Reports describe months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including disputes over senior officers who were removed or whose promotions were blocked over Driscoll’s objections.
OpenAI’s defense push and a changing market
The hire builds on OpenAI’s efforts to become a major provider of AI for US national security and defense. In late February 2026, the company secured a Pentagon agreement to deploy its models on classified networks after the Pentagon classified rival Anthropic as a supply chain risk.
The dispute centered on Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s refusal to remove contract restrictions on mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. On the same day as the Pentagon’s decision, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the company’s deal, saying it included safeguards similar to those Anthropic had sought to retain.
Driscoll’s appointment adds a government-facing adviser to that expanding presence. His work could help OpenAI understand institutional requirements and build relationships while debates continue over how AI should be used in defense and intelligence.
The role therefore sits at the intersection of procurement, policy and operational needs. OpenAI is seeking a larger place in national security, and Driscoll brings experience from inside the Army as well as relationships across Congress that may support that effort.