Announcing the National Security & Defense Advisory Board

Dec 1, 2021

Applied Intuition, Inc. announces the Strategic National Security and Defense Advisory Board composed of recognized former national security and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) leaders who bring a depth of experience to the company (Figure 1). Following its Series D funding round and the formation of the Automotive Advisory Board, Applied Intuition is expanding its strategic focus to the defense space as it accelerates the delivery and adoption of all-domain modeling and simulation (M&S) software for autonomous system development and testing.

Figure 1: Members of Applied Intuition’s National Security and Defense Advisory Board (from left to right): General Raymond Thomas III, General Stephen Wilson, Dr. Bruce Jette, and Brendan McCord.

“The development of safe and effective autonomous systems presents unprecedented opportunities for the national security and defense space. Autonomous systems can help reduce the personnel requirement for manned systems while ensuring that decisions are always made with a human in the loop,” said Applied Intuition CEO Qasar Younis. “Our National Security and Defense Advisory Board will guide our work with the DOD to help them develop, test, and field their autonomous systems.”

National Security & Defense Advisory Board Members

General Raymond A. “Tony” Thomas III (U.S. Army, Ret.)

Most recently serving as the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), GEN Thomas’ 39 years of service began as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His career as an infantry officer included command assignments in both the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta. Prior to his command of USSOCOM, GEN Thomas also commanded the nation’s elite Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan. He is currently a consultant on strategy at Pallas Advisors and serves as the Chairman of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

General Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson (U.S. Air Force, Ret.)

Most recently serving as the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Gen Wilson managed the Air Staff and was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council (JROC). Gen Wilson is a command pilot with over 4,500 flight hours and 680 combat flight hours in multiple fixed-wing aircraft. Gen Wilson’s 39 years of service began after a commission from Texas A&M University. Prior to his role as the Vice Chief of Staff, he commanded the Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force.

Dr. Bruce D. Jette

Most recently serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)), Dr. Jette has collected a blend of military, industry, academic, and defense civilian experience over the past 40 years. He started his military career with a commission as an armor officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point before transitioning to acquisitions, where he served as the founding Director of the Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF). Prior to his role as ASA(ALT), Dr. Jette was a member of the Board on Army Science and Technology and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. 

Brendan McCord

Mr. McCord founded two artificial intelligence (AI) companies that were acquired by Acrisure LLC. He now manages a quantitative investment firm. Prior, he served as a highly qualified expert (HQE) and special government employee (SGE) at the DOD, where he was the primary author of the first DOD AI strategy, founding Chief Architect of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), and Head of Machine Learning at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Mr. McCord serves on the Advisory Board of the Harvard Data Science Review. He was an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and an adjunct fellow at Stanford University. Mr. McCord graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School and began his career as a fast-attack submarine officer in the U.S. Navy.

Applied Intuitions Work in Defense

“As the anchor members of Applied’s National Security and Defense Advisory Board, we are thrilled to play a part in a dynamic, non-traditional organization that has seen commercial success and is now driven to address some of the nation’s most pressing issues in autonomy and AI,” said the board in a joint statement. “Today’s defense challenges require innovative companies that understand agile software development and delivery, that recognize the possibilities autonomy offers in defense use cases, and that display a culture of delivering new capabilities quickly. We are excited to help guide the Applied team as it expands in the defense space.”

Get in touch to learn more about Applied Intuition’s work in defense autonomy.