About the author: Alec Ross is the author of The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future. He is a distinguished vis

The Pentagon’s Army of Nerds

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2021-09-12 13:30:04

About the author: Alec Ross is the author of The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future. He is a distinguished visiting professor at Bologna Business School of l'Universitá di Bologna and served for as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Pentagon is not the most inviting place for first-time visitors, and it was no different for Chris Lynch. When he rode the escalator out of the Pentagon metro station, Lynch was greeted by guard dogs and security personnel wearing body armor and toting machine guns. He lost cell service upon entering the building and was forced to run through more than a half mile of hallways to make his meeting in the office of the secretary of defense. He showed up late and out of breath, his hoodie and gym shoes soaked with sweat.

It was a surreal experience, Lynch told me, and it marked the beginning of “the most delightful detour of my entire life.”