OpenAI Hires Former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for National Security

OpenAI appointed former U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counselor for national security modernization. In this newly created role, Driscoll will advise company leadership and collaborate with academic, industry, and government partners to apply advanced AI to national security and cybersecurity.

Driscoll is tasked with helping internal teams understand the operational needs of global security organizations to develop what the company describes as democratic AI. He previously served as the 26th Secretary of the Army from February 2025 until September 2026, a tenure that included participating in diplomatic talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine.

His transition to the private sector follows reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The appointment comes after a February agreement between OpenAI and the United States Department of War to deploy AI models on classified networks. That agreement includes restrictions prohibiting the direction of autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance.