OpenAI says former US Army secretary Dan Driscoll to join company
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Former US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll had resigned earlier in 2026, following months of tension with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
PHOTO: SECRETARY OF THE ARMY/X
- OpenAI has appointed former US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as senior counsellor for national security modernisation. He will advise leaders on how advanced AI can improve national security and cybersecurity.
- Driscoll resigned earlier in 2026 after tension with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. He also gained notice when Trump sent him to Moscow and Kyiv talks on ending the Ukraine war.
- OpenAI said he will work with government, industry and academics on “democratic AI” and help teams understand the needs of national security organisations. Driscoll said he wants to use the technology “responsibly” for those who keep people safe.
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WASHINGTON – OpenAI is hiring former US Army secretary Dan Driscoll to help expand the use of artificial intelligence for national and cyber security.
Driscoll, who resigned from his position as Army Secretary in August after repeated conflicts with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, will take on the role of senior counsellor for national security and modernisation at the AI startup.
In a blog post on Nov 2, the company said Driscoll will work with OpenAI and government, academic and industry leaders, among others, to push forward “practical modernisation initiatives to advance the build out of democratic AI.”
“The US has an extraordinary opportunity to work with other countries to spread the adoption of democratic AI,” OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said in the post.
The company said Driscoll’s job will include advising OpenAI partners in the public and private sectors on ways that AI can be used to boost national security, and to “help ensure the world is building AI to support democratic principles.”
Driscoll, the 26th Army secretary, was nominated by Trump and confirmed in 2025 at the age of 38, making him the youngest person to serve in the role.
He is a close friend of Vice-President J.D. Vance from their days at Yale Law School.
Before his resignation from his Army role, Driscoll had a strained relationship with Hegseth, marked by disagreements over personnel and leadership decisions, Bloomberg earlier reported.
OpenAI began as a non-profit and converted to a more traditional for-profit enterprise in 2025.
Though the company initially prohibited the use of its technology for military applications, it updated its policy to allow such uses in 2024.
In February, the company agreed to deploy its own AI models within the Defence Department’s classified network – a deal that came about after rival Anthropic PBC’s relationship with the Pentagon imploded over surveillance and autonomous weapons concerns. BLOOMBERG