SECDEF Executive Fellows

The Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows (SDEF) program was established by the Secretary of Defense in 1994 as a long-term investment in transforming our forces and capabilities and, as such, is a key part of the Department of Defense (DoD) strategy to achieve its transformational goals.

Four or more military officers or civilian employees from each military service are selected each year to receive their senior service college credit by training with sponsoring institutions (i.e., corporations, companies, commercial enterprises, etc.) that have earned a reputation for insightful long-range planning, organizational and management innovation, and implementation of new information and other technologies. SDEF Fellows form a cadre of future leaders who are knowledgeable in the organizational and operational opportunities made possible by their training throughout the year.

Fellows have been assigned to such diverse and innovative businesses as: 3M, Accenture, Amazon, Amgen, Apple, Boeing, Booz Allen, CACI International, Caterpillar, Cisco, DuPont, ExxonMobil, FedEx, General Dynamics, Google, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, JPMorganChase, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Northrop Grumman, Oracle, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, SAP, Shell, Southern Company, SpaceX, Union Pacific, United Technologies, and more.