Eric Chewning
Eric Chewning | |
|---|---|
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| Occupation(s) | Executive Vice President of Strategy & Development, HII |
Eric Chewning is an American businessman, veteran, former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, and Executive Vice President of Strategy & Development for HII, an all-domain defense and technologies partner and America’s largest shipbuilder.[1][2][3]
Military service
[edit]As highlighted in Fred Kaplan’s book, The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, Chewning left a career as a Wall Street investment banker to join in the U.S. Army in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.[4] Upon completing Officer Candidate School and training as a military intelligence officer, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment in the 2nd Brigade of the U.S. Army’s First Cavalry Division. He deployed to Iraq in 2004 serving as the unit’s tactical intelligence officer. During this deployment, Chewning helped to pioneer counterinsurgency tactics for conventional U.S. Army units.[5]
Upon returning to the U.S., Chewning and Douglas Ollivant co-authored an influential article in Military Review, entitled "Producing Victory: Rethinking Conventional Forces in Counterinsurgency Operations",[6][7] and a 2007 follow-on article, entitled "Producing Victory: a 2007 postscript for implementation."[8] The articles argued that U.S. forces needed to abandon sprawling forward operating bases and move into Iraqi communities. The premise of their argument was that counterinsurgency requires military units to simultaneous execute security operations, train local security forces, promote economic development, and foster political institutions. Ollivant and Chewning reasoned that conventional military units best operate in such an environment when partnered with indigenous security forces co-located among the target population.[9]
The essays, which were based on Ollivant and Chewning’s experience during combat operations in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, significantly influenced the tactical deployment of US and Iraqi ground forces during the “Surge”.[10] [11][12] A 2006 New York Times op-ed called it “a good blueprint” for turning around the military situation in Iraq.[13] In March 2010, Ollivant and Chewning published an article in The American Interest outlining the military, political, and economic actions necessary for a successful US-Iraqi relationship after the initial US troop withdrawal.[14]
Business experience
[edit]Chewning returned to the private sector in 2008, ultimately becoming a partner at the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.[15] While at McKinsey, he worked alongside financial sponsors and corporate leaders in the global aerospace, defense, government services, and space industries.[16] His client work focused on corporate strategy, M&A advisory, and post-merger integrations. Chewning is a graduate of The University of Virginia Darden School of Business
Civilian appointee in the U.S. Department of Defense
[edit]Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industrial Policy In October 2017, Secretary of Defense James Mattis appointed him to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (now Industrial Policy).[17] In this role, Chewning focused on issues at the intersection of technology, industrial enterprises, and national security. He supported a more geoeconomic approach to DoD industrial policy, specifically in countering the macro forces working against the health of the U.S. defense industrial base.[18] [19]
Chewning was the architect of the U.S. government-wide assessment of the manufacturing and defense industrial base called for in President Trump's Executive Order 13806.[20] The report identified five macro forces that needed to be addressed:[21]
- Sequestration and DoD budget uncertainty
- Decline of U.S. manufacturing capability and capacity
- Harmful U.S. government business practices
- Industrial policies of competitor nations – specifically China
- Diminishing U.S. stem and trade skills.
The unclassified version of the report identified over 300 specific industrial base risks ranging from access to rare earth magnets to single, sole source suppliers for key military equipment like cannon gun tubes.[21] He also testified before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to advocate to modernize the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and address the transfer of militarily relevant technologies to China.[22][23][24]
This culminated in the passage of the Foreign Investment Risk Modernization Act as part of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act.[25] In a November 2018 speech at the Atlantic Council on implementing defense industrial policy, Eric outlined five levers by which the Department of Defense implements its industrial policy. These include: acquisition policy, procurement decisions, DoD-direct investment, regulatory review of mergers through CFIUS and antitrust authorities, and exports controls.[26]
Chief of Staff to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense
[edit]In January 2019, then acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan appointed Chewning as the chief of staff to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense.[20] With the announcement, one outside observer remarked “in my mind Eric is probably the smartest person over there.”[27] During the summer of 2019, Chewning played a critical stabilizing role in the Pentagon as an unprecedented three separate secretaries led DoD in a 30 day period.[28]
Return to McKinsey
[edit]In January 2020, the Pentagon announced Chewning's planned departure from his role and a return to McKinsey, where Chewning had worked prior to working at the Pentagon.[29]
Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense
[edit]In office: January 2019 – April 2020
Preceded by: Kevin Sweeney
Succeeded by: Jen Stewart
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy)
[edit]In office: October 2017 – January 2019
Preceded by: Jerry McGinn (acting)
Succeeded by: Jennifer Santos
References
[edit]- ^ "Statement by Acting Chief Spokesperson Charles E. Summers on Appointme". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
- ^ "HII TAPS ERIC CHEWNING AS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & DEVELOPMENT". HII. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
- ^ Katz, Justin (2023-01-30). "HII taps Chewning, former DoD chief of staff, as new exec for strategy, development". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
- ^ The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, Fred Kaplan, pp. 254
- ^ Pp. 254
- ^ Pp. 255
- ^ Military Review Writing Contest Winners, [4], 2005-2006
- ^ Military Review: Postscript, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-08-18., March–April 2007
- ^ Military Review, [5], July/August, 2006.
- ^ Military Review, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2008-08-17., March/April 2007
- ^ The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, Fred Kaplan, pp. 256
- ^ Testimony before the House Armed Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-17., 25 July 2007
- ^ Eaton, Paul D. (November 10, 2006). "Opinion | An Army of One Less". The New York Times.
- ^ The American Interest Archived November 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "DoD Names McKinsey's Eric Chewning as Deputy Assistant Sec for Industrial Policy". Executive Gov. October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy > About > Eric D. Chewning". Archived from the original on 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ "Mattis names new DOD industrial base chief, others". InsideDefense.com. October 17, 2017.
- ^ "InsideDefense.com". Insidedefense.com. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: DoD's Chewning on Risks to the US Defense-Industrial Base". Defaeroreport.com. January 22, 2018.
- ^ a b Mehta, Aaron (January 16, 2019). "Pentagon industrial policy chief tapped as Shanahan's chief of staff". Defense News.
- ^ a b "Assessing and Strengthening The Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency" (PDF). Media.defense.gov. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ^ "Chewning Testimony" (PDF). Banking.senate.gov. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ^ "Eric Chewning Testimony" (PDF). Financialservices.house.gov. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ^ "Military Technology Transfer: Threats, Impacts, and Solutions for the Department of Defense | Committee Repository | U.S. House of Representatives". Docs.house.gov.
- ^ Borak, Donna (January 25, 2018). "Trump team backs tougher oversight on Chinese money in America". Money.cnn.com.
- ^ "Implementing Defense-Industrial Policy". Atlanticcouncil.org. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ Fanning, Eric (16 May 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Shanahan Keeping Top Staff If Confirmed". Breakingdefense.com.
- ^ "Esper Nominated as Defense Secretary, Spencer Now Acting Secretary". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
- ^ "Defense secretary's chief of staff, Eric Chewning, resigns". NBC News. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
