Kaminski, Lyles, Appointed To Defense Science Board

The Defense Department yesterday announced the appointments of Paul Kaminski as chairman of the Defense Science Board for a term effective immediately through Dec. 31, 2011, and retired Air Force Gen. Lester Lyles as vice chairman for a term effective immediately through Dec. 31, 2010.

Kaminski is chairman and chief executive officer of Technovation Inc. as well as chairman of the RAND Corporation Board of Trustees. He served in DoD during the Clinton administration as under secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology from October 1994 to May 1997. He was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2006.

Lyles is currently an independent consultant. He served as director of the Missile Defense Agency. from 1996-1999; as the 27th vice chief of staff of the Air Force from 1999 to 2000 and as commander of Air Force Materiel Command from April 2000 to August 2003.

Both sit on the board of General Dynamics [GD].

The Defense Science Board is DoD’s senior advisory body on scientific, technical, manufacturing, and other matters of special importance to the department.

Overall, it has 11 new members Gates says. They are: Richard Danzig, former Navy secretary and Obama campaign adviser; Chuck Hagel, former GOP Nebraska senator; Robert Kaplan, journalist and Center for a New American Security fellow; Andrew Krepinevich, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments president; Rudy deLeon, former deputy secretary of defense; John Nagl, Center for a New American Security fellow; Sarah Sewall, Harvard University faculty member; Larry Welch, former Air Force chief of staff; Stephen Biddle, Council on Foreign Relations fellow; Robert Gallucci, former assistant secretary of state; and Wendy Sherman, former special advisor to President Clinton. The board gives policy advice to the defense secretary, deputy secretary and under secretary for policy.