For the Love of DARPA.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: UP FRONT

Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin came by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's big 60th anniversary celebration at National Harbor, Maryland, to give his congratulations and heap praise on one of the organizations under his purview.

"In my lifetime, I have watched this country go from celebrating excellence to celebrating averageness. And that is not a good trend," he said.

"At DARPA we still celebrate excellence. Nothing is more important than that," he said.

At the agency, "process is treated with a dismissive air," he noted. Griffin recounted his first meeting with House Armed Services...