# Ash Carter ## Definition Defense secretary who announced DIUx's Austin hub in September 2016. The article attributes the placement decision to the city's talent, academia, innovation, and defense relationships. ## Regional role Innovation offices connect commercial builders with military requirements and suitable acquisition mechanisms. Soldier software development contributes an additional route for operational experience to become a product. T2COM brings force design, development, generation, training, and doctrine into a combined command structure. These institutions perform different functions within a common regional capability environment. ## Relationships - **Austin hub announcement:** [[wiki/Defense Innovation Unit Experimental|Defense Innovation Unit Experimental]]. - **announced local partner setting:** [[wiki/Capital Factory|Capital Factory]]. - **regional master router:** [[wiki/Austin Defense Technology|Austin Defense Technology]]. - **source article:** [[articles/How Austin Became a Different Kind of Defense Tech Epicenter|How Austin Became a Different Kind of Defense Tech Epicenter]]. - **civilian supplier and participation economy:** [[collections/The Civilian Intelligence Marketplace|The Civilian Intelligence Marketplace]]. - **intelligence architecture:** [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [[articles/How Austin Became a Different Kind of Defense Tech Epicenter#The Second Placement: The Pentagon Moves Its Front Door|Austin defense-tech article — The Second Placement: The Pentagon Moves Its Front Door]] — October 2026 revision; source for this entry’s regional role. - [Nextgov, DOD Launches New Tech Hub in Austin](https://www.nextgov.com/people/2016/09/dod-launches-new-tech-hub-in-austin/218257/)