Pentagon Recruits Bankers for Defense Unit

The U.S. Pentagon is establishing a new 30-person "Economic Defense Unit" to invest $200 billion over three years in defense-related deals, aiming to counter China's economic influence. The department is actively recruiting investment bankers from firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America for a two-to-three-year secondment program, according to a document reviewed on March 11, 2026.

This initiative seeks to leverage private equity expertise to identify and fund critical national security industries. The unit will report to David Lorch and George K. Kollitides II, with oversight from Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg. The program is designed to address perceived vulnerabilities from past outsourcing and to deter China from achieving military superiority.

The recruitment brief highlights the opportunity for bankers to deploy significant capital and gain access to high-level government officials and privileged information. This move aligns with the administration's broader strategy to direct private capital towards strategic national interests, building on previous Pentagon investments in private companies, such as a $1 billion stake in an L3Harris spinoff.