For many years, STEM educators have been told by private industry leaders in the technical fields about the nationwide need for workers trained to handle STEM-related jobs. That need is felt by branches of the U.S. military, too. The Department of Defense has a keen interest in building the technical workforce of tomorrow, some of whom might enter the military or take civilian defense jobs, all helping to protect our nation. The Department of Defense STEM Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2021-2025 outlines the department’s efforts to ensure a STEM-educated employee pool exists into America’s future. We asked Louie R. Lopez, director of the Department of Defense STEM, for details:

Q: How does the DoD plan to support each goal?

A: The department intends to release an implementation plan sometime in fiscal year 2022 that will illustrate how the various DoD STEM programs will support the strategic goals and objectives over the next five years.

This implementation plan is intended to evolve over the next five years and allow us to collectively monitor our progress in supporting the goals and objectives of the DoD STEM Strategic Plan.

Q: What are some exemplary programs under the DoD that are aligned to the strategic plan?

A: DoD STEM offers a plethora of STEM educational and career development opportunities, programs, scholarships, internships, apprenticeships, events, competitions and more for students of all ages, educators and current workforce throughout the pre-K to workforce development pathway.

Some exemplary DoD STEM programs that are aligned to the strategic plan include (but are not limited to):

• SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program.
• Work experiential programs across the department (internships/fellowships/apprenticeships).
• Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) portfolio of STEM opportunities.
• Naval STEM activities.
• LEGACY program by the Air Force.
• Joint Science and Technology Institute by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
• National Security Agency’s GenCyber program.
• STARBASE program.
• DoDEA Educational Partnerships.
• Tri-service (Army, Navy and Air Force) Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.

Please refer to our website in the “Participate in DoD STEM” section located at https://dodstem.us/participate/ for a comprehensive list of DoD STEM programs that support the strategic plan.

These opportunities are, in part, provided by DoD STEM’s network of partners from academia, industry, not-for-profit organizations, local government and federal government agencies, including the DoD.

For a summary of the impact of DoD STEM programs, please refer to the DoD STEM Education and Outreach Portfolio Overview: Descriptive Analysis for Fiscal Year 2017-2018, located on “Our Impact” section at https://dodstem.us/about/impact/.

Report on fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2020 will be forthcoming.

Q: Each branch of the military runs programs, such as the Army/AEOP or the Navy’s MEEP program – what does this plan say about those efforts?

A: The fiscal year 2021-fiscal year 2025 DoD STEM Strategic Plan was developed in collaboration with support from STEM leadership across the department and DoD components, who comprise DoD Services, including the Army via AEOP, the Navy/Marine Corps via Naval STEM and the Air Force via Air Force STEM, as well as DoD agencies, such as the National Security Agency, Missile Defense Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of Defense Education Activity and more.

To learn more about DoD STEM’s partners across the department, please refer to https://dodstem.us/about/partners/.

The plan was developed together with leadership, stakeholders and staff who are responsible for, and directly invested in, the execution and success of STEM programs across the department.

Note of clarification: the MEEP program is a congressionally funded effort under NDEP. It is a DoD-wide program in which program solicitation and awards are executed through the Navy’s Office of Naval Research.

Q: How does the DOD’s STEM plan mesh with other STEM plans, such as the federal STEM plan, for example?

A: The 2018 Federal STEM Education 5-Year Strategic Plan presents a vision for a future where all Americans have lifelong access to high-quality STEM education and America will be the global leader in STEM literacy, innovation and employment.

As a participating member of CoSTEM (the federal Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education) and FC-STEM (Federal Coordination in STEM Education), DoD is invested in supporting the alignment of its STEM education efforts to the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan. Accordingly, the fiscal year 2021-25 DoD STEM Strategic Plan aligns to the federal strategy’s aspirational goals and educational pathways.

Q: How can STEM Network Leaders support the DOD STEM plan in their home states?

A: DoD’s primary mission of defending and ensuring that our nation remains safe depends heavily on the support of its research, engineering and technology development/innovation.

Ensuring that our nation remains at the top in global technology competition, the department works and collaborates closely with partners from academia and industry. Just as we depend on these partners in technology development, we must also work hand-in-hand in developing STEM talent to ensure that the nation has enduring access to technical talent.

I believe STEM Network Leaders play an integral role in ensuring that their communities, schools, teachers, parents and students within their respective states are aware of the many STEM opportunities that DoD STEM has to offer within their respective states and nationally.

Forging strategic partnerships with STEM Network Leaders, state educational agencies, other state/national networks and other federal agencies is vital to the DoD STEM mission.