“Commercial first is vitally important," said the Army's Andrew Evans. But it "also has some challenges, too."

The stakes are especially high because the future of U.S. military capability will depend heavily on technologies developed outside the traditional defense industry.

The guidance directs the implementation of an executive order that President Trump issued to federal agencies last month.

"The first thing is, we are going to start to cut the things we don't want or need,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told reporters Thursday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Dan ‘Razin’ Caine touted his business background at his confirmation hearing Tuesday.

“I think now we’re in an even better position to focus on what the big rocks are, which are really around how do we lower the barriers…