David Packard - Defense Department

Defense Department

Upon entering office in 1969, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Packard U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense under Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. Packard resigned in December 1971 and returned to Hewlett-Packard in 1972 as Chairman of the Board.

While serving in the DoD, he brought concepts of resource management used in business to the military, as well as establishing the Defense Systems Management College.

Near the end of his time at DoD, Packard wrote the "Packard Memo" or "Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances". Enacted in February 1972, the Act describes exceptions to the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which limited the powers of the federal government to use the U.S. military for law enforcement, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress — noting that the Constitution provides an exception when needed "to prevent loss of life or wanton destruction of property and to restore governmental functioning and public order when sudden and unexpected civil disturbances, disasters, or calamities seriously endanger life and property and disrupt normal governmental functions to such an extent that duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situations" and "to protect Federal property and Federal governmental functions when the need for protection exists and duly constituted local authorities are unable or decline to provide adequate protection". § 214.5 states that "employment of DoD military resources for assistance to civil authorities in controlling civil disturbances will normally be predicated upon the issuance of a Presidential Executive order or Presidential directive authorizing", with exceptions "limited to:

1. Cases of sudden and unexpected emergencies as described in §215.4(c)(1)(i), which require that immediate military action be taken.
2. Providing military resources to civil authorities as prescribed in §215.9 of this part."

According to Lindorff, these exceptions essentially reinstate the possibility of Martial law in the U.S., prohibited since 1878.

In the 1970s and 1980s Packard was a prominent advisor to the White House on defense procurement and management. He served as Chairman of The Business Council in 1973 and 1974. In 1985-86, he served as chairman of The Packard Commission.