It started with a visit to war-torn Ukraine to gauge the use of drone technology. But as diplomatic momentum built up to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was tapped by President Donald Trump to help close the U.S.-backed deal.
“Driscoll is a trusted voice of the administration and a close ally,” a senior U.S. official told Military Times. The official said Driscoll emerged as a key member of the negotiating team due to a twist of fate.
“As these conversations were happening, he already had plans to be on the ground in Ukraine,” the official said.
The Army secretary had arranged a trip to Ukraine to see firsthand how its military utilizes drones in combat, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss scheduling.
Driscoll then went on to deliver a version of the Trump administration’s 28-point plan for peace in Ukraine to the country’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv.
By Sunday, Driscoll headed to Geneva to hold talks with a Ukrainian delegation alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and other top U.S. officials.
In the subsequent days, he was dispatched to Abu Dhabi to meet with the Russians. He is expected to return to Kyiv this week, at the request of Trump, to work again with the Ukrainians.
“The talks are going well and we remain optimistic,” Driscoll’s spokesman Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert said in a statement. “Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the U.S. interagency as these talks progress.”
It is the “Army-to-Army” dynamic that the Trump administration hopes will help Driscoll establish a good rapport with officials in Kyiv and Moscow, the senior U.S. official said.
Driscoll, at 38, was sworn in this past February as the youngest-ever U.S. Army secretary.
During his military career, he led a cavalry platoon in the 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Iraq in 2009. After three and a half years of service, he departed active duty to attend Yale Law School, where he met the future vice president, JD Vance.
A trusted member in Trump’s orbit, Driscoll is a close friend of Vance, and is often referred to as the “drone guy” by the president.
He leads over one million active, Guard and Reserve soldiers, as well as more than 265,000 civilian employees, according to the Army.
Driscoll briefly held a dual role of acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an unprecedented move for an Army secretary.
While Driscoll’s role as Army secretary typically involves bureaucratic tasks, such as overseeing budgets, he’s also taken on the challenge of diplomacy. And the president appears to be satisfied with Driscoll’s efforts so far.
“My team has made tremendous progress with respect to ending the war,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday. “In the hopes of finalizing this peace plan, I have directed my special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians. I will be briefed on all progress made.”
