Okay kiddo, so the Secretary of Defense is like the boss of all the people who work in the military, and he or she wants to make sure that everyone is working together as a team to get things done. To do that, the Secretary of Defense has created something called a cross-functional team.
A cross-functional team is a group of people who come from different parts of the military, like the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and they work together to solve a problem or complete a mission. Each person on the team has their own special skills and knowledge, and they all work together to make sure that everything gets done right.
The Secretary of Defense has given these cross-functional teams a lot of power to make decisions and get things done quickly. That means they can work faster and more efficiently than if they were working alone.
So, imagine you are playing on a soccer team, and each player is good at something different. One player is really good at kicking, another is great at running fast, and another is good at blocking the ball from the other team. If you all work together and use your different skills, you can win the game. That's kind of how a cross-functional team works!
Overall, the Secretary of Defense has empowered these cross-functional teams to work together to solve problems and get things done quickly and efficiently.