Pentagon brass Tuesday announced a list of new appointments to the influential Defense Science Board (DSB), including several former senior Defense Department officials and military four-star commanders.

The panel, a federal advisory board, undertakes several high-profile studies each year and reports directly to the defense secretary, giving it more sway than other permanent Pentagon study groups.

"Secretary of Defense Gates believes the DSB needs to be a professional board representing the best scientific and expert advice available to the Department of Defense," Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in a statement. "We are grateful to these superb individuals for their willingness to serve."

Included in the new set of members are retired Gen. Michael Hagee, a former Marine Corps commandant; retired Gen. Paul Kern, a former commander of Army Materiel Command; and retired Adm. William Fallon, a former chief of Central and Pacific commands. John Deutch, a former deputy defense secretary; Jacques Gansler, a one-time Pentagon acquisition chief; and Donald Kerr, a former principal deputy director of national intelligence, also are now DSB members.

John Douglass, a former Navy acquisition executive and AIA chief, and David Chu, who once was undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, also are now panel members, as are Whitten Peters, a one-time Air Force secretary, and John Stenbit, a former assistant defense secretary for networks and information integration.

Several former officials, including Craig Fields, a one-time Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency director, were named senior DSB fellows.

A full list of the new DSB members and senior fellows can be found at http://www.defense.gov/news/dsbmembers.pdf.