REalloys Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOY) appointed Joe Kasper as chair of its advisory board, the rare earth company announced. Kasper previously served as chief of staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and as a special government employee at the Pentagon focusing on critical material supply chains.

Kasper joins REalloys Chairman Stephen duMont, president and CEO of GM Defense, and General Jack Keane, a retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army. The company stated the appointments aim to secure rare earth supply chains for U.S. defense applications without Chinese involvement.

The appointment comes as China restricts exports of dysprosium, terbium and other materials used in defense systems. REalloys operates facilities in Ohio and holds the Hoidas Lake rare earth asset in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Kasper brings over 20 years of federal service across the House of Representatives, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense. He served in senior positions during the Trump administration, supporting the secretaries of defense, navy and air force. He is currently a principal at Ervin Graves Strategy Group.

"Having served at the center of U.S. defense policy, I know firsthand how acutely the Defense Industrial Base needs a domestic, zero-China-nexus source of rare earths," Kasper said in the company's statement.

REalloys operates a mine-to-magnet supply chain that includes upstream resource development, midstream processing and downstream manufacturing. The company's Ohio facility serves federal agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and NASA.

The company plans to announce additional advisory board appointments in coming months, according to the press release statement.