On this special customer spotlight episode, Tyler sits down with Ivan Zhang, co-founder of Cohere, to unpack the evolution of secure, operationally effective AI—from research lab to real-world deployments. 

Whether you're an AI builder, a public-sector leader, or just someone curious about where next-gen models are heading, this episode dives into what it really takes to deploy language models in the wild: from running LLMs on ships and air-gapped systems, to building trust with hesitant users, to rethinking the interface entirely.

What's happening on the Second Front:

• Why secure-by-default AI is a prerequisite in defense, healthcare, and finance
• The real blockers to adoption (surprise: it’s not the tech)
• How to make AI useful for people who don’t sit behind screens
• What it looks like when your AI speaks with urgency—or doesn’t speak at all

Connect with Ivan:

• LinkedIn: Ivan Zhang

Connect with Tyler:

• LinkedIn: Tyler Sweatt

For our 100th episode—and our first ever live recording—former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller flips the script and interviews host Tyler Sweatt.

What follows is equal parts roast, reflection, and rallying cry. Tyler opens up about choosing West Point, serving after 9/11, life as a combat engineer in Afghanistan, and the winding path that led him to build and lead Second Front Systems. Chris pushes him on leadership, culture, organizational debt, and what it feels like to become “the guy you used to make fun of.”

Together they get candid about:

• The origins (and authenticity) of All Quiet
• Military lessons that don’t translate to business
• Why organizational debt is the hardest part of being CEO
• Why Tyler believes DoD innovation spending is broken—and what needs to change now

It’s unfiltered, funny, and bluntly honest—the perfect way to mark 100 episodes of mission-obsessed conversation.

Connect with Chris: 

• Twitter: Chris Miller

Connect with Tyler: 

• LinkedIn: Tyler Sweatt

What happens when a bunch of Palantir and Lockheed alums get fed up with how hard it is to do business with the government—and actually do something about it? You get Pryzm: the common operating system for capture.

In this episode, Tyler sits down with Nick LaRovere, co-founder and CEO of Pryzm, to talk about building for the part of the defense ecosystem everyone hates (but no one can ignore): procurement. From scraping sam.gov to stitching together Salesforce, JIRA, and inboxes, Nick shares how Pryzm is bringing order to chaos—and helping both industry and government move faster.

They also get into:

• What it really takes to build a mission-driven company—and why most give up
• The hidden cost of stovepiped teams and siloed data
• How policy, budget, and capture are finally starting to talk to each other
• Why talent and team dynamics are just as critical as the tech you’re building

What does it really take to get disruptive tech to the fleet? 

In this episode, Tyler is joined by Noam Oz—former Director of Innovation Operations at NavalX and now Navy Portfolio Lead at Divergent—to unpack what’s working, what’s broken, and what’s changing across the national security ecosystem. Noam brings hard-earned insights from both sides of the table.

What's happening on the Second Front

• Lessons from building inside NavalX and the Navy's Unmanned Task Force 
• Common mistakes startups make when trying to work with the Navy 
• How to translate technical innovation into operational relevance 
• Why understanding incentives—not just requirements—is key 
• Where real momentum is building across government, industry, and venture

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with longtime friend and Harpoon Ventures GP Larsen Jensen—Olympian, SEAL, and now defense tech investor—for a raw conversation on transitioning out of service and building tech that actually gets to the warfighter. Larsen also shares why he believes we’re at an inflection point in defense tech and why the next generation of founders has a duty (and an opportunity) to step up.

What’s Happening on the Second Front

• Why this is the golden age of defense innovation
• How Black Flag is helping founders navigate the maze of government
• What needs to change—fast—to keep private capital in the fight

Connect with Larsen Jensen: LinkedIn

Connect with Tyler Sweatt: LinkedIn

On this customer spotlight episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, TJ Rowe sits down with John Conafay, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrate—a platform built to manage complex programs for the world’s most ambitious hardware. Today, it’s helping the Space Force move faster.

John shares what it took to move from fragmented workflows and siloed tools to a secure, scalable solution now deployed across defense and commercial space programs. They also dig into what it means to build dual-use software that actually works—for the mission, and the people behind it.

What's Happening on the Second Front

• Why product-market fit with government isn’t that different from commercial
• What makes the government a better customer than most startups expect
• Why trust and usability—not compliance alone—define real dual-use software
• Why risk isn’t optional when you’re building for national security

If you’re building tech for the front lines—space, cyber, or otherwise—this one’s for you.

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with longtime friend and fellow West Point grad Rob Boeckmann, now Director of Social at Black Rifle Coffee Company, to talk about his unconventional path from field artillery officer to global brand strategist.

They dig into the real-world parallels between military ops and modern marketing, how to build brand voice with precision, and why good marketers operate like fire support officers. Rob also shares lessons from running social at AWS, launching a top influencer agency in Europe, and how AI is reshaping creative execution.

What’s Happening on the Second Front:

• Transitioning from active duty to creative/brand roles
• Lessons from marketing at scale (AWS, Black Rifle Coffee)
• How military leadership translates to commercial success
• The grind and strategy behind modern social media
• The role of AI in creative and operational acceleration

In this special episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, we’re bringing you a live recording from Offset 2025. Moderated by Danielle Metz, 2F Chief Policy Officer, this panel tackles a question that’s easy to say but hard to operationalize: how do we actually build trust between government and industry to deliver secure, mission-ready technology? 

Danielle is joined by Rob Nolen, Chief Technologist for DoD at AWS, Dan Garcia, Chief Information Security Officer at EnterpriseDB, and Eric Sanders, Chief Information Security Officer at DHS (I&A) and, together, they unpack the cultural and structural baggage that slows innovation—and explore what it’ll take to shift hearts, minds, and bureaucracies toward impact.

What’s Happening on the Second Front: 

• Building security into systems from the start (not bolting it on later)
• Measuring impact through velocity, not vanity metrics
• Risk tolerance vs. risk avoidance in government tech
• The role of policy and regulation in accelerating trust
• Why a shared language between builders, buyers, and approvers is mission-critical

In this special keynote episode recorded live at Offset Symposium, Senator Markwayne Mullin joins 2F CEO Tyler Sweatt to talk national security, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and the urgent need for change across government and defense.

Senator Mullin lays out a clear-eyed view of the current state: the technology is moving faster than the government—and without bold action, we risk falling even further behind. From budgeting flexibility to breaking down silos across the DoD, this conversation covers where the gaps are, how private sector partnerships can help, and what it’ll take to drive real reform.

What’s Happening on the Second Front:

• Why relationships—not just policy—drive change
• How the DoD can embrace a “get to yes” culture
• Making room in the budget for faster, more flexible solutions
• Why the next 18 months are critical for national security transformation

If we’re serious about change, we can’t wait for permission. Tune in for a candid, high-impact conversation from the Offset main stage.

This week on All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler sits down with Bret Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Sustainment, to talk shop on reshoring U.S. manufacturing, rethinking the defense industrial base, and why clipboards and PDFs are still running the depots. Bret’s got the receipts—combat deployments with the 75th Ranger Regiment, 15+ years in tech, and now building one of the largest networks of non-traditional U.S. manufacturers. 

What’s happening on the Second Front: 

• How small manufacturers hold the key to reindustrialization
• The real bottlenecks behind readiness: not weapons, but parts
• Why defense acquisition needs fewer PDFs and more CRMs
• The case for a U.S. “manufacturing ready reserve”

Connect with Bret 

• Linkedin: Bret Boyd

Connect with Tyler

• LinkedIn: Tyler Sweatt