Government Matters

Coordinating cyber defenses across the government

Chris Inglis, national cyber director, details the state of cybersecurity across the country and the federal government’s overarching strategy to combat cyber threats in coordination with the private sector

GSA prioritizes White House equity initiatives

Jim Williams, partner at Schambach & Williams Consulting, discusses GSA’s focus on increasing opportunities for small business government contracting and prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility

Filling long-vacant permanent OMB leadership role

Danny Werfel, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, discusses President Biden’s nomination of an OMB controller and the biggest priorities she will tackle if confirmed

Importance of American Rescue Plan Act for federal workers

Don Kettl, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, discusses federal employees’ use of emergency paid leave funding as well as the Covid-19 vaccine mandate

Mitigating supply chain risks for the Air Force

Stephen Gray, director of the 448th Supply Chain Management Wing at the Air Force Sustainment Center, discusses how the pandemic has impacted Air Force supply chains and what steps his wing takes to ensure resiliency and preparedness

Challenges of military personnel refusing vaccine

Katherine Kuzminski, senior fellow and director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at CNAS, discusses the refusal of thousands of service members to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, potential impact and actions the military could take in response

Nearing deadline for defense contractor vaccine mandate

Valerie Insinna, reporter for Breaking Defense, discusses what we know so far about the impact of the federal contractor Covid-19 vaccine mandate on the workforce and how defense executives are preparing

Solving issues in military training, culture

Gen. Mike Holmes (USAF, Ret.), former commander for Air Combat Command, now board chair at Red 6, and Daniel Robinson, CEO and founder of Red 6 and former F-22 Raptor pilot in the U.S. Air Force, discuss the Air Force’s pilot shortage and recommendations for addressing it and improving pilot training

Partnership for Public Service announces “Sammies” award winners

Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, highlights some of the winners of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals and talks about the history of the award program

Easing military tensions in the Indo-Pacific

Chris Li, director of research for the Indo-Pacific Security Project at Harvard University, discusses concerns regarding the lack of communication between U.S. and Chinese military operational commanders

The latest on TSP’s Converge Program

Kim Weaver, director of external affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, discusses progress on the Converge Program and improvements it will provide for Thrift Savings Plan participants

Top innovations in Defense Department research and engineering

Heidi Shyu, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, discusses some of the major defense innovation initiatives and the new innovation steering group she leads

Modernizing Army with next-generation combat vehicles

Maj. Gen. Ross Coffman (U.S. Army), director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team, discusses innovating with robotics, driverless Army combat vehicles and other technologies

Effects of a continuing resolution on DoD initiatives

Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis and the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS, discusses disruptions to initiatives caused by the continuing resolution and the potential for workarounds

Hypersonic weapons critical to future warfare

Gillian Bussey, director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, details recent progress the Defense Department has made on hypersonics technology and its applications for warfighters

Ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion of federal services

Kimberlyn Leary, senior equity fellow at the Office of Management and Budget and senior vice president at the Urban Institute, explains how two executive orders are embedding equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility into federal agency processes

Ensuring interoperability for DoD’s JADC2 program

Nick Sinai, former deputy chief technology officer at the White House, explains the importance of interoperability in defense systems, recent investments in this area and priorities for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)

Future of AI development for the Pentagon

Nicolas Chaillan, former chief software officer for the U.S. Air Force, discusses concerns about the pace of U.S. artificial intelligence deployment compared to China and recommendations for the Defense Department

Facing China’s growing technology advancements

Dustin Carmack, research fellow in the Center for Technology Policy at the Heritage Foundation, discusses China’s rapid technology development, surveillance tools and ethical concerns

Boosting innovation, collaboration for VA health care

Allison Amrhein, Director of Operations at the Veterans Health Administration Innovators Network, discusses the upcoming Innovation Experience (iEX) Virtual Series event to showcase innovations to support veterans

Sending right message to China on nuclear submarine deal

Maj. Gen. John Ferrari (U.S. Army, Ret.), Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses strategically communicating to China about the timeline of the AUKUS partnership

CISA seeks industry input to solve cyber issues

Bob Bigman, Founder of 2BSecure, discusses his take on the recent request for information issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Modernizing the Army to win future battles

Gen. Mike Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, discusses progress the command has made since it started in 2018, major initiatives and collaboration with industry

Recapping this year’s AUSA annual meeting

Gen. Robert Brown (U.S. Army, Ret.), president and chief executive officer of AUSA, talks about the organization’s recent in-person conference and its overall mission