Manufacturing Mavericks with John Barnes

More than 75 additively manufactured parts are already on U.S. submarines. Now the Navy has a plan to scale far beyond that.

In this first-ever live episode of Manufacturing Mavericks, recorded at IMTS in Chicago, John Barnes welcomes back Capt. Jason Deichler, Chief of Staff to the Navy’s Director of Submarine Programs and former lead for advanced manufacturing for the submarine force. Jason breaks down the new Project Peculiar Document (PPD), the Navy’s path to “interchangeability” that lets approved additive parts stand in for cast and forged ones. He also explains why the submarine industrial base needs manufacturers to step forward and help close the gap.

This is one for the suppliers, machine shop owners, and makers who want to know how to get parts onto submarines.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why the submarine force needs a “one plus two” build cadence by 2030, and how disappearing casting and forging suppliers made additive a necessity
• What the PPD actually does: five material-process combinations using laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition, approved for lower-consequence parts without changing the drawing
• Why the surface Navy adopting the PPD could multiply the demand signal for additive parts by 10 to 20 times
• Why additive may not be the cheapest option, but may be the fastest or the only one, and how to put a value on time and readiness
• How suppliers can engage now, from the submarine industrial base website to buying machine time, converting 2D drawings to 3D, and designing for additive

Plus: the story behind “Shipping Up to Boston,” why a room full of calloused hands and Carhartt jackets impressed a submariner, and a generous helping of submarine dad jokes (sub-par golf scores included).

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com

What happens when you try to run a metal 3D printer in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on a rocking ship, mid-exercise? Retired Lt. Col. Chris Curran and Ensign Will Schlepper are finding out in real time.

In this episode of Manufacturing Mavericks, John Barnes talks with Chris Curran, Program Manager at CAMRE (the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education) at the Naval Postgraduate School, and Ensign Will Schlepper, a Navy nuclear engineer turned additive manufacturing researcher, joining live from aboard the HMCS Asterix during RIMPAC 2026. Chris shares how a Marine Corps ammunition problem led him to stand up a Tri-Service push for metal AM adoption across the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Will explains what it's actually like to turn bar stock into powder, and powder into finished parts, on a ship at sea with a joint Army-Navy-civilian team and zero room for error.

This is one for the problem solvers, the tinkerers, and anyone who's ever had to make precision equipment work in a very unprecise environment.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• How a Marine Corps ammunition shortfall turned into a Navy-wide additive manufacturing program
• What it takes to run a metal AM production line — printing, heat treat, and machining — on board a ship mid-deployment
• Why the team chose to ship bar stock instead of powder, and how humidity nearly wrecked the whole plan
• How 3D-printed drone hulls and unmanned surface vehicles are becoming part of the resupply chain
• Why "expeditionary manufacturing" barely existed as a concept a decade ago, and what it takes to bring it to the warfighter at the edge

A conversation packed with joint-service teamwork, dad jokes, and a live demonstration of just how seasick powder metallurgy can make you.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com

Sometimes the best investors are the ones who've lived inside the systems they're betting on. For Danny Piper, six years managing $56 billion in Air Force space contracts turned out to be the perfect training ground for a career picking winners in defense and aerospace manufacturing.

In this episode of Manufacturing Mavericks, John Barnes is joined by guest co-host Jennifer Coyne, Director of Programs at TBGA, to talk with Danny Piper, Managing Partner at Newcap Partners, a Los Angeles-based investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions for the middle market. A former Air Force acquisition officer and Air Force Academy graduate, Danny has spent over two decades helping smaller, innovative manufacturers navigate the long road from qualification to production, and now finds himself at the center of the venture capital and private equity wave reshaping defense tech.

This episode is for the founders chasing funding, the engineers wondering why qualification takes so long, and anyone trying to make sense of how Anduril, SpaceX, and a new generation of defense companies are rewriting the rules of the game.

In this conversation, you'll hear: 

·      Why "the first thing you hear about a new material is the best thing you'll ever hear about it"

·      How private equity, venture capital, and the government each play a different (and sometimes conflicting) role in funding manufacturing innovation

·      What Anduril's "defense products company" model means for the future of cost-plus contracting

·      Why Danny believes the U.S. needs longer-term capital to keep pace with China's manufacturing might

A candid, sharp-elbowed conversation about money, qualification cycles, and what it really takes to build hardware companies that matter. 

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com

Sometimes the best innovations start with a simple question: "Can that part be made additively?" For Capt. Jason Deichler, that question sparked a Navy-wide manufacturing revolution.

In this episode of Manufacturing Mavericks, John Barnes sits down with Capt. Deichler, newly appointed Chief of Staff for the Director of Submarines and former Commodore of Submarine Squadron TWO. Through his former role, Capt. Deichler was the driving force behind the U.S. Navy's advanced manufacturing push in the submarine force. A proud Yinzer, Jason shares how a conversation with Admiral Gaucher sent him on a mission that's reshaping how the Navy thinks about parts, readiness, and the industrial base.

This episode is for the problem solvers, the servant leaders, and anyone who believes the best time to swing is before the curve breaks.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• Why he chose submarines over the F-14 Tomcat (yes, he really did)
• How Admiral Gaucher's simple question sparked a Navy-wide manufacturing movement
• How cold spray technology turned a three-month submarine dry dock into a two-week fix

A conversation packed with leadership lessons, dad jokes, Hunt for Red October references, and a genuine love for the mission.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com

What does it take to leave a career in aerospace engineering and bet on yourself.....twice?

In this episode, John Barnes talks with Scott Bledsoe, founder of both TrueField Systems and Blue Force Technologies, about his journey from aerospace engineer to serial entrepreneur. Scott shares the pivotal moments that led him to take the leap, what he's learned building two companies in the defense and aerospace space, and the mindset shifts required when you trade a stable engineering role for the uncertainty of the founder's chair.

This is one for the engineers, the builders, and anyone who's ever looked at a problem in their industry and thought: I could solve that better.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• What drove Scott to leave aerospace engineering and start his own companies
• The early challenges of building TrueField Systems and Blue Force Technologies
• How his engineering background shapes the way he leads and innovates
• Lessons for aspiring founders in the defense and aerospace manufacturing space

An honest, practical conversation about what it really takes to build something new in a highly technical field.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com 

Additive manufacturing is changing the way militaries around the world maintain readiness, sustain equipment, and solve problems in the field. No one understands this better than Alex Champion.

In this episode, John Barnes speaks with Alex Champion, Additive Manufacturing Lead at the UK Ministry of Defence, one of the most prominent voices driving AM adoption across allied defense organizations. Alex shares what got him into the world of additive, how the UK MOD is approaching technology adoption, and what true understanding of additive manufacturing actually looks like in a defense context.

Manufacturing Mavericks goes international in this one, and the lessons apply far beyond the UK.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• How the UK MOD is integrating additive manufacturing into defense sustainment and operations
• The barriers to AM adoption inside large government organizations and how to overcome them
• What allied nations can learn from each other's approach to advanced manufacturing
• Why Alex believes deep technical understanding is non-negotiable for AM leaders

Essential listening for anyone working at the intersection of defense, innovation, and advanced manufacturing.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com

Few people have had a front-row seat to the evolution of America's defense industrial base quite like Adele Ratcliff.

In this episode, John Barnes is joined by Adele Ratcliff, recently retired from the U.S. Department of Defense's Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, where she spent her career working to ensure America's manufacturing and defense supply chains remain strong, resilient, and ready. Adele brings a rare perspective, the view from inside the Pentagon on what it really takes to sustain and grow a competitive industrial base, how government and industry can work together more effectively, and the lessons learned from decades on the front lines of national manufacturing policy.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• What the DoD's IBAS Program does and why it matters for manufacturers across the country
• The biggest vulnerabilities in America's defense industrial base today
• How Adele's career shaped her view on public-private partnership in manufacturing
• What she believes the next generation of manufacturing leaders needs to understand about national security

A fascinating conversation for anyone at the intersection of manufacturing, policy, and national resilience.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com 

What does it take to build a company at the frontier of manufacturing technology, and convince the world that additive manufacturing is ready for industrial-scale production?

In this episode of Manufacturing Mavericks, John Barnes sits down with Kevin Kassekert, CEO of VulcanForms, a company redefining what's possible with metal additive manufacturing. Kevin shares his journey into the industry, the philosophy behind VulcanForms' approach to scaling AM for defense and commercial applications, and what he believes most people get wrong about the future of manufacturing.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• How VulcanForms is pushing the boundaries of what additive manufacturing can produce at scale
• The leadership mindset required to build a frontier technology company
• Why Kevin believes the manufacturing renaissance in America is just getting started
• What it takes to win trust from defense and industrial customers as a new player

Whether you're a plant leader, a technology innovator, or someone who believes American manufacturing has a bold future ahead, this one's for you.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with John Barnes and The Barnes Global Advisors at barnesglobaladvisors.com