Publications
Long before this Substack, we’ve written and spoken about Defense Tech and Acquisition for years. Here’s a compilation of our works for your reference.
Strategic Defense Acquisition Reforms
Second Breakfast: Take on Defense Reform, ChinaTalk Pod, Nov 2025
Its Time to Retire Acquisition Debt, Oct 2025
Mapping the EOs, Memos, and Actions, Jun 2025
Innovative Acquisition Plenary Panel, NPS ARS, Jun 2025
Applying Elon’s Algorithm to the DoD, Jan 2025
Being Responsive to Combatant Commanders, Oct 2024
How to Transform the World’s Biggest Bureaucracy: The Pentagon, Jan 2024
Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption Final, Atlantic Council, Jan 2024
Final Report Launch Event, Jan 2024
Former Senior Defense Officials on Defense Innovation, CSPAN, Apr 2023
Before It’s Too Late, Nov 2023
The Future of Innovation in National Security, Building the Base Pod, Jul 2023
Addition by Subtraction in 2023, Mar 2023
Bridging the DoD’s Valley of Death, NextGov Podcast, Apr 2022
Driving Innovation in Acquisition, DAU Webcast, Apr 2022
Shake Off the Pentagon's Industrial-Age Bureaucracy, Defense One, May 2021
Five by Five: Five Disciplines and Five Strategic Initiatives for the Pentagon in the Digital Age, Mar 2021
Proactively Tailored Acquisition Models, Mar 2017
WSARA: Baselining Programs Early Compounds the Problems, Defense AT&L Magazine, Jul 2010
Rapid Acquisition
Reverse Innovation in Global Defense, Sep 2025
Speed is the Essence of War, May 2025
Reworking Defense Acquisition, Jul 2024
Transitioning Innovation to Field Lethality, America’s Futures Series, Jan 2024
Scale and Accelerate Successful Demos, AC Commission, Jan 2024
How To Properly Execute an MTA Program, Jul 2023
Acquisition vs Operational Risk, Jan 2023
Get to Know the Middle Tier of Awesome…, Acquisition, Defense One, Sep 2022
Middle Tier of Awesome, Strategic Institute Podcast, Oct 2022
New Acquisition Titles, Jul 2021
Deliver at the Speed of Relevance, NPS, May 2021
Harnessing Rapid Innovative Culture to Invigorate the Adaptive Acquisition Framework, NPS May 2020
Accelerate Speed to Mission Impact (briefing, paper), NPS, May 2019
Accelerating Defense Acquisition, May 2019
Speed and Agility: How Defense Acquisition Can Enable Innovation and Rapid Technology Insertion, (briefing, paper) NPS, May 2016
Portfolio Acquisition
Establishing Dedicated Unmanned PEOs, Jun 2025
Rethinking APBs, May 2025
Empower PEOs with New Capability Portfolio Model, AC Commission, Jan 2024
Playing the Odds in National Security, Nov 2023
PEO Portfolio Metrics, Oct 2023
3 Acquisition Strategy Scenarios, Aug 2023
Are MDAPs Too Big to Succeed?, Feb 2023
Bad Idea: Managing Defense Requirements, Budgets, and Acquisitions via Programs, CSIS, Dec 2021
Experimental Mid-Tier Acquisition: A Continuously Competitive Portfolio Pipeline Ecosystem, MITRE, May 2018
Think Portfolios, Not Programs, Defense AT&L Magazine, Nov 2014
Commercial Acquisition
Military Capabilities as a Service, Aug 2025
Commercial Competition, Dec 2024
Pentagon: Buy Commercial Already, May 2024
Elevate DIU and Champion Commercial Acquisition, AC Commission, Jan 2024
Buy Commercial or Lose, Oct 2023
PPBE Budget Reforms
New Defense Budget Structure, Feb 2025
Consolidate PEs, Reset Reprogramming Authorities, and Budget Docs, AC Commission, Jan 2025
State of Defense Appropriations, NDIA ETI Podcast, Oct 2024
Different Budget Approaches, May 2024
RDER, APFIT, and the Valley of Death, Sep 2023
DoD Needs Fewer Colors of Money, Sep 2023
The Modern Defense Budgeting System, May 2023
How to Avoid or Minimize CRs, Mar 2023
What it takes in acquisition to deter China, Acquisition Talk Podcast, Sep 2022
Five First Steps to a Modern Defense Budgeting System, Aug 2022
Pentagon needs a six-pillar foundation, The Hill, Mar 2022
The Pillars of the Modern Defense Budgeting System, Feb 2022
A bridge fund can’t solve the Pentagon’s emerging tech problem, Defense News, Mar 2021
Requirements Reform
Modernizing Defense Requirements for the 21st Century, Jun 2024
Modernize JCIDS/DoD Requirements System, AC Commission, Jan 2024
Modernizing DoD Requirements, Mar 2021
Software Acquisition
Commission on Software Defined Warfare, Atlantic Council, Mar 2025
Software-Defined Warfare, AC Commission, Mar 2025
All the Special Authorities, Jan 2024
State of the Software Acquisition Pathway, Rise8, Apr 2023
How Agile Development Can Transform Defense IT Acquisition, May 2015
Defense Agile Acquisition Guide, Mar 2014
Industrial Base
The Deterrence Industrial Base, Oct 2025
Rethinking Contracting Norms for a Modern Defense Industrial Base, Mar 2024
Reduce Barriers for Doing Business with the DoD, AC Commission, Jan 2024
Strengthen capital market, pathways for critical tech, AC Commission, Jan 2024
State of the Defense Industrial Base, Feb 2023
Major Initiatives
Going Nuclear on Nuclear, May 2025
Iron Dome for America, Feb 2025
Replicator In Action, Dec 2023
Digital Transformation
Digital Pentagon, Defense AT&L Magazine, Nov 2013
Defense Acquisition Enterprise 2.0, Defense AT&L Magazine, Mar 2010
China
In the News
Under DIU 3.0, innovation hub looks to take on more embedded role throughout DoD, Breaking Defense, Sep 2023
Steps to take now for defense acquisition reform, Fed News Network, Apr 2023
Oversight or overkill? DoD faces new congressional order to detail Mid-Tier Acquisitions, Breaking Defense, Feb 2023
2022 Defense Authorization Bill (Once Again) Looks to Reform How DOD Buys Tech, NextGov, Dec 2021