As the Department of War (DoW) and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) adapt to an era of strategic competition, rapid technological change, and evolving operational demands, developing the next-generation workforce has become a critical national security imperative. This keynote will explore how the DoW is developing stronger partnerships across government, industry, and academia to prepare, develop, retain, and continuously evolve the current and emerging workforce required for tomorrow’s missions. It will also examine new approaches to workforce development (e.g., internships/apprenticeships and public-private partnerships) and culture change. 

The Department's transition from the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) to the Joint Force Requirements Process (JFRP) marks the most significant reform of defense requirements generation intended to reduce cycle times, improve alignment between requirements, acquisition, and resourcing, and accelerate the delivery of warfighting capability. This panel will examine how JFRP changes the relationship between government and industry by creating opportunities for earlier, more meaningful engagement throughout the capability development lifecycle. The discussion will also explore the need for adequate funding for requirements and how industry can better understand operational problems, contribute innovative commercial and dual-use technologies, and help reduce technical and programmatic risk earlier in the acquisition process.  

Recent conflict has reinforced that operational success depends on the ability to sustain the force under contested environments with increasingly complex threats. As adversaries target supply chains, transportation networks, and other critical infrastructure, we must rethink how to deliver technology, logistics, maintenance, fuel, munitions, and other essential services across dispersed and highly contested regional theaters. This panel will discuss operational realities and the acquisition process to ensure the Warfighter has supply chain resilience and security.

The government is pushing for faster acquisition, commercial-first approaches, and outcomes-based contracting. DoW and defense industrial base (DIB) are working collaboratively to ensure the acquisition workforce, contracting infrastructure, and DIB ready to move at that pace. This session will discuss the evolution of the DIB, balancing the role of primes with new entrants to support innovation for the warfighter, and how all parts of the DIB ecosystem must work together to evolve and meet the demands of the mission.