GigEagle’s Post

DoD needs talent management reform in order to face current & future threats. "The U.S. military should embrace a truly permeable and agile talent ecosystem that recognizes servicemembers as so much more than occupational and skill codes that are five to 15 years behind society." To fix the inefficiency and artificial silos across the services to match personnel with requirements for expertise, DoD should leverage a prototype program called GigEagle, "a real-time marketplace for talent across the joint force that links mission stakeholders with the right talent at the right time, regardless of location, using precision talent-sourcing algorithms and a mobile-enabled user interface." "People -- not technology -- are America's decisive military advantage. The American military trains leaders to be bold, creative, and innovative, and civilian leadership ... should act now to unlock human capital for modern wars." #defensetech #defenseinnovation https://lnkd.in/eCmxWmh2

A great oped about a seriously important capability needed to better leverage talent in today’s armed forces. It was a pleasure to be associated with DoD’s “Gig Eagle” initiative throughout its piloting and prototyping. Although much work has been done for this program, even more modernization and adoption is needed in the various HR/personnel management functions of our nation’s All Volunteer Force. Our pacing threat dictates that we should leverage a much more granular understanding of the military’s workforce. The industrial two-dimensional process of managing force structure with only pay-grade and occupational specialty data is simply outdated. The time to move forward and fully implement innovations like Gig Eagle is now! #talentmanagement

In May, I announced that I was taking a 2.5 month military assignment to help launch GigEagle across the DoD. In that post, I also mentioned using the opportunity to get back to professional writing about military talent management. Super proud to be back today with a by-line at War on the Rocks along with Mike McGinley! "Agile talent management across the joint force" is a concept that many will struggle to understand when they've spent 20, 30, or 40 years in a system focused on skill codes and billets. "In 2024, the U.S. military has almost no idea how many people in its ranks can fly drones, write software, or perform countless other civilian skills that lack official military codes. Existing personnel systems cannot fathom having expertise outside of one’s primary occupation, so the reserve components of the armed forces — and even many active or civilian members — are not fully valued. Even when they have skill codes, services and components create talent silos — inefficiencies that are no longer acceptable. Military personnel bureaucracy usually lags society, but the department ought to treat talent management like a modernization priority and demand better." "When the department does track talent, service silos create artificial inefficiencies — shortages in one service that can be filled by excesses in another. America is one nation with one Defense Department, and a truly joint force would allow for easy cross-service collaboration. Instead, the department needs to embrace “beyond team” talent and “extreme teaming.” The Navy or Space Force should be able to tap an infantryman in the National Guard with civilian expertise in data science for a few days or weeks to create analytics dashboards, but current policies for approval, funding, and compensating such scenarios are severely restricted or, at best, unclear and outdated. Specifically, the department needs to address outdated policies that emphasize year-long mobilizations and lock out the Individual Ready Reserve." Defense Entrepreneurs Forum Defense Innovation Board Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Kris Saling Jay Long Craig Robbins Charles Stewart Chaveso Cook, Ph.D. Chuck Kubik Ryan Pallas Eric Rahman https://lnkd.in/eRmzA9U9

Interesting read from War on the Rocks regarding talent management in the DoD…I’d say most of my Air Force friends can recall at least one scenario where “the Air Force’s needs” trumped proper talent management. I agree that talent agility not only enables the mission, but creates buy-in and retention when we let our Airmen (and other service members) shine in areas they’re skilled and confident. Glad to read about the senior leaders getting after this problem set and pursuring positive change! #Modernization

One of the most personally compelling and resonant lessons from Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET)'s report "Building the Tech Coalition: How Project Maven and the U.S. 18th Airborne Corps Operationalized Software and Artificial Intelligence for the Department of Defense" (https://lnkd.in/gXnffJzp) is the critical role of “trilingual” leaders—those who possess a deep understanding of military operations, emerging technologies, and the complexities of government contracting. Triple Threat: Ops, Tech, Acquisition These leaders are not just bridging gaps; they are forging new paths, enabling transformative innovation that would otherwise be impossible. Why does this matter? 1️⃣ Bridging Worlds: They ensure that technological advancements align with operational needs and navigate the often-complex government acquisition processes to bring these innovations to life. 2️⃣ Driving Innovation: Innovation doesn’t happen in the lab—it happens when visionary leaders create the conditions for technology to meet real-world challenges. Trilingual leaders are the catalysts who make this happen. 3️⃣ Sustaining Momentum: The speed of technological change is relentless. Leaders who understand all three domains—operations, technology, and contracting—are essential in keeping pace and ensuring that our innovations are not just cutting-edge but also practical and sustainable. The greatest thing we can do for our national security is cultivate and empower trilingual leaders. These leaders will be the ones who turn vision into reality. Who are the trilingual government leaders you work with?

I would also add the challenge of balancing current mission requirements and the need to innovate towards future challenges. True change is neither easy or comfortable but it is necessary and leading through that requires empowerment, accountability, and innovation acceptance. https://lnkd.in/eWnXdQHz

“What new innovation in the military today gets you most excited and how would it have helped you during your time in service?” Russell Kischuk, PMP: The innovation that excites me the most is the development of crowd-sourcing ideas for improvement across all ranks of the United States Department of Defense.  “You were given what you were given,” and there were no effective pathways for advocating how things could be improved upon or how to make operations better and more effective.  The new trend of establishing open-topic processes and leaning into programs like SBIR and STTR enables warfighters to interact directly with industry and collaborate on how the tech can be applied to operational use cases.  That’s the type of innovation that gets me excited. Applying this approach gives hope to the warfighter who would otherwise feel like they have no voice or impact in improving America's fighting force.  This would have personally helped me while serving because I often had no mechanism or approach to raising ideas other than through our chain of command, which didn’t have the formal authority to make changes to things like enterprise systems. However, having a channel to suggest new improvements and ideas would have given me the ability to drive more positive changes and lasting impacts while serving.  Russell Kischuk, PMP served in the US Army Finance Corps and is currently VP, Portfolio Management at The Outpost.

"The current US defense acquisition system was not designed to keep pace with today’s rapid rate of innovation. Despite the DoD’s recognition of these emergent dual-use technologies, lengthy budget timelines, inflexible procurement options, and outdated internal procedures create unnecessary barriers between the DoD and nontraditional companies seeking collaboration. Such limitations disincentivize smaller firms from engaging with military projects due to survival concerns in commercial markets; the resulting frustration often compels those that engage to drop out." - Atlantic Council Nexus LCM specializes in implanting Logistics Functional Area Services (LOGFAS) - the suite of tools supporting NATO logistics processes for strategic movement and transportation, multinational deployment planning and execution, in-theatre movement scheduling, and sustainment planning. It is developed, maintained and supported by the Service Support and Business Application Services of NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency). To learn more about Nexus LCM, contact us @https://lnkd.in/e4Sbif3b #logistics #interoperability #logfas #military #nato #defense #militarytraining #sustainment #supplychain Disclaimer - Articles posted or shared on this site are for informational purposes only. Nexus LCM wishes to inform followers about relevant concepts and news, but does not necessarily share all views or opinions of the articles’ authors. https://lnkd.in/gwxUikAz

"To prevent the new cold-war competition from escalating into a hot war, we need to innovate as if the free world depends on it. This path forward requires substantial investments in technology and an infrastructure built for innovative national-security research and education. Failure to act risks not only our strategic position but also our future stability and influence on the global stage. The answer lies within incentivizing our Force to innovate rapidly." National security is a shared responsibility, requiring interdisciplinary and collaborative work across industry, academia and government. In his recent op-ed, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and member of the Defense Innovation Board retired Admiral Mike Mullen, Chair of the NPS Foundation's Advisory Council, underscores the urgent need to reform the Department of Defense's incentive structures to foster a culture of innovation. At the NPS Foundation, we empower the Naval Postgraduate School to connect active-duty students, top researchers, and subject matter experts to understand global threats, develop new capabilities, and deliver solutions. Our commitment extends to developing agile leaders who can drive the adoption of these new capabilities within the DOD. By fostering collaboration between military, academic, and industry experts, we ensure that NPS remains a powerful innovation accelerator, bridging the gap between private sector ingenuity and the specific needs of the DOD. "In the face of a clear and present danger, there is no room for hesitation. Leaders must lead." Read more from Adm. Mullen: https://lnkd.in/gv2EEKnu

The Atlantic Council‘s Commission on Defense Innovation report was released last month. It highlights 10 recommendations to jumpstart and reimagine the future war-fighting acquisition process, to include integrating and leveraging private industry. “While US companies continue to demonstrate technological prowess, this rate of innovation serves little use in deterring conflict unless the DoD is able to procure and get new technology into the hands of warfighters at a faster pace. The current US defense acquisition system was not designed to keep pace with today's rapid rate of innovation. Despite the DoD's recognition of these emergent dual-use technologies, lengthy budget timelines, inflexible procurement options, and outdated internal procedures create unnecessary barriers between the DoD and nontraditional companies seeking collaboration.” #innovation #military #nationaldefense https://lnkd.in/epMuzRdp