In his conversation on Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose, Nick Guertin—former Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, and Acquisition for the Navy and now founder of Guertin Transformation Associates—takes a deep dive into the Pentagon’s sweeping new Acquisition Transformation Strategy. Speaking in clear, practical terms, Guertin lays out why he’s enthusiastic about the changes, what will be challenging, and how the Department of Defense can make real progress toward faster, smarter acquisition.
From the outset, Guertin says he sees “a lot of things that I strongly thought was positive” in the new strategy. He explains that several of his “favorite things” appear prominently in the plan, especially modular open systems, competition, and a renewed focus on intellectual property strategies. These are themes Guertin has championed throughout his career, and he views their inclusion as an important signal that the department is finally moving in the right direction.
One of the most significant shifts in the strategy is the move from traditional program executive offices to a broader portfolio management approach. Guertin says this could give leaders the ability to “do trades across the programs under [their] charge,” allowing the department to prioritize capabilities with the greatest impact. Instead of treating each program as a silo with its own funding, goals, and constraints, portfolio management encourages more flexible decision-making. However, he notes that Congress will still have a major role in how funding is allocated, so collaboration remains essential. The real test, he says, will be in implementation.
Guertin also applauds the strategy’s emphasis on moving from rigid lists of requirements to problem statements—a major cultural shift in how the Pentagon communicates its needs to industry. Instead of prescribing specific solutions, agencies would define the problems they want solved, giving companies more room to innovate. He describes this as “a leverage for transformation,” especially for technology and software development.
Software is a recurring theme in the conversation, and Guertin stresses that defense systems built on software must evolve continuously. He talks about the importance of focusing on what’s “good enough to start,” aligning with the concept of a minimum viable product, and then iterating rapidly from there. This mindset marks a major departure from traditional defense acquisition, 
which often seeks perfection upfront and yields long, costly development cycles.
However, Guertin is careful to distinguish between software-based mission systems and the “heavy metal” components of defense platforms—ships, submarines, aircraft. These require long, deliberate engineering timelines and can’t simply be “iterated” in the same way software can. But the mission systems that sit atop them, he says, “can be under more of a constant change rubric.” Understanding the broader warfighting needs allows developers to prioritize what to improve and when.
Guertin repeatedly returns to the importance of people in making all these changes real. Transformation efforts don’t succeed simply because the strategy is right—they succeed because the workforce is included, engaged, and empowered. Leaders must value the professionals doing the work and bring them into the process. “They need to bring the team along as they become a part of living their lives in a different way,” he says. Without that buy-in, reforms can stall.
Rose asks Guertin how the department will know whether these reforms are working a year, two years, or five years from now. Guertin’s answer is surprisingly human. While metrics matter, he says one of the best indicators of successful transformation is joy—whether people feel connected to their work, feel like they’re making progress, and feel energized by the mission. It may not fit neatly on a dashboard, but he believes it’s a powerful sign of organizational health.
As for the ambitious timelines laid out by leadership, Guertin believes some changes can happen quickly but others require deeper planning and thoughtful architecture. Collapsing the old “iron triangle” of cost, schedule, and performance—something he notes is already underway—means rethinking how systems are built, how they’re updated, and how they’re supported throughout their lifecycle. That upfront work takes time, but it ultimately enables greater flexibility and speed later on.
Overall, Guertin’s tone is optimistic. He sees the Pentagon’s acquisition transformation as bold, overdue, and filled with potential. With the right focus on modularity, problem-solving, workforce engagement, and agile processes, the department can deliver better, faster, and more adaptable capabilities to the warfighter. And while challenges remain, Guertin makes clear that the momentum is real—and that the decisions made today will shape the defense ecosystem for years to come.