Tailored Offsets and Total Readiness: The Navy’s Plan to Outmatch Any Adversary
At WEST 2026, Admiral Darryl Caudle, Navy CNO, unveiled new “Fighting Instructions” to the fleet—deliberately framed not as strategy, but as clear, actionable direction for how the Navy must fight and win. Caudle emphasized that the Navy cannot rely on a one-size-fits-all force structure in an era of peer competition and constrained resources. Instead, he is driving a more flexible, tailored approach that blends high-end combat power with scalable options commanders can deploy globally.
Unmanned Dominance: How the Navy Plans to Overwhelm the Next Fight
At WEST 2026, Rear Admiral Keith Hash focuses on a defining challenge for the Navy: how to achieve true “unmanned dominance” in a force that is rapidly expanding in scale and complexity. The Navy is no longer experimenting with a handful of unmanned platforms. It now operates hundreds, potentially approaching thousands, of unmanned vehicles. That growth brings opportunity—but also significant integration challenges. For Hash, the core issue is interoperability.
Innovation in Government at WEST 2026
Broadcasting directly from WEST 2026 in San Diego, this special episode of Innovation in Government explores the cutting-edge digitization and modernization efforts transforming the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and the broader Department of Defense. Through in-depth interviews with military leaders and top industry experts, we examine the critical shift toward data-driven decision-making, the drive for open architectures, and the race to achieve seamless interoperability from the enterprise down to the tactical edge.
Mastering Surface Warfare: The Future of Combat Training and Readiness
RDML T. J. Zerr, Commander of the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center for the U.S. Navy, discusses the critical mission of the Surface Warfare Combat Training Continuum.
Harmonizing Data for True Interoperability and Zero Trust
Chad Keefer, Head of U.S. Federal at Infoblox Federal, provides critical insights into the ongoing challenge of achieving true interoperability and advancing zero trust architectures across the Department of Defense.
Back to Basics: The Foundation for AI and Cybersecurity Modernization
Brian "Stretch" Meyer, Federal Field CTO for Axonius Federal Systems, emphasizes a critical reality check for the Department of Defense.
Empowering Mission Velocity Through Data-Driven Infrastructure
Kevin Hansen, CTO at MFGS, Inc., delves into the foundational strategies required for the Navy and Marine Corps to successfully meet their ambitious digitization and modernization objectives.
Accelerating the Sensor-to-Shooter Kill Chain Across the Joint Force
COL Kenneth Jones, Director of Science and Technology at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, outlines the immense complexities and critical importance of optimizing the sensor-to-shooter kill chain in modern warfare.
Packaging Knowledge: Generative AI and the Future of Interoperability
Terry Dorsey, Evangelist and Data Architect for Denodo, explores the intricate challenges of achieving interoperability across highly distributed government agencies while allowing them to maintain their necessary autonomy.
Unified Architectures for Seamless Data at the Edge
Chris Betz, Global Field CISO at Omnissa, highlights the foundational importance of consistent, unified IT architectures in ensuring that critical data remains accurate and actionable for warfighters deployed at the tactical edge.
Overcoming Technical Debt: A Stepping Stone to the Hybrid Cloud
Chris Boyd, Head of Federal Sales at Zoom, addresses the immense challenge the Department of Defense faces in overcoming decades of technical debt to achieve a modernized, hybrid cloud environment.
Implementing Force Design: Bringing C2 and Fires to the Tactical Edge
Col. Craig Clarkson, Commanding Officer of MCTSSA at Marine Corps Systems Command, and Col. Kevin Stepp, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-6 for the Marine Expeditionary Force, provide a joint perspective on how the Marine Corps is actively transitioning the Force Design modernization strategy from a broad initiative into daily operational reality.
Building a Foundation of Trust for Data-Driven Decision Making
Bill Roberts, Field CTO for Federal Services at Riverbed, tackles the persistent cultural and technical hurdles that prevent government agencies from fully realizing the potential of data-driven decision-making.
Modernizing Mission-Critical Systems Without Breaking the Navy
Mark Forsthoffer, Vice President of Federal Sales at Mechanical Orchard, explains why modernization efforts often fail, how to prove system equivalence, and why integration-first, incremental cutovers are key to safely transforming legacy environments.
AI Is Evolving — But Speed Must Match Accuracy
Ronny Fredericks, CTO, Public Sector at Nozomi Networks, discusses how AI is transforming data analytics, operational efficiency, and mission delivery across the sea services. He also explains why trust, accuracy, and collaboration between government and industry remain critical as AI adoption accelerates.
AI Is Not the Point — Efficiency Is
Chris Gordon, VP Sales at Ask Sage, breaks down how artificial intelligence is accelerating acquisitions, reducing administrative burden, and freeing warfighters to focus on mission execution.
Integrating AI into Warfighting and Robotics
David Kong, Account Director at Broadcom Enterprise Security Group, discusses how artificial intelligence can enhance operational efficiency, simplify complex systems for sailors and Marines, and potentially transform robotics and autonomous platforms over the next decade.
From AI Insight to AI Action: The Rise of Agentic Workflows
Mark Matzke, Area Vice President, U.S. Defense at ServiceNow, explains how “agentic workflows” could reshape decision cycles inside the Pentagon.
Speed to Capability in a Software-Defined Military
John Savio, Vice President of Public Sector at Black Duck, discusses AI-augmented software development, continuous authority to operate, and how security testing must scale as code volume increases. Speed to capability, he argues, must always include secure development.
Breaking Down Data Silos to Power AI at the Edge
Jeremy Wilson, CTO, North America Public Sector at EDB, discusses AI-ready data platforms, edge-resilient systems, and cross-domain solutions that enable secure information sharing across the sea services.
