As the Federal government drives to cut costs across many agencies – including by paring back on some IT-related contracts – the Department of the Air Force’s top IT official is urging a fundamental shift in how industry partners approach defense contracts including adopting a multiple-services “teaming” approach.
Venice Goodwine, chief information officer for the Department of the Air Force, said at the AFCEA TechNet Cyber conference in Baltimore on May 7 that the cost-cutting drive led by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is forcing a rethink in both military and industry strategy.
At the Defense Department (DoD), DOGE-led cost cutting efforts have already led to spending reductions totaling $5.8 billion, including the elimination of $4.2 billion of IT-related contracts.
“We are in an opportunity space,” Goodwine said, adding that the path forward requires a dramatic shift in industry behavior.
Companies can no longer rely on pitching solutions to individual military branches separately, said Goodwine, who emphasized that the traditional, fragmented approach to securing defense contracts is no longer viable in the era of DOGE. Instead, she urged contractors to adopt a strategy of “extreme teaming” – delivering cohesive, cross-domain solutions that serve the DoD rather than targeting just one service.
“Bring it to us as a solution that takes into account land, sea, air, space. Do that extreme teaming for us,” Goodwine said, adding that as DOGE continues its review of Pentagon contracts, this holistic approach is becoming critical.
“DOGE is looking at us and they say, ‘Why do you have this? And you have this? And you have this? It’s because we make mission, and you make money. But now together, we’re going to have to make mission and money at the same time,” said Goodwine.
DON CIO: Workforce Reduction, Cuts Effects Not Yet Felt
While DOGE’s impact is already reshaping contracting approaches, its full effect on the DoD workforce may not be understood for another year, according to Jane Rathbun, CIO at the Department of the Navy.
Also speaking at the AFCEA TechNet conference, Rathbun said ongoing reductions in the civilian workforce – which are part of DOGE’s broader optimization push – was implemented quickly and without precision.
“It was quickly [let’s get] rid of workforce,” Rathbun said. “It’s going to be probably a year before we really know the impact of who left and how critical some of those functions were.”
The Pentagon has already eliminated about 21,000 civilian roles, with another 40,000 cuts required to meet DOGE’s goal of trimming five to eight percent of the department’s nearly 900,000 civilian employees.
Still, Rathbun sees a silver lining in those developments.
“It presents an opportunity for technology,” she said, adding that with fewer people to do the work, she hopes technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can fill the gaps.
“[If] we get rid of functions that were critical, maybe now AI can help us do those? It’s going to be, for me, an exciting time and an opportunity – but it’s also going to be incredibly stressful,” she said.