Defense Tech Executive • Retired USCG Officer & Pilot • Former House Appropriations Staff Member
with thoughts on: politics & economics • career transition • technology and occasional musings
Navigating the intersection of service, technology, and leadership.
Insights from a career spanning Coast Guard aviation, shipbuilding acquisitions, Congress, and the cutting edge of maritime defense technology. Writing about what I’ve learned, what I’m reading, and where the field is heading.
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The Warfighting Acquisition System Is Here. Now What?
Something significant happened in American defense policy over the last 90 days, and it didn’t generate nearly enough discussion among the people who will feel it most. Between Secretary Hegseth’s November speech at the National War College, the FY2026 NDAA signed in December, and CNO Caudle’s “Way We Fight” C-Note to the fleet in January,…
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The AI-Augmented Executive: How Defense Tech Leaders Can Leverage Claude to Reclaim Time and Sharpen Decisions
February 2026 There’s a question I’ve been sitting with lately, and I suspect a few of you have too: at what point does “experimenting with AI tools” become professional negligence if you’re not doing it? We operate in an industry that demands simultaneous fluency in technology, policy, acquisition law, international relationships, and operational realities. The cognitive load…
Line of Bearing 