Modernizing defense without disrupting the mission

The Department of War (DoW) is under increasing pressure to deliver new capabilities at the speed of the mission. AI, cloud modernization and data-driven operations are reshaping how agencies support the warfighter, but they are also introducing new complexity into already challenging IT environments.

Readiness relies on the technology and infrastructure that support logistics, contracting, finance, maintenance, weapon systems, and personnel. As agencies accelerate modernization efforts, every technology decision must strengthen the missions those systems enable, not disrupt them.

During a recent GovExec podcast episode, Louis Koplin, chief information and technology officer for PAE Mission Systems at the Department of the Navy, and Tara Duckworth, senior IT principal solutions architect for Maximus, discussed several principles that can help defense organizations deliver new capabilities faster, without disrupting current operations, while increasing resilience.

Modernization should reduce friction, not create it

As agencies adopt AI and other emerging technologies, it’s easy to focus on deploying new capabilities. But technology alone doesn't improve mission outcomes if it introduces new operational burdens.

In defense missions, every unit function contributes to readiness and resilience. If the technology isn’t supporting that readiness, it’s standing in the way of the warfighter. 

“Everyone in the DoW has a readiness imperative, whether that's at the pointy end of the spear with highly classified capabilities, or maintaining critical business systems ashore, far from the ships operating at sea. They're all connected, they're all mutually dependent upon one another, and they all have to be ready under a variety of environmental, situational and threat-based situations,” Koplin said.

Here, technology is the enabler for delivery of mission outcomes. 

“The question is: How can you continuously improve the technology solutions while deploying new cutting-edge capabilities in ways that don't hurt what you've already fielded?” Koplin posed.

For Duckworth, that philosophy can be summarized in three words: Do no harm. Rather than pursuing large-scale transformation for its own sake, agencies should aim to eliminate the manual processes, disconnected data and workflow bottlenecks that slow mission delivery. 

The focus is on “delivering continuous value specifically to the mission and the outcomes that help sailors, that help marines, that help federal agencies,” Duckworth said. “Making sure that things are available when they need to be available, and ensuring that the services are continuously delivered over time”

Standardize what you can, customize only where it matters

Defense organizations support users in dramatically different environments, from headquarters offices to forward deployed warfighter missions operating at the tactical edge. That makes a one-size-fits-all approach unrealistic.

Instead, agencies should standardize the capabilities that solve common problems while allowing mission requirements to shape the user experience.

“We want a library of standard services and solutions,” Koplin said. “It needs to be a fit-for-purpose approach.”

Duckworth noted that users operating with constrained bandwidth require different experiences than those working in traditional office settings. Limiting unnecessary customization makes environments easier to maintain while allowing agencies to assemble reusable building blocks that can be adapted for different missions.

The same principle applies to operations. As Koplin explained, organizations need "scalable industrial-grade processes" and automation, so teams spend less time reinventing solutions and more time delivering mission outcomes.

“We can't have our best and brightest just zooming around, trying to be heroes 24/7,” he said. “We need those repeatable processes. We need more automation. People shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel every time.”

By standardizing common services and automating routine tasks, organizations can free highly skilled personnel to focus on mission-critical work rather than repeatedly solving the same operational challenges. Instead, those teams can focus their expertise on mission-critical priorities, innovation and the unique challenges that directly support the warfighter.

Start where you stand

As agencies accelerate AI adoption, it's tempting to think the first step is deploying new AI tools. Duckworth argued the opposite.

"Start where you stand," she said.

That means understanding the environment agencies already have before trying to create the one they want. Waiting for a perfect architecture can delay progress just as much as rushing into AI before the underlying data is ready. Identify priority, targeted areas to deliver immediate value and grow.

“Going into environments and trying to stand up AI immediately is not necessarily the right approach, because the data might not be ready for that [at scale], and that's okay,” Duckworth said. “Data is often trapped in different silos. You don't necessarily have to have all your data in one single place.”

Instead, agencies should focus on breaking down data silos, enabling secure data sharing through API-led architectures and embedding security into the environment from the beginning.

“When you build in security from the start, you start reducing the threat landscape … and you start reducing the risk,” she said.

Ultimately, the discussion underscored that operational resilience isn't achieved by adding more technology. It's achieved by reducing the complexity that slows organizations down. Agencies that modernize incrementally, simplify their environments and focus on continuous mission value will be better positioned to adopt emerging technologies without disrupting the mission they're meant to support.

Learn how Maximus is supporting modernization that empowers the warfighter.

https://maximus.com/federal-government