Even during a drought, weeds seem to continue to grow. This reminds me of when I was a kid, my dad had a full stock portfolio during the recession of the early 1970s. And he made money! He reminded me that thrift stocks and things like aftermarket auto parts grow because fewer car owners can afford to take their vehicle to the mechanic, so they fix it themselves. These two examples serve to remind us that shifts are constantly occurring in any given market. The key is to follow the flow of money, during the shift.

It's not often that objects as small as battery chargers and solar blankets become the center of attention at a U.S. Senate budget hearing where multibillion-dollar programs are discussed, but for a few minutes of the March 8 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Army officials touted the need for such items to take a load off of the backs of soldiers.

Resilience is more important than ever in the face of changes that are occurring throughout the government and range from responding to crises to working with small businesses. But increased care in planning and a commitment to getting the job done in innovative ways meet these changes head on and not only will sustain organizations but in many cases will enable them to grow.

The budget's not all that changing in the United States these days. Some of the adjustments are minor tweaks, while others reflect a major change in the way the government does business.

Chief information officers from throughout the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had words of advice for companies that want to do business with them at the DHS 2012 Information Technology Industry Day. Among the top topics were the need for agile acquisition and acquisition of agile products, the call for information about the return on investment on the products companies offer, and changes in procurement strategies that could have a huge effect on how the government and commercial sectors interact.

Command and control is undergoing an evolution spawned by the information technology revolution. These changes may be both desired and immutable, as no military commander can either neglect new capabilities or turn back the technological clock when it comes to managing forces in the battlespace.

Significant changes lie ahead for U.S. Army forces as communicators move into the next era of battlespace communications. Smartphone technology is opening the door for individual networking devices for which signaleers already are laying the groundwork. And, the promise of cloud computing would enable large amounts of data to be moved among the battlefield without mobile databases.

The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a set of systems that would enhance communications between air assets and boots on the ground. Troops in Okinawa used the technology initially during U.S.-only evaluations before moving on to experiments in various multinational events. And though the personnel who have experienced the systems in action say work still remains to perfect the offering, they would like to see it fielded if it reaches its potential.

All computer systems are prone to attacks from various cyberthreats, but disruptions on few of those networks have the potential to cause calamitous damage to national infrastructures.To help prevent catastrophe, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has an effort dedicated to countering these dangers through various partnerships and training opportunities.

U.S. Marines are tasked with battling enemies in any environment or domain and increasingly that location is cyberspace. Information assurance officials around the Corps are striving to ensure the reliability and trustworthiness of the service’s systems, and though they are aware of the potential for attack from the outside, misuse from the inside is a more prevalent concern.