DoD CIO Sherman Leaves Legacy for the Department as He Steps Down
John Sherman, outgoing chief information officer (CIO) for the Department of Defense (DoD), says he’s proud to leave a legacy of efficiency for the department, to include the development of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability program (JWCC).
The JWCC is a multiple-award contract vehicle that provides the DoD the opportunity to acquire commercial cloud capabilities and services directly from the commercial cloud service providers (CSPs). A new iteration of the program, “JWCC 2.0” is in progress. “That was a big pivot to move past JEDI (the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure) and move to JWCC. I'm very proud of working with the team at DISA and acquisition and sustainment,” he said in an interview with SIGNAL Media.
“I think we're in good shape with JWCC, but I'll be looking forward to seeing how JWCC 2.0 shakes up.”
Sherman will be stepping down this month from his current role to join his alma mater, Texas A&M University, as dean of the Bush School of Government.
Sherman was sworn in as DoD CIO in December 2021. Before joining the department, he served as the Intelligence Community (IC) CIO after a long career in the information technology space for several national security organizations, including the CIA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and others. He started his career as an air defense artillery officer in the U.S. Army.
Looking back on his role as DoD CIO, Sherman told SIGNAL Media in an interview on Monday that what he’s most happy about is advancing digital motorization and the work on zero trust. “We’ve been leaders in the federal space on that, setting the pace and getting the standards there and really getting us where we need to be to have that on the unclassified and secret domains by 2027.”
I wanted to be in a place where I can help get our next generation of leaders ready.
Another area that he’s proud of is DoD’s work in cyber talent and digital talent. “We set up the workforce innovation directorate, we put out a strategy and implementation plan, and are really working with entities like the Office of the National Cyber Director and others on changing how we think about cyber and digital [technology] talent.”
Sherman will return to his alma mater as dean of the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M, where as an undergraduate he commanded the Corps of Cadets and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. “I wanted to be in a place where I can help our next generation of leaders get ready,” he says about becoming the dean. “It truly is a dream job.”
