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The U.S. military is at a critical innovation junction. Will it succumb to a disruptive environment or prevail? All indications point to an outcome that could go either way. “Disruption occurs when something happens that upends entire belief systems and fundamentally reshapes, or in some cases takes down, entire institutions,” said Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld, USN (Ret.), during a keynote address at West 2017. “Historical change can be difficult to see when you’re actually living through it,” Winnefeld said. “But that kind of disruption may be exactly what is happening to us today.”

The integrity of the U.S. Navy suffers today because the integrity of the force depends on capability, capacity and readiness—three areas that have taken a beating with a Navy at war for 15 years and the budget shortfalls threatening so many military arenas, said Adm. Philip Davidson, USN, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, at West 2017. 

Rear Adm. Peter G.

Rear Adm. William W.

Rear Adm. Kenneth R. Whitesell, USN, will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group 4, Norfolk, Virginia.

Rear Adm. Jesse A. Wilson Jr., USN, will be assigned as commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia.

Of all the threats facing U.S. military forces, Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), is most worried about the dynamic, manmade world of cyber. Stavridis kicked off the West 2017 conference on Tuesday, delivering a keynote that touched on a litany of threats from terrorism to the rise of conventional enemies, political gridlock, narcotics and even Mother Nature. The theme for year’s conference addresses the question: Ready for Today, Modernize for Tomorrow: How Can We Maintain the Edge?

It is imperative that the United States—government and private companies alike—begin using its inherent innovative spirit to think exponentially and develop technologies that will save time, dollars and lives while defeating the nation's adversaries, said Adm. Harry Harris, USN, commander of U.S. Pacific Command. Exponential thinking were the buzzwords of his address and the cornerstone of what likely will help define the future of the U.S. military, he shared at West 2017. But getting there requires the powers that be to break paradigms that will take military forces to the next level.

Emerging cyber trends such as the rapid increase in the number of bad actors, increased capabilities and sophistication, and the high degree of automation complicates a key question posed to U.S. military leaders: Are the armed forces ready to fight? 

DLT Solutions, Herndon, Virginia, has announced it has been awarded a five-year blanket purchase agreement with the Department of the Nav