“FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK” By Kevin Kirkwood “The expectations placed on AI systems far exceed their current capabilities and, in many cases, the systems being integrated are operating without the visibility, oversight or testing that mission environments demand, creating a widening gap between intention and execution.” _________________________________________________________________________________ “Federal agencies are  accelerating the deployment of AI   in an effort to moder

“WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY” By Tom Skypek “Small and large businesses in the government contracting market can dramatically increase the value of partnerships by making teaming a critical dimension of their existing capture and business strategy work .” _________________________________________________________________________________ “Questions of teaming and joint venturing should occupy a prominent role in almost all business development discussions. Such dedicated thought wil

“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “There should be technical, management and market segment similarities between you and any company with whom you are considering teaming. Your prospective team member ideally will not be a direct competitor; rather a business in a related field with whom you share a mutual need for each other’s contributions in pursuing large-scale projects.” ________________________________________________________________________________ “While developing a govern

“ WAR ON THE ROCKS” By Christphopher Preble “Americans today enjoy a measure of safety that our ancestors would envy and that our contemporaries do envy. We generally do not need to wage war to keep it that way. On the contrary, some recent wars have degraded the U.S. military and undermined our security. Policymakers should therefore be extremely reluctant to risk American lives abroad.” _____________________________________________________________________________ “The U.S.

“Rose Covered Glasses” By Ken Larson “I hope this account of my 36-year military and industry experience in warfare and weapons supplies useful insights into the US Government Defense Industrial Complex. I learned that the only thing wars decide is who is left over and who must then pay the bills.. Perhaps it is time for our country to consider the above, before the risks promulgated by our annual trillion dollar warfare activity, geopolitical and economic, take us to a very

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Budgets for many federal agencies are being realigned and participation by small business is under review. Strategic planning is necessary for small veteran-owned enterprises in planning for the future, given present realities. ________________________________________________________________________________ With the budget ax falling hard, the smaller enterprise will have opportunity to perform vital functions at lower cost burdens than the larger corporations. Acquisition of

“NATIONAL DEFENSE MAGAZINE” By Tyler R. Bridegan, Luke Cass and Joshua A. Mullen “With increased focus on contractors’ cybersecurity practices, the four most recent settlements provide valuable guidance for federal contractors looking to avoid government scrutiny.” _______________________________________________________________________________ “Over the past year, the new administration has strongly signaled that it has every intention of continuing to scrutinize federal cont

“ SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “ If the small enterprise is not prepared in advance and is fortunate enough to win a services contract then in a very short time frame it will have to evolve a business system to perform on the contract and submit a billing. A framework is useful for a small enterprise to develop a business system in service contracting, which is the most frequent venue utilized to enter the government market. “ ___________________________________________________

“NEXTGOV/FCW” By David DiMolfetta   “We’re optimizing our approach to working with the private sector,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement. “CIA’s rapidly evolving mission demands a radical shift towards a culture of speed, agility and innovation.” __________________________________________________________________________________ “DARPA alum Efstathia Fragogiannis joined the agency as its new procurement chief in November and will be spearheading the effort, acco

REQUESTS FOR EQUITABLE ADJUSTMENT (REA ) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR) CLAIMS “SMALLTOFEDS” – By Ken Larson INTRODUCTION ‘The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contains provisions for contractors and the government to resolve contract disputes.  The disputes often arise due to events during performance, many times surfacing weaknesses in the original contract work definition, technical parameters, schedule factors or related terms and conditions that can lead to cha

NATIONAL DEFENSE MAGAZINE By Jen Bentley, Dan Russell and Elizabeth Witwer   “ The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in October released its annual report for fiscal year 2025. ABCA REPORT YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 It reveals several key findings and, most importantly, what they might mean for defense contractors navigating claims and disputes in fiscal year 2026. “ _________________________________________________________________________________ “The document p

We have grown acclimated to viewing the world through media sound bites and opinionated, biased news, financed by those that spend enormous amounts of money to influence our opinions. To a very large degree trust is a personal responsibility. We must become involved, make prudent judgments and think for ourselves. Above all, we must listen and learn from each other to evolve true trust. _________________________________________________________________________________ Has inde

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“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “The small business segment of the huge federal government contracting market is poised to grow exponentially due to advances in technology and the need for flexibility, mobility, agility and economic performance.” _______________________________________________________________________________ “ THE MOMENT Trends on the horizon point to a bright future for small business in federal government contracting. Federal government agencies have set a rec

“ SCORE.ORG “ “ Getting your name out and in front of your target market is the best way to generate business. Getting a customer’s attention often comes at a hefty price, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Learn about different publicity tactics that won’t put a dent in your budget. “ _________________________________________________________________________________ “The tactic is simple: you randomly search questions related to your niche and try to find the results

WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY By Mark Amtower   “The federal workforce is active and accessible. However, data without action is just trivia. By systematically following agency company pages and monitoring their 'nuggets' of information, contractors can move from reactive bidding to proactive positioning. “ ____________________________________________________________________________ "For years, a persistent myth circulated throughout GovCon: “Feds aren’t on LinkedIn.” In 2012, that m

“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “The bottom line objective is that you wish government approval going forward so that your rates are accepted in proposals, your audits have a satisfactory outcome and you get paid when you submit a billing.” __________________________________________________________________________________ “It seems the single word, “Compliance” in small business federal government services contracting business systems implies many different things: Small Business

“FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK” By Mark Mitchell “We often blame technology when government IT projects fail to meet their goals. By prioritizing planning and enterprise architectures, government agencies can ensure they employ the latest technology in ways that align with and serve the mission.” ______________________________________________________________________________ “The hype surrounding the rise of generative AI illustrates a core reason why federal IT initiatives often fail

“SMALLTOFEDS” By Ken Larson “The government is becoming more open in its dealings, driven by a dramatic need for commercial technology from the commercial sector, dire efficiency issues and the weight of a massive debt load.  Now is the time to take the initiative in designing collaborative efforts with federal agencies, marketing solutions that maximize contractor and government resources and the best possible efficiencies in service solutions.” _____________________________