The Merge The Merge

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Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to discuss what’s happening around the world through the lens of international relations.

John is a repeat guest—check out episode 16 to get caught up. In this episode, we discuss China, the South China Sea, the Taiwan elections, Russia in Ukraine, and even cautiously venture a bit into how US domestic
politics is muddying the waters with Ukraine aid.

Should we even be involved? Why or why not? We look at both sides from a few perspectives you won’t hear
anywhere else. We also make a detour into AUKUS, Japan’s rebuilding of its military, and discuss what the real superpower of the US is.

John Fowler runs International Intrigue, a daily newsletter
written by a team of former diplomats (link below!). It’s packed with great, easy-to-consume content and helps you keep a pulse on what’s happening in the world—and why it matters.



For those interested in #military #technology #strategy
#diplomacy #china #asia #security #government #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #russia #ukraine 

 

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Show Notes

(01:04) Intro

(05:06) China’s economic shifts

(08:14) China’s real estate crisis

(11:48) Taiwan elections

(18:22) South China Sea

(19:40) the “9-dash line”

(21:30) the Second Thomas Shoal

(31:08) coalitions and consensus

(34:37) Russia in Ukraine

(36:55) Ukraine aid in Congress

(41:02) the real superpower of the US

(45:06) the risk of hedging

(46:21) AUKUS, Japan, and China

(53:54) good for Russia, good for China

(55:11) China using history as a weapon

(58:02) outro

Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. We release these in between our more in-depth discussions to keep our audience up to speed.

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Mike and Jake host Dr. Christine (Chris) Michienzi, supply
chain expert and former senior Pentagon executive, on the US government’s recently released National Defense Industrial Strategy—plan to revive its fragile defense industrial base.

With 30 years of experience in this sector, she was recently
the Chief Technology Officer for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy and the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment. Chris knows all the ins and outs of the woes of the industrial base—she saw the issues first-hand when she led the Pentagon’s efforts to surge munition production lines to support Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Hear just how big the problem is—and how it’s WAY harder to
fix than it may sound.

For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity #industry #supplychains #logistics



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• 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy



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Show Notes

(01:27) Intro

(02:36) investing supply chains

(6:26) CTO of the supply chain office

(8:11) what is the Defense Industrial Base?

(9:52) the 2023 NDIS  

(17:16) efficiency vs resiliency

(23:40) don’t compare this to WWII

(26:52) multi-year buy authorities

(30:28) reverse engineering obsolete parts

(31:40) ball bearings

(33:28) incentivize companies?

(35:05) the investor side of the equation

(37:10) solid rocket motors

(40:15) what does success look like?

(42:10) the F-35 magnet story

(44:03) how supply chain visibility doesn’t work

(45:58) Chinse brushless motors

(48:31) COVID-19 raised supply chain awareness

(49:31) crystal ball of badness

(51:33) isolation the solution?

(54:11) magic wand for Chris

(56:21) metrics for success

(59:30) outro

Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.

Don’t miss our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

mandatoryfunday IG post we refer to at the end

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Mike and Jake host John Ferry to discuss the ins & outs
and the highs & lows of trying to sell tech to the Pentagon, and the US government—how it really works.



Warning: We had a ton of fun—maybe a bit too much. This episode is full of spicy takes and unvarnished thoughts and opinions based on 15+ years of experience and scar tissue. Hang on for a ride deep down the rabbit hole of govcon and fedtech nerdiness, but we make it out ok at the end—discussing the
next AI vs. AI front.



For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity



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• John Ferry (LinkedIn)

• Rogue.com

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Show Notes

(01:10) John Ferry

(08:30) coming out of the shell

(10:52) selected not funded (wtf!)

(11:22) confessions of a SBIR scorer

(14:06) GovCon Merit Badges

(17:57) SBIR “consultants”

(19:50) SBIR mills

(21:56) founder horror story

(26:05) John’s creative process

(29:48) PowerPoint Ranger

(32:43) change the industry vs change yourself

(34:17) the same, but also never easier

(43:38) play the game, roll the dice

(44:50) pump those numbers up! (cost plus)

(46:06) recent fixed-price pushback

(50:42) using AI to write government proposals

(54:57) AI vs AI proposal writing/scoring

(1:00:10) outro

Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.

Don’t miss our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

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