Position to Win in the New Federal Market
Summary Recent changes have structurally rewired the federal defense market. OB3 funding and the January Executive Order accelerated a shift already underway. How the Department of War defines needs, awards contracts, and holds contractors accountable has permanently changed, and the companies that understand the new rules are already pulling ahead. The Chertoff Group recently hosted a strategic briefing with GovCon Wire to map […]
Unpacking The Coast Guard’s New Digital Transformation Strategy
Summary Signaling a New Era for How USCG Acquires, Fields and Sustains Capabilities For most of the last two decades, the U.S. Coast Guard has punched well above its weight on a budget a fraction of its sister services’, and the contractor base serving it has had to navigate a market shaped by that resource […]
Golden Dome and the New Federal Buying Reality
Summary How Execution and Governance Are Reshaping Competition Our recent analysis of how agencies are making buying decisions in 2026 and beyond identified a clear shift: speed, portfolio governance and outcome-driven acquisition are now the defining forces in Federal procurement. Golden Dome puts that shift in concrete terms. More than a missile defense initiative, Golden […]
The Federal Market Has Changed. Has Your Strategy?
Summary Positioning to win in an evolving market The federal buying system as you knew it, defined by long capture cycles, prescriptive requirements, incumbency protection, is gone. Agencies are making decisions faster, abandoning legacy process for a laser focus on delivery. While massive shifts in funding priorities in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) […]
Navigating the New “Production-First” Defense Paradigm
Summary Prioritizing the Warfighter The American defense industrial base (DIB) is currently undergoing its most significant structural realignment in decades. On January 7, 2026, the White House issued the Executive Order (EO) “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting,” signaling a decisive shift away from decades of shareholder-first thinking toward a “production-first” model of national security […]
GSA: What’s the Future of Acquisition?
The Chertoff Group recently hosted an exclusive discussion about the strategic shift in Federal acquisition and a wave of changes including GSA’s expanding authority, an updated Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the push to consolidate contract vehicles and IT acquisition transformation. These changes present both challenges and opportunities for contracting officers and industry stakeholders. Our panel […]
Decisive Shift in Purchasing at DOW Explained
The Department of War’s new Draft Acquisition System Guidance is more than another policy update circulating through the Pentagon. It represents a decisive shift in how national security leaders want to buy and deliver capability in an era where technological change and pressures created by rapid adversary modernization are fundamentally outpacing the traditional acquisition cycle. […]
Doing Business with DHS
At a recent event sponsored by Washington Technology called “Doing Business with DHS,” Aaron Roth and other federal government experts advised contractors pursuing U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) funding, to look beyond initial procurement buys and focus on the long-term operational “tail.” According to Aaron Roth, principal and head of federal strategy and security with […]
Coast Guard Investments Improve Readiness
The Chertoff Group‘s Aaron Roth writes in National Defense Magazine about the benefits of a well-funded U.S. Coast Guard. With $25 billion in new funding, Coast Guard investments will improve mission readiness, replace aging cutters and increase personnel. This will enhance performance in crucial areas including border security, drug enforcement, cybersecurity and disaster response. This […]
DOGE: Impacts and Opportunities
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has evolved since its establishment in January 2025. As DOGE 2.0, takes shape, many are questioning what it will look like moving forward. In late June 2025, we hosted an exclusive panel discussion titled, “DOGE: Impacts and Opportunities.” The dialogue covered what the future of DOGE may bring, and how industry […]