One Brief COO Discusses Military Planning at Breitbart Event
Adam Lackey, the Chief Operating Officer of One Brief, recently shared insights at a Breitbart News Policy event, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlowe. He outlined how the company facilitates collaborative planning and workflows throughout the military structure, reaching from tactical operations to the highest levels in the Pentagon and White House.
Lackey stressed that effective military deterrence starts with careful planning. “If we can’t inflict violence on our adversaries, we don’t have a reliable deterrent,” he asserted. He described the planning process as one that must be both adaptive and ongoing: “It’s an iterative and continuous improvement process.” This adaptability becomes crucial, especially during “actual dynamic events,” which can make scenarios much more chaotic.
He explained that One Brief aids this mission by providing a joint planning platform utilized across various levels of the military, from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to Army, Navy, and Air Force branches, extending all the way to the White House. Lackey noted that One Brief has a substantial presence within the Army and is also recognized throughout other military branches. “We keep pushing… for the right to be present and represented within our command structure.”
Lackey, drawing from his own experience as a military vet, criticized the traditional defense acquisition system, stating, “I was handed a bunch of junk on the go. ‘Take this to war.'” He pointed out that much of the equipment is mass-produced and doesn’t meet actual needs. He argued that One Brief aims to ensure “advanced technology appropriate for commanders,” emphasizing the need for consistent policy to drive this change.
He mentioned that the current administration’s initiatives at the Pentagon are focused on overcoming bureaucratic hurdles in the acquisition process, highlighting reforms like rewriting the FAR and boosting the purchase of commercial products. However, he cautioned, “we’re just swapping out an old, bad bureaucracy for a new, slow one.”
Even with these efforts, challenges persist. Compliance issues, particularly in cybersecurity, can pose significant obstacles for smaller, innovative firms. “Now you have to deal with all these cyber compliance requirements, which makes things quite burdensome these days,” he noted. To tackle this, he urged collaboration with Pentagon partners like the DIU and DARPA to help bring the best ideas to fruition “at every level” and ensure those ideas benefit the warfighter.
Marlow mentioned during the conversation that One Brief and similar companies are part of a category he called “venture-backed nontraditional companies,” which can innovate and act more quickly than the “very bloated” Army Department. Lackey pointed out past acquisition failures, stating, “You see many Defense Department programs where they’re paying $80 million upfront for something built on a contract called vaporware.”
Instead, Lackey argued that true value arises when companies absorb their own research and development costs and demonstrate their product’s worth to the government. “We’re selling something to the government, and the government sees value in that product,” he added, noting that this approach can ultimately lead to higher costs for taxpayers.
