UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Colt
Whittall | USAF
A long way to go In Knausenberger ’ s view , the journey is also far from complete . “ We ’ ve made a lot of progress over the past few years with the way we acquire technology , the way we do our contracting and the way we partner ,” she says . “ And I ’ ll just be very upfront and say that we still have a long way to go .”
She admits that part of the problem is to rationalise the legacy issues surrounding different types of technological application . The US military has been one of the greatest innovators of the past century , with a paradoxical inability to manage administrative technology effectively . “ I used to joke that we could hit the backend of a fly from halfway around the planet ,” she muses , “ but , like – whoo ! – you want to deploy some business email ?
“ It ’ s mostly a joke when I say that , but we do incredible things with ease and we make really easy things – things that everybody else does very well – hard .”
Hard is the operative word . Focus is split between the day-to-day operational side of USAF , advocating for a change of culture and championing an innovative spirit . It ’ s a painstaking process requiring diplomacy , skill , knowledge and determination . And data . Lots and lots of data . The job of maneuvering the world ’ s largest company to face a new era of warfare is under way and in capable hands .
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