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Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) was a key participant at the recent National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Department of the Navy (DON) Gold Coast conference Aug. 18-21. Held at the San Diego Convention Center, the leading procurement event brought together small business representatives and Navy leadership for an educational discussion on how to best support the warfighter mission.
As a premier opportunity to interface with industry, there was significant presence from across the NAVWAR enterprise, including headquarters, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, Program Executive Office (PEO) Digital and Enterprise Services (Digital) and PEO Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I). With panels on acquisition and contracts, along with industry matchmaking sessions, there were many opportunities for government personnel to have direct conversations with small business representatives.
In tandem with Gold Coast, there were also other events centered around engaging with small business, like the 1NAVWAR Small Business Industry Fair and the NAVWAR Contracts Industry Council (CIC) Fiscal Year Q4 2025 Quarterly Business Opportunities Brief (QBOB), both held Aug. 18. The QBOB featured speakers from NAVWAR and PEO C4I to give their insight on process improvement, increasing efficiencies and improving acquisition productivity, under the theme of “NAVWAR Next – What to expect from NAVWAR.”
John Pope, executive director of NAVWAR, provided opening remarks to kick off the QBOB. During his brief, he explained NAVWAR Next, a plan that modernizes NAVWAR to align with high-level Navy goals and improve readiness for the Fleet. Centered around defining the mission in four lanes—cyber, fleet readiness, artificial intelligence (AI)/data and connected operations—he emphasized the importance of seeking industry engagement to achieve mission success.
“With our new cyber directorate and the merging of our Fleet Readiness Directorate with our Logistics and Fleet Support competency, we’re adapting to address challenges even more rapidly,” said Pope. “Partnering with small business is key to leverage their commercial systems to better deliver innovative solutions to the Fleet.”
Brent Dessing, acting head of contracts at NAVWAR, also spoke on how they are adjusting their contracting approach to provide more opportunities for small business collaboration and accelerate capability to the warfighter. Through new avenues like Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), program offices can more quickly access commercial capabilities. In partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), NAVWAR can issue both Other Transactions Authority (OTA), which are not subject to traditional acquisition timelines, as well as Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based commercial contracts.
“Although total contract actions have decreased in our most recent fiscal year, the amount of dollars has increased, indicating better efficiency,” said Dessing. “Though NAVWAR has restructured due to recent retirements and employee reduction, we remain committed to working with small business to achieve rapid technical solutions.”
With cyber readiness central to Navy mission success, NAVWAR hosted a cybersecurity panel to emphasize the critical role of academic partners, federal labs and small businesses in rapidly delivering new solutions to the Fleet.
Moderated by Mark Compton, command information security officer (CISO) at NAVWAR, the panel featured Rachel Bondi, technical director of the Navy’s cybersecurity program office; Andrew Mansfield, technical director at NIWC Atlantic; Megan Kline, deputy technical director of the Cybersecurity Engineering Division at NIWC Pacific; Steve Price, NAVWAR scientist and Cybersecurity Working Group lead; and Alan Godwin, deputy CISO at NAVWAR.
The panel emphasized that collaboration between government, industry, and academia is crucial for accelerating innovation and bolstering the Navy's cybersecurity. “Our most impactful breakthroughs come from outside our walls—academic labs pushing boundaries, and small businesses bringing agility and speed,” said Mansfield. “Open communication ensures they understand our needs and can align their innovations to operational requirements.”
Bondi stressed the importance of overcoming acquisition delays in order to keep pace with next-generation solutions. “Innovation today moves in days, not decades, especially with AI, she said. “Large and small companies along with labs are producing solutions right now that address our toughest cyber challenges. We must work together to deliver them to the Fleet without years of delay in order to meet the increased scale, scope and sophistication of the pacing threat.”
Following the conclusion of the QBOB, the 1NAVWAR Small Business Industry Fair commenced, where leaders from all 11 of PEO C4I’s program offices were in attendance, as well as representatives from NIWC Pacific and HQ. The event highlighted NAVWAR's commitment to engaging with industry, in particular small business partners.
Throughout the three-day Gold Coast conference, various NAVWAR personnel from NIWC Pacific, PEO Digital, PEO C4I and HQ continued to network with attendees at the exhibit hall and during industry matchmaking sessions. The matchmaking also occurred on the exhibit floor, where small business representatives could sign up to have individual, one-on-one conversations with people from across the NAVWAR enterprise. This allows for dedicated time to discuss questions in-depth.
During those sessions, PEO Digital met with industry professionals to explore mission-aligned priorities. These interactions reinforced PEO Digital’s commitment to innovation, collaboration and advancing Navy’s digital transformation.
“At NIWC Pacific, we value the opportunity to participate in the Navy Gold Coast event, where we connect with innovative small businesses to expand the Center’s partnerships,” said Nick Giacalone, deputy director of the NIWC Pacific Office of Small Business Programs. “Engaging with these organizations supports our mission and fosters collaboration that advances technology for the Navy. We remain committed to supporting small businesses and expanding opportunities that contribute to national security and maritime superiority.”
On Aug. 19, Kimberly Reidy, director of the NAVWAR Office of Small Business Programs, introduced herself to Gold Coast attendees as part of a group of DON OSBP directors. She highlighted the importance of utilizing resources to understand NAVWAR’s areas of interest. Small businesses can take advantage of more flexible and rapid options to bring their solutions to customers, enabling the adoption of commercial industry standards.
On another panel alongside Leah Baker, director of Military Sealift Command OSBP, Reidy went into more detail about how to understand what fields NAVWAR needs support in. Through their recently implemented CSO webpage, it’s now become easier than ever for small business to search for contracting opportunities.
“The bottom line is we at the NAVWAR OSBP want to help as many of you as possible navigate this process,” she said. “It can be challenging to keep effective communication with some of our technical directors, and that’s where we can come in to advocate on your behalf. NAVWAR has continued to meet or exceed our small business participation goals, so we would like to maintain that trend with your help.”
Throughout the course of the 2025 Gold Coast conference, NAVWAR representatives engaged with numerous industry professionals, discussing how they could work together to address technical gaps. As small business remains one of NAVWAR’s top priorities to better fulfill its mission of NAVWAR Next, this was a vital opportunity to have direct and transparent communication with their counterparts in industry and academia.
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2025 15:47 |
| Story ID: | 546685 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 224 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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