Hey DoD, don't forgot about those of us not in Silicon Valley!
I read an article last week titled “Just commit for six months, Carter tells Silicon Valley” about Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s presentation at the RSA conference to push technologists to pursue avenues of service for their government.
Recent visits and meetings to Silicon Valley are a consistent message that I have heard from many senior leaders across the DoD, federal and the intelligence community; and it’s the right thing to do! Silicon Valley, and the entire Bay-area, are rich with great companies, smart people and strong educational institutions and we need to be engaging with the “best-of-the-best” (nice Top Gun movie reference!).
However, let’s not forget that Austin, Research Triangle, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, Boston, the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) AND Silicon Valley all have technical talent that we need to foster a culture of service within. We need to reinforce the importance of government service to those already serving today, in whatever manner they serve, and encourage those not involved to get involved…no matter where they live.
I get it that Secretary Carter and other government leaders are reaching out to an untapped resource in Silicon Valley and that driving out Route 66, Up 270 or down 95 isn’t the requirement. But I don’t want us to forget about the great people already serving our government today, again, no matter where they live. Further, I’d hate to see us forget about our talented citizens that want to serve our country simply because they don’t come from Silicon Valley.
Finally, I know I forget to mention a lot of great technology areas across this country; let me know what your favorite technology area is, that’s the point!
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8ySilicon Valley is insular and out of touch. They believe there is no talent in the USA outside of Silicon Valley. Looks like the DoD has absorbed that mentality. Then again DC is insular and out of touch.
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8yDoD and several other Federal agencies have not 'forgotten' Silicon Valley, or any of the other technology research zones throughout the country. That would really be impossible, since a good deal of their startup and expansion money over the years came from some part of the federal budget. The issues involved here are complex, but they boil down to, in many cases, attitude. Look at the current situation with Apple. The FBI first demands that Apple produce a backdoor to their new phone. Then, they quickly go to Federal court to force the issue. Almost immediately, the FBI starts releasing 'pertinent' information on how Apple has 'helped' in the past--even though their assistance has been with earlier versions--something the FBI knew but neglected to tell the public. Then the word comes out that the Justice Department has actually sued in nine case4s to do the same things in various parts of the country--after the FBI Director tells the public this is a single instance situation. During the period since the FBI announcement, the story has changed several times--ratcheting up increasing doom and gloom on what may be on the phone. The next thing you know they might want to link it to Whitey Bulger, or perhaps they will argue that these two and Osama bin Laden had conversations. Anything to get the public--and the court-to twist their way on the issue. Attitude and TRUST are the problem here. It is not the Government which is forgetting the developers, it is the developers that want the Government out of their kickers.
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8yTim, part of the problem with how the federal government is addressing cyber security is the idea of "Just commit for six months...". Look at the turn-over at the tops levels of the Executive and Judiciary branch in cyber security expertise. The federal government can not hold onto good talent. It seems like a good idea to engage talent from the Bay area and other technology hubs in the US, but the federal government also needs to get some long-term leadership in place that has a background in IT and cyber security that can share that knowledge, strategy and vision with the federal workforce.