Lucy Jensen

Announcing My Run for California VFW State Commander After 30 years of leadership in high-stakes environments — from SEAL teams to emergency services — I'm bringing that same commitment to accountability and results to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Challenge: Out of 1.4 million California veterans, only 50,000 are VFW members (3.6%). Memberships are declining. Posts are closing. We have a crisis of relevance. My Platform — 5 Core Initiatives: 1. Leadership Accountability: State leadership should work FOR Posts, not above them 2. Fiscal Responsibility and ROI: Every dollar must have clear purpose and measurable impact 3. Strategic Partnerships: Building strength through community alliances and real services 4. Post Success Program: We don't close Posts — we help them stabilize, grow, and replicate what works 5. Service-Generated Membership Growth: We earn relevance by delivering value This isn't about preserving the past. It's about ensuring our future. If you're a veteran, Post Commander, or believe the VFW can do better — I'd like to connect. What's your experience with veterans organizations in your community? #VeteransLeadership #VFW #CaliforniaVFW #VeteranCommunity #LeadershipAccountability #FiscalResponsibility #StrategicPartnerships #PostSuccess #MembershipGrowth #VeteransAdvocacy #FutureOfVFW #CommunityAlliances #ServiceToVeterans #ConnectWithVeterans 🇺🇸

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Office of Small Business and DVBE Services is now mandated by law to contract and find vendors to satisfy 25% of all procurement from SB/DVBE FIRMS.

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CTN Solutions (https://ctnsolutions.com/) I'm proud to say we're a Veteran owned company, and as a Naval Air Vietnam vet, supporting staffing for some challenging and exceptionally cool DoD roles, life is cool. What's the dif in employers at this level? Well some are Cisco Channels and your cert would check off 2 boxes. Channel requirements and client requirements. Yup DoD roles ask for cert'd folk not just cleared personnel. Still, bear with me here, how about YOUR CAREER boxes? What does your current position do for those? Several of our clients are also channels and yes CCIE, PCNSE, JNCIE MCSE, MCP... are all in the asking for similar reasons. QUESTION! Who sustains and finances your industry certifications? Learning credits, training, exam, prep materials, ad nauseum. If the answer is YOU, then we should talk. I especially love a couple of my clients because they are CCIEs. Yup, own or direct, and would recognize you as a peer, provide complete career industry cert support, and one of these CCIEs even pays all healthcare for the entire family without any contributions. He's doing something right, been at it a couple of dozen years' now. Because CCIEs know what other network certified professionals need in the oft misspoke term, "WORK-LIFE" balance bait; you get real. Generally regular request the following: > Collaboration experts Cisco, Microsoft, Arista (open roles DC, VA, CA) > CCIEs R&S, Sec, DC (open roles DC, VA, MD, CA) > Microsoft Azure, Teams, DiD, Collaborative tools (open roles DC, VA) Heck let's talk what's a curious mind doing otherwise? EMAN@CTNSOLUTIONS.COM Let's support your certs not just polish them! https://ctnsolutions.com/ #Cisco #PaloAlto #Juniper #Fortinet #AWS #Microsoft #CCIE #CCNP #JNCIE #PCNSE #DC #CevOps #AI #Amazon #AWS #CCIEAgent #CTNSolutions

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San Diego-based defense contractor helps U.S. military overseas identify drone threats San Diego is home to more than 130,000 active-duty service members and a $60 billion defense industry. One of the companies contributing to that sector is Digital Force Technologies, or DFT, which partners with the United States military to support threat detection efforts through their technology.  The company, which is based in Sorrento Valley, has been in operation for more than 25 years and works exclusively with the federal government....

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𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧‼️ 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 Veterans thrive in complex environments with strict procedures, tight timelines, and zero room for mistakes, a mirror image of mission critical job sites. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧-𝐨𝐟-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 Understanding rank, responsibility, and escalation protocols ensures communication doesn’t break down during high pressure milestones or shutdown windows. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 Veterans are trained to complete the mission, even when conditions are uncertain, volatile, or rapidly evolving. That mindset drives consistent execution. 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 & 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 From handling classified electronics to maintaining base operations, many Veterans possess advanced mechanical, electrical, or logistical training highly transferable to construction. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Veterans lead from the front. Whether managing teams or working as boots on the ground contributors, they bring a rare blend of humility and authority that elevates crews. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬? 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: Veterans gain purpose driven roles where their experience is respected, their structure is valued, and their growth potential is unlimited. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲: You gain a workforce that’s loyal, low drama, safety first, and built for high stakes delivery. That’s not just culture fit, that’s risk mitigation and performance uplift. In this field, the margin for error is razor thin. Whether you're building a data center, semiconductor fab, hospital, or pharmaceutical facility. Success depends on precision, discipline, and high stakes execution under pressure. If you're building in the mission critical space and not actively bringing Veterans into the fold, you're overlooking a proven talent pipeline that aligns with everything this industry stands for. Let’s fix that. 🪖 ☎️ +𝟏 (𝟐𝟖𝟏) 𝟔𝟔𝟖 𝟖𝟒𝟖𝟔 📧 𝐦𝐨.𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐞@𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞.𝐜𝐨𝐦 💻 GH Engage

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Build your Service to the Nation by contributing to national security through critical infrastructure projects, water resource management, and emergency response efforts that safeguard communities. #BuildStrongWithUs

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STRATFI 26.1 Key Takeaways: 🔹 Timeline • Air Force: Jul 28 – Aug 28 • SpaceWERX: Opens Jul 28 – First-come, first-serve until funds exhausted. • Target 120 days from selection to contract award. 🔹 Eligibility Requirements 1. SBIR-eligible small business. 2. Active/completed (≤2 yrs) Phase II (not sequential Phase II). 3. ≥ 90 days into Phase II. 4. No prior STRATFI award. 5. Work performed in the U.S. 🔹 Matching Fund Ratios • Gov-only path: 1 (SBIR) : 2 (Gov). • Dual-use path: 1 (SBIR) : 1 (Gov) : 2 (Private). • LOIs required at submission; funds must be on-contract within 30 days of selection. 🔹 Required Submission Items • Capability header form. • Quad chart (5 slides max). • Collaboration Agreement (signed). • Milestone spend plan. • Gov/private funding LOIs. • SBA registry, cap table, foreign ownership, Phase II docs. 🔹 Common Pitfalls • Missing alternates/SIPR POCs. • Expired SBA size certs. • Using outdated forms (use PY 26.1 only). • Quad chart formatting issues. • Milestone/quad chart budget mismatch. • Missing FY-26 funds in base year. It’s Go Time! #SBIR #Airforce #Spaceforce #startups

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SF Confidential | Who Commands White SOF Now There was a time when commanding what we now call white SOF was the natural culmination of a Green Beret career. Years in Groups, battalion command, group command, and regional depth all pointed toward one of the Army’s senior special operations billets. Over the past decade, that assumption has quietly shifted. Not by directive. Not by announcement. Just by pattern. Since the formal activation of 1st Special Forces Command in 2014, its leadership has increasingly come from officers whose formative years were spent on the dark side of the house. The current commander, Jonathan M. Wortham, continues a trend established by predecessors including Lawrence "Gil" Ferguson, Richard E. Angle, and John W. Brennan Jr.. These were not exceptions. They became the norm. The pivot appears to have solidified after E. John Deedrick Jr.’s tenure in 2018–2019. Deedrick represented the more traditional Special Forces path. After him, the pipeline changed. The broader context mattered. Forward deployed JSOC elements were shrinking. Task forces were consolidating. At the same time, senior officers from the dark side still required command billets to remain competitive for continued advancement. 1st SFC was operationally relevant, globally scoped, and large enough to absorb that demand. From an institutional standpoint, the logic is straightforward. Officers arriving from the classified side bring joint credibility, policy fluency, and comfort operating at the strategic edge where SOF increasingly lives. Commanding white SOF has evolved from representing the Groups to managing an enterprise. That shift does not diminish traditional SF experience, but it clearly reorders what the institution values at senior levels. Earlier commanders like Francis M. Beaudette and James E. Kraft Jr. still reflected the older model, rooted deeply in Group culture. Since then, the center of gravity has moved. 1st SFC has become a bridge command between white and black SOF, and increasingly that bridge is being crossed in one direction. This is not a judgment on whether the trend is good or bad. It is simply an acknowledgment that it exists and that it has consequences. For officers who spend their careers exclusively inside white SOF, the path beyond colonel no longer appears linear. Group command alone does not seem sufficient. Regional expertise, once the defining currency, is no longer decisive by itself. The quiet question inside the force is not about equity. It is about adaptation. If commanding white SOF is now part of the career survival kit for dark side officers, what does that mean for white SOF officers who aspire to go further? What experiences must they seek earlier? What joint exposure or institutional risk becomes unavoidable? These questions are rarely asked publicly. But they are already being answered privately, one career decision at a time. This is SF Confidential

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U.S. Army Contracting Command needs small businesses. They communicate the need... we just need to show up. One way to show up is at Industry Days like COL Lisbon Williams, Senior Contracting Official does for US ACC Orlando. Key Information in This Deck • ACC-Orlando Workload by Point of Contact Responsible • Marine Corps Systems Command Program Manager Training Systems (PM TRASYS) Update from COL Wynndee Young (PM) and others on the team. When the US Army shares key information like this out, it is our responsibility to consumer it if we want to support their mission. ___________________________________ 🔥 Join 28,330 others and subscribe to my GovCon newsletter | https://lnkd.in/es6qfwgk 👀 Follow me (Neil McDonnell) on LinkedIn™ and hit the 🔔 on my profile to see more government contracting content like 44,171 other people do.

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As SGM/CSMs, we must champion the integration of funding stream education into Professional Military Education (PME) for all NCOs to ensure our formations are fully trained and mission-ready. Knowledge of resources like I-TTDY, WHST, and DAWDA is critical for securing the tools and opportunities needed for operational success. The Army Contracting Command (ACC) is in its infancy in educating NCOs on these funding streams, but it’s a work in progress. We are steadily building an organization of continuous learning, equipping NCOs to leverage these resources effectively to achieve full operational contracting capabilities. By embedding this training in PME, we empower NCOs to optimize budgets, prioritize mission-critical training, and enhance readiness. Let’s commit to making funding education a PME requirement, fostering a culture of financial acumen and continuous learning to strengthen our force. What are some funding streams you have leveraged? #ArmyReadiness #NCOEducation #PME #ContinuousLearning #PPBE

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