Government Matters

Historical lessons on war in Ukraine Ron Marks, visiting professor at George Mason University, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former DCI Senate Liaison at the CIA, analyzes how Russian history can inform the U.S. government’s understanding of Putin’s actions against Ukraine   Navy’s plan for uncrewed, autonomous ships Tom Shugart, senior fellow in the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security and former submarine warfare officer for the U.S. Navy, discusses benefits of autonomous ships, technological risks associated with them and threats from China’s militarySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Air Force secretary on top priorities Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, discusses priorities and challenges, covering space, hypersonics, acquisition best practices, adversarial challenges, modernization, the fiscal year 2023 budget request and moreSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Accelerating innovation in the Navy Capt. Benjamin Van Buskirk, director of NavalX at DoD, describes how his organization is helping match the Navy’s challenges with solution providers more quickly and lead a culture change towards agility   US sending more sophisticated arms to Ukraine Ryan Evans, founder of War on the Rocks and CEO of Metamorphic Media, discusses Russia’s shift in strategy and new weapons shipments the United States is providing to Ukraine   Sanctions for buying Russian weapons Grant Rumley, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, discusses why it’s important to try to prevent other countries from buying weapons from Russia and how the U.S. can discourage them from doing soSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

USAID appoints new chief diversity officer Neneh Diallo, chief diversity officer at USAID, discusses the creation of her new role and the agency’s goals for improving diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility internally and externally   Turkey’s balancing act between NATO and Russia Ryan Brobst, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains how Turkey is involved in the Russia-Ukraine war and what the U.S. can do to encourage alignment with NATO   Implementing a national strategy for Web3 Charles Clancy, senior vice president and general manager of MITRE Labs and chief futurist for the MITRE Corporation, defines the third generation of the internet and discusses how the United States can address the economic and national security challenges it presentsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Defense Department CIO on zero trust, modernization and data John Sherman, chief information officer of the Department of Defense and acting chief digital and AI officer, discusses progress on priorities like cybersecurity and IT modernization as well as challenges such as data interoperability   Bringing war crime perpetrators to justice Marti Flacks, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Human Rights Initiative, discusses the process for identifying and bringing war criminals to justice in the Russia-Ukraine war and the role of the U.S. governmentSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stopping further Russian atrocities in Ukraine Peter Dickinson, UkraineAlert editor at the Atlantic Council and chief editor of Business Ukraine Magazine, discusses what Ukraine needs to defeat Russia militarily and whether the Pentagon is sending the right weapons   Assessing Russian intelligence and Putin’s next moves Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center and former senior CIA operations officer, discusses Russian intelligence failure and the possibility that Putin could use chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons   European dependence on Russian energy imports Emily Holland, professor at the U.S. Naval War College, analyzes the impacts of Russian oil and natural gas export restrictions on European, U.S. and global energy markets as well as the geopolitical ripple effectsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mounting Russian casualties in Ukraine Mark Cancian, senior adviser in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses high Russian troop loss, a breakdown in military discipline and the amount of time it could take to reach a diplomatic solution   China-Russia relations in the Arctic Circle CDR Jeremy Greenwood, federal executive fellow at the Brookings Institution and commander for the U.S. Coast Guard, discusses the suspension of Arctic Council operations because of the Russia-Ukraine war and the opportunity for the U.S. to distance China from Russia   Addressing drone safety and security risks Brian Bothwell, director on the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics Team at the Government Accountability Office, discusses risks from drones and questions raised by a recent report about government use and oversight of counter-drone technologiesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-n

Impact of Russia sanctions on global energy Richard Nephew, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, discusses how sanctions are affecting Russia and the rest of the world and how the United States can mitigate the impact on allies and partners   New game teaches students about National Security Council Caroline Netchvolodoff, vice president of education at the Council on Foreign Relations, describes how her organization’s new video game teaches students about foreign policy as part of a broader mission to build a more informed public   Naval support to Ukraine in war with Russia Arthur Herman, senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute, discusses the strategic importance of Black Sea access and capabilities Ukraine has against the Russian NavySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employee pay and new paid time off for voting Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, shares the latest news and announcements impacting federal civilian employees and describes how the government is working to be the country’s model employer   Creating opportunities with digital economy Rep. Ro Khanna, Democratic congressman from California’s Silicon Valley, discusses expansion of access to digital jobs, the Internet Bill of Rights, diversity in hiring, investment in science and technology and Congress’ support for UkraineSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Risk of chemical weapons use by Kremlin Andrew Weber, senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, discusses how likely it is for Putin to use chemical weapons against Ukraine and what the U.S. response would be if that were to happen   Russia’s military strategy shift in Ukraine war Benjamin Jensen, senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains why Russia has shifted its strategy and what the United States should do in response   FY23 national security budget $813.3 billion Roxana Tiron, senior reporter for Bloomberg Government, discusses how the war in Ukraine has affected the U.S. defense and national security budget and how the pacing threat is reflected in the budgetSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Caring for veterans with long Covid Dr. Carolyn Clancy, assistant under secretary for health for discovery, education and affiliate networks at the Veterans Health Administration, describes what the VA is doing to study and treat long Covid in veterans and how this work is contributing to healthcare for the broader population   More research needed to diagnose and treat long Covid Tim Persons, chief scientist for the Science, Technology Assessment and Analytics Team at the Government Accountability Office, explains how GAO is working to understand the budgetary impacts of long Covid and inform Congress of relevant insights from dataSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

USAID delivering Covid vaccines globally Jeremy Konyndyk, executive director of the COVID-19 Task Force at USAID, discusses the United States’ international vaccine donation effort, benefits for American taxpayers and lessons learned from the pandemic   Improving veteran care with 3D printing Dr. Beth Ripley, VHA 3D Printing Network Initiative enterprise lead, VA Ventures director and radiologist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, provides an update on the VA’s development of 3D-printed medical devices, model organs and living tissue to help veteransSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Combating press censorship in Russia Jamie Fly, president and chief executive officer of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, discusses his organization’s goal of providing critical news to audiences in countries where freedom of the press does not exist or is under attack   Ruling out no-fly zone over Ukraine a mistake? Raphael Cohen, director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program of Project AIR FORCE at the RAND Corporation, explains his argument about the no-fly zone option and the United States’ messaging to other countries   Reliability of the electrical grid Katherine Blunt, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, describes some of the weak points in the electrical power grid and efforts underway to increase its resilienceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Russia claims to launch hypersonic missiles in Ukraine Jeffrey Edmonds, research scientist at CNA, analyzes Russian military strategy, possible future scenarios and inferences the Pentagon can draw from Russia’s actions against Ukraine   Russian-Chinese relationship Lingling Wei, chief China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, discusses what Biden said to Chinese President Xi over video conference and whether China intends to send military support to RussiaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Importance of the Artemis program for space exploration Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, discusses the process and timeline for the Artemis moon missions, collaboration with international partners and the commercialization of space   Annual survey to analyze the health of America’s children Dr. Reem Ghandour, director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration in HHS, discusses improvements made to the National Survey of Children’s Health, which informs funding and policy decisionsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Improving the nation’s port infrastructure Lucinda Lessley, acting administrator of the Maritime Administration at the Department of Transportation, discusses new grant funding that will help expand port capacity and improve the supply chain   Directed energy weapons a game changer for DoD Col. Mark Gunzinger (USAF Ret.), director at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, describes the benefits of directed energy systems and progress the U.S. has made on developing them   Cyber attacks in Russia-Ukraine War Herb Lin, fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior research scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, goes over possible reasons Russia has not launched a major cyber attack on the United States or UkraineSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What’s next in Russian war against Ukraine? Klon Kitchen, senior fellow for foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, analyzes Russia’s actions and makes recommendations for U.S. response   Mission of the Federal Maritime Commission Max Vekich, commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, discusses supply chain bottlenecks, port congestion, FMC responsibilities and his top prioritiesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

High-tech intelligence gathering versus human spies Douglas London, associate professor at Georgetown University and former senior operations officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, discusses the value of human sources for intelligence gathering and recommendations for U.S. intelligence agencies   Defense budget $782 billion for FY2022 Leo Shane III, deputy editor for Military Times, breaks down what is in the fiscal year’s defense budget, including aid money for Ukraine, funding for research and development and more   Recommendations for the White House to advance equity initiatives Michael McAfee, president and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, discusses the government’s ability to influence racial equity and recommendations for making meaningful progressSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Current health of the defense industrial base Col. Wesley Hallman (USAF, ret.), senior vice president for strategy and policy at NDIA, discusses findings about the health of the defense industrial base and the effect of the pandemic   Recommendations for fiscal 2023 defense spending Maj. Gen. John Ferrari (U.S. Army, ret.), senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explains his recommendation for a topline defense budget of $816 billion for fiscal year 2023   Higher mortality rates for vets who experienced traumatic brain injury Jeffrey Howard, associate professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Texas at San Antonio, shares the results of a new investigation examining mortality rates among post-9/11 veterans compared to the general populationSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meeting the Biden administration’s infrastructure goals Christine Harada, executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, discusses how her organization coordinates with agencies and state and local governments to streamline the permitting process for large, federal infrastructure projects   Increasing Air Force aircraft readiness rates Deborah Lee James, former secretary of the Air Force, discusses the major problems contributing to low mission capability rates and strategies the Air Force is using to increase themSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.