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Lessons for Pentagon Procurement from the Special Operations Enterprise

October 26, 2026
Lessons for Pentagon Procurement from the Special Operations Enterprise
Cogs of War

Cogs of War

Lessons for Pentagon Procurement from the Special Operations Enterprise

Lessons for Pentagon Procurement from the Special Operations Enterprise

Bonnie Evangelista, Cara Teeter, and Jonathan Panter
October 26, 2026

As the Pentagon races to buy hundreds of thousands of unmanned systems, acquisition professionals have turned to the special operations community to learn about how to buy commercial technologies fast. Cara Teeter, deputy assistant secretary of war for special operations analysis, resources, and capabilities, and chief technology officer for the Special Operations Forces enterprise, and Bonnie Evangelista, who leads acquisition transformation for the direct reporting portfolio manager for unmanned systems, stop by the studio. They share lessons from the competitions and marketplaces they implemented, including this summer’s inaugural accelerator event. They also discuss Project Agincourt and the new Autonomous Warfare Command, the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, and what it means to change the department’s culture.

Image: Sgt. Shawnee Vercammen via DVIDS.

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