Connectivity Drives Future of Defense

Mr. Douglas R. Bush was confirmed by the United States Senate as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) on February 9, 2022. He took office on February 11, 2022. In this position, he serves as the Army Acquisition Executive, the Senior Procurement Executive, the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and the Army’s Senior Research and Development official. He also has principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics.

Mr. Bush leads the execution of the Army’s acquisition function and the acquisition management system. His responsibilities include providing oversight for the life cycle management and sustainment of Army weapon systems and equipment from research and development through test and evaluation, acquisition, logistics, fielding, and disposition. He is also responsible for appointing, managing, and evaluating program executive officers and managing the Army Acquisition Corps and Army Acquisition Workforce. In addition, he oversees the Elimination of Chemical Weapons program.

From March 8, 2021 to September 24, 2021, Mr. Bush served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) following his appointment as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.

From 2019-2020, Mr. Bush served as the Deputy Staff Director of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). In this position, he managed all aspects of HASC administrative and legislative operations, including committee personnel and operations, emergency and safety procedures, the committee’s budget, member and staff travel, and classified information management. He oversaw operations of 70 members of House Armed Services Committee staff working in support of 57 members of Congress serving on committee responsible for oversight of the Department of Defense

From 2007-2019, as a Professional Staff Member of the HASC, Mr. Bush was the lead staff member responsible for analysis and oversight of a wide range of Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy combat system acquisition programs, with a focus on minimizing cost growth, delays, and shortfalls in delivered capability. Aviation programs overseen included fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and air-launched missiles and munitions. Ground systems overseen included tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious systems, ammunition, small arms, and communications/network equipment programs.

Chris Everich is a Distinguished Architect in Verizon’s Federal and Department of Defense engineering organization. Verizon delivers mission oriented-solutions globally in support of the DoD and its mission partners, Federal and Civilian Government Agencies.

Chris is a visionary technology leader with over 30 years’ experience in the areas of complex networking, telecommunications and security solution designs. He has a diverse technical background with experience and expertise in SDN, network and cloud virtualization, UCaaS and telephony, 5G mobility architectures, satellite communications, and security solutions.

His experience includes corporate C level executive engagement, across a broad spectrum of complex deals, and development of strategic technical and business solutions that directly impact financial performance for next-generation technologies and solution optimization. Chris has traveled extensively and has experience with global telecommunications architectures and solutions. In his current role, Chris leads cross functional teams on complex Federal multi-tower deals. He has won several multi-billion-dollar technology proposals.

Prior to Verizon, Chris a was civilian Electronics Engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense where he earned several prestigious awards, to include a Presidential Citation for Meritorious Performance.

Chris holds a master’s degree in telecommunications and computers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, a master’s degree in communications and signal processing from The Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The University of South Florida. He is an active Mission Check Pilot with the Civil Air Patrol, and auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

General James Rainey – Commander, Army Futures Command (AFC). Headquartered in Austin, Texas, AFC is the Army’s newest major command, responsible for transforming the Army to ensure war winning future readiness, employing 30,000 soldiers and civilians at 128 locations worldwide. In his previous position, General Rainey served at the Pentagon, where he oversaw the Army’s operations and plans.

General Rainey commissioned as an infantry lieutenant upon graduation from Eastern Kentucky University in 1987. He has commanded at every level from platoon to division and has served in numerous combat deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He earned a master’s degree in advanced military arts and science from the School of Advanced Military Studies and another in Public Administration from Troy University. He also completed a Senior Service Fellowship at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Relations. General Rainey has been happily married to his wife, Tracy, for over 36 years. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and a grandson

David Rouse leads Verizon’s Department of Defense and National Security global sales organization. Verizon delivers mission oriented-solutions globally in support of the National Security agencies, international defense organizations, the DoD and its mission partners.

In his previous roles with Verizon, he served as Director for US Department of Defense sales, Associate Director for Department of Defense wireline sales, Managing Client Partner for the US Department of Air Force, Department of Navy, and DoD Healthcare segments, and as Client Partner on the Defense Information Systems Agency account. Rouse was responsible for the company’s early support and increasing role with defense enterprise service offerings in the areas of mobility, cybersecurity, and various technology transformation initiatives.

Beyond Verizon, Rouse served in a variety of technical, sales, and leadership roles with Lumen Technologies and Sprint in support of customers in the federal, state, education, healthcare, utility, and financial industry segments. He also has start-up experience with Quantum Xchange.

Prior to his time in industry, Rouse was a telecommunication engineer at the Defense Information Systems Agency. His work focused on global voice and video communications solutions, including support of Desert Shield/Storm.

Rouse holds a master’s degree in telecommunications and computers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from West Virginia University. He also holds a master’s certificate in organizational leadership from Villanova University.

Ms. Heidi Shyu is the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). In this role, she serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Defense (DoD), mandated with ensuring the technological superiority of the U.S. military, and is responsible for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the DoD enterprise. She also oversees the activities of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the DoD Laboratory and Engineering Center enterprise, and the Under Secretariat staff focused on developing advanced technology and capability for the U.S. military.

Previously, she served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA (ALT)), from September 2012 to January 2016. Prior to this, she was Acting ASA (ALT) beginning in June 2011 and appointed the Principal Deputy in November 2010. As the ASA (ALT), she served as the Army Acquisition Executive, the Senior Procurement Executive, the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and the Army’s Senior Research and Development official. She had principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics. Ms. Shyu also led the execution of the Army’s acquisition function and the acquisition management system. Her responsibilities included providing oversight for the life cycle management and sustainment of Army weapons systems and equipment from research and development through test and evaluation, acquisition, logistics, fielding, and disposition.

Prior to her government service, Ms. Shyu was the Vice President of Technology Strategy for Raytheon Company’s Space and Airborne Systems.

Ms. Shyu holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Brunswick in Canada, a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on System Sciences along with the Engineer’s Degree from UCLA. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of New Brunswick. She is also a graduate of the UCLA Executive Management Course Program.

A member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2000 to 2010, she served as the Vice Chair from 2003 to 2005 and Chair from 2005 to 2008. Ms. Shyu is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Honorary Fellow.