Work under the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Workforce 2025 initiative involves identifying capabilities and services needed to address the strategic threat posed by China, as well as determining the expertise needed for the agency to deliver them, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner.
The director of DISA, commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network and Wash100 awardee made the remarks during a fireside chat at the AFCEA NOVA Army IT Day, which took place on Jan. 11, DISA said Tuesday.
“In order to continue to compete, to never get into conflict, we have to be more agile, we have to be more flexible, we have to have the right velocity and a sense of urgency, as well as the right critical thinking,” Skinner told former U.S. Army deputy chief information officer Greg Garcia, who moderated the discussion.
DISA describes Workforce 2025 as “human capital investment to empower and posture the agency’s global workforce.” Unveiled in June last year, as reported by Breaking Defense, the initiative seeks to help DISA attract new talent while upskilling the personnel it already has.
Skinner said in an interview at the time that the initiative strives “to lay a foundation for employee success.” He also issued a warning, saying that focusing exclusively on the technologies to address the China threat while forgetting the people who will operate those technologies will result in stagnation and the U.S. and its allies becoming “outpaced.”