UP FRONT.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

All Shyu Is Saying Is Give Peace a Chance

Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said she convened the CEOs of the military's federally funded research and development centers to hold peace talks.

"The first thing I said is, 'I want you guys to collaborate together instead of competing against each other,'" she said at the recent Special Operations Forces Industry Conference.

She had heard complaints that the labs see each other as rivals, not allies. "I want to see the best and brightest minds collaborate," she said. There are now quarterly meetings with her and the lab chiefs.

In exchange for peace, they have asked her to share threat intelligence. "What I've seen now is a complete change. They're working collaboratively together to help solve my problems," she added.

No Explosive Growth for Energetics Industry

During remarks at the 2022 Breakthrough Energetics Conference, Perdue University President Mitchell Daniels said energetic materials, which make bombs and propellants, have been a neglected field. Someone "said they worked in the area, went away, worked elsewhere for 30 years, came back and nothing had changed," he said.

Later in the day, the source of the comment revealed himself during a panel discussion.

"That was me," said John Fisher, principal scientist with the Energetics Technology Center. "When I came back in energetic materials in 2020, I had the opportunity to attend some technical conferences and I understood everything that was being talked about," he said. The presentations were about the same explosives and propellants he worked with in the 1990s.

"That's what it used to be when I was in the business. Nothing changed," he said.

For more on energetics, see the cover story on page 18.

No to the 'NOFORN,' Yes to the YESFORN'

Special Operations Command's leader Gen. Richard Clarke was on a recent trip visiting SOCOM personnel who were working in a Middle East ally's information operations center when he spotted a novelty coffee mug on a desk. The word "YESFORN" was printed on both sides, a play on the common "NOFORN" intelligence classification meaning "no foreign nationals."

The coffee mug...