Cogs of War Solving the Pentagon's Acquisition Puzzle
Jul 28, 2025
Bonnie Evangelista, an acquisition maverick and strategic advisor, dives deep into the challenges of Pentagon acquisition processes. She highlights the disconnect between the desired agility in acquisitions and the bureaucratic hurdles that impede progress. Evangelista shares her insights on the importance of fostering innovation through cultural change, advocating for streamlined processes and reduced bureaucracy. With her background in Army Defensive Cyber and the Joint AI Center, she emphasizes the need for building trust in federal contracting to enable meaningful reform.
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Accidental Career In Government Contracting
- Bonnie accidentally joined government through a DHS contracting intern pipeline after college at Virginia Tech.
- She cut her teeth at TSA buying and maintaining airport screening machines and learned on the job from mentors.
Mentor Who Pushed Beyond The Status Quo
- A mentor, Ron Gallyhew, kept pushing Bonnie beyond the status quo and taught her to help others rather than blame them.
- That mentoring style shaped her insurgent approach to acquisition reform.
Embedding Into Army Cyber And OTA Friction
- Bonnie moved to Army Defensive Cyber to embed contracting with the program office and leverage her OTA experience.
- She trained on OTAs and pushed back when centers taught FAR-style processes for non‑FAR vehicles.