Why Contributing to Open Source Matters for the Mission

May 19, 2025

In this discussion, Brandt Keller, a former Marine and current software engineer at Defense Unicorns, shares insights on his transition to DevSecOps. He emphasizes the importance of contributing to open-source software, particularly in government systems, where reliance on tools like Kubernetes presents risks due to limited engagement. Brandt also highlights the challenges of designing for air-gapped environments and the need for a cultural shift towards embracing open ecosystems. Plus, he humorously concludes that cereal is indeed soup!

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ANECDOTE

From Marine Radio Tech To Software Problem-Solver

Brandt recounts joining the Marines, working communications for infantry, and later moving into software driven by solving real problems.
His military experience shaped a mission-focused approach to technology and problem solving.

INSIGHT

Projects Often Miss Air-Gap Use Cases

Many CNCF projects don't know about government air-gapped use cases and assume always-on connectivity.
This lack of awareness creates gaps when projects are later expected to run in disconnected or classified environments.

ADVICE

Show Up First, Then Contribute

Show up consistently in open source communities to build credibility and networks before contributing code.
Offer small help like documentation or rubber-ducking to become recognized and trusted by maintainers.

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On this episode of The Defense Unicorns Podcast, host Rebecca Lively sits down with Brandt Keller, software engineer and CNCF ambassador, to explore what happens when a former Marine brings his frontline mindset to DevSecOps. Brandt’s story is one of relentless problem-solving, especially in disconnected, air-gapped environments where “cloud-native” has to mean something entirely different.

Brandt unpacks how open source can be both a lifeline and a liability in government systems, and why just consuming it isn’t enough—real security means showing up, contributing, and understanding what’s under the hood. He shares his perspective on trust, transparency, and why the U.S. government’s lack of contribution to critical tools like Kubernetes might be the real risk. The conversation also explores the cultural shift required to embrace open ecosystems in highly regulated spaces.

From debates over supply chain security and SBOMs to the practical challenges of deploying software in classified settings, this episode offers a grounded, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build tools that truly work at the tactical edge.

Key Quote:

“ When you try to take something that is not airgap friendly and make it airgap friendly, you quickly find out that you made a lot of assumptions about how this thing would be used and where, and kind of the underlying infrastructure and when you try to work back for them that it's, it, it's difficult. It's not something you can't overcome. It's not insurmountable, but it is difficult. But you also find out that there's just a lot of areas for. Resiliency that you didn't also plan for, that applied to connected environments. And so this is where I've kind of been diving into this more and more lately to try and to describe, and build some knowledge to around why this is important for kind of building any application today. It may be a little niche to go to the extreme of air gap, but I believe like there's still some of these underlying cloud native fundamentals that is like, if you start with the ability for knowing how your architecture adapts to varying levels of connectivity, then you're probably building a stronger, more resilient system overall.”

Brandt Keller

Time Stamps:

(03:19) The Defense Sector and Career Path

(06:15) Becoming a Cloud Native Computing Foundation Ambassador

(09:48) Open Source Contributions and the Challenges

(14:14) Government and the lack of Open Source

(32:53) Kubernetes and Foreign Contributions

(37:24) The Importance of Air Gap in Cloud Native Tools

(53:16) Lightning Round

Links:

Connect with Brandt Keller

Connect with Rebecca Lively

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