This Success After Service (SAS) episode features Daniel Gomez, Founder & CEO of First Person Xperience and 23-year Army veteran, returning to GovCon Unscripted for a high-level discussion on modern warfare, doctrine, AI disruption, and the power of simulation-based training.

From EFP innovation in Iraq to drone warfare in Ukraine and generative AI shaping perception in real time, Danny breaks down why technology alone doesn’t win wars, humans do.

This conversation explores:

• Why military planning is fundamentally storytelling

• How simulation and “fictitious play” prepare leaders for chaos

• Why doctrine must evolve, but carefully

• The psychological impact of information warfare

• What GovCon leaders can learn from battlefield adaptability

If you operate in federal contracting, national defense, or emerging tech—this episode reframes how you think about risk, innovation, and strategic decision-making.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction to Success After Service series

02:00 – Iran strike discussion & strategic reactions

08:30 – Why technology alone doesn’t win wars

10:45 – The Rhino Mount innovation story

16:00 – Drones, doctrine, and adaptation

19:00 – AI, psyop anime, and perception warfare

25:00 – Storytelling as military planning

31:00 – “The Closest Thing to War” training philosophy

36:00 – Lessons from Ukraine drone footage

39:00 – Building the LAB: Simulation for modern leaders

Resources:

First Person Xperience Website

Daniel's LinkedIn Profile

Chelsea's LinkedIn Profile

🎧 Listen now on:

🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482

🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy

Like and follow us:

🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpodcast/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/

Join our #govcon #community:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/

New to GovCon? Here’s a guide:

https://share.hsforms.com/288nO18bsRCCmdJZL66pClwbzmvx

21 AI Prompts to Supercharge Your GovCon BD Engine::

https://collaborativecompositions.com/21-ai-prompts-to-supercharge-your-govcon-bd-engine/

AI Prompt Guide for Federal Contractor Marketing:

https://collaborativecompositions.com/ai-prompt-guide-for-federal-contractor-marketing/

18 AI Prompts to Build Your GovCon Growth Strategy::

https://collaborativecompositions.com/18-ai-prompts-for-govcon-growth-strategy/

In this episode of GovCon Unscripted, Chelsea Roberts sits down with Guy Timberlake, Co-Founder of The American Small Business Coalition, to talk about the myths, misunderstandings, and bad habits that keep government contractors stuck in the messy middle.

Guy shares lessons from nearly four decades in federal contracting, including why most companies chase the wrong opportunities, why RFIs aren’t the starting point, and why contract ceilings don’t mean what most people think they mean. The conversation dives into Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors, the importance of real customer intelligence, and how expectations have changed between primes, subs, and agencies.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to move from reactive bidding to intentional strategy in the federal market.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:00 Guy’s background in federal contracting

05:00 From doing to teaching GovCon strategy

07:30 Why teaming expectations changed

10:00 RFIs, competition, and market shifts

14:00 Iceberg blindness explained

17:00 Easy-button myths in GovCon

20:00 Ethical Stalking framework

23:00 Intelligence vs tools

30:00 Contract ceilings vs real value

33:00 Why context matters in GovCon data

36:00 Always be learning

37:30 How to connect with Guy

Resources

Go-To-Guy Timberlake's LinkedIn Profile

The American Small Business Coalition

Chelsea Roberts's LinkedIn Profile

🎧 Listen now on:

🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482

🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy

Like and follow us:

🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpodcast/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/

Join our #govcon #community:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/

New to GovCon? Here’s a guide for you:

https://share.hsforms.com/288nO18bsRCCmdJZL66pClwbzmvx

21 AI Prompts to Supercharge Your GovCon BD Engine:

https://collaborativecompositions.com/21-ai-prompts-to-supercharge-your-govcon-bd-engine/

AI Prompt Guide for Federal Contractor Marketing

https://collaborativecompositions.com/ai-prompt-guide-for-federal-contractor-marketing/

18 AI Prompts to Build Your GovCon Growth Strategy

https://collaborativecompositions.com/18-ai-prompts-for-govcon-growth-strategy/

In this Success After Service (SAS) episode of GovCon Unscripted, Chelsea Roberts sits down with Matt MacGregor, Founder and COO of Creative Defense Network, to talk about the real tension inside defense acquisition moving fast vs staying compliant.

Matt shares lessons from 20+ years inside the Pentagon, working acquisition reform, policy, software pathway rollout, OTAs, and Middle Tier of Acquisition. The conversation breaks down what’s actually slowing the system down, where policy helps, where it hurts, and why leadership, not regulations may be the biggest driver of change.

Topics include:

Acquisition reform reality vs theory

OTAs and why flexibility matters

MTA and software pathway lessons learned

IDIQ strategy problems

Policy vs leadership in reform

Where acquisition is heading next

Timestamps:

01:05 Matt’s background in acquisition

03:38 Being told he was “going too fast”

04:45 MTA and reform efforts

07:12 Creativity requires fewer boundaries

08:35 How MTA is actually used

10:30 Changes to acquisition authority

15:05 Software pathway challenges

20:00 OTAs and flexible contracting

22:03 “OT should be used for pretty much everything”

24:00 IDIQ problems

28:14 Fear of doing it wrong

33:40 Future of acquisition reform

Resources:

Matt MacGregor's LinkedIn Profile

Matt MacGregor's Email Address

Creative Defense Network

Defense Tech and Acquisition

Chelsea Roberts's LinkedIn Profile

🎧 Listen now on:

🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482

🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy

Like and follow us:

🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS

🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpodcast/

🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/

Join our #govcon #community:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/

New to GovCon? Here’s a guide for you:

https://share.hsforms.com/288nO18bsRCCmdJZL66pClwbzmvx

21 AI Prompts to Supercharge Your GovCon BD Engine:

https://collaborativecompositions.com/21-ai-prompts-to-supercharge-your-govcon-bd-engine/

AI Prompt Guide for Federal Contractor Marketing

https://collaborativecompositions.com/ai-prompt-guide-for-federal-contractor-marketing/