Speakers

Mr. Douglas R. Bush was confirmed by the United States Senate as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) on February 9, 2022. He took office on February 11, 2022. In this position, he serves as the Army Acquisition Executive, the Senior Procurement Executive, the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and the Army’s Senior Research and Development official. He also has principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics.

Mr. Bush leads the execution of the Army’s acquisition function and the acquisition management system. His responsibilities include providing oversight for the life cycle management
and sustainment of Army weapon systems and equipment from research and development through test and evaluation, acquisition, logistics, fielding, and disposition. He is also responsible for appointing, managing, and evaluating program executive officers and managing the Army Acquisition Corps and Army Acquisition Workforce. In addition, he oversees the Elimination of Chemical Weapons program.

From March 8, 2021 to September 24, 2021, Mr. Bush served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) following his appointment as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
From 2019-2020, Mr. Bush served as the Deputy Staff Director of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). In this position, he managed all aspects of HASC administrative and legislative operations, including committee personnel and operations, emergency and safety procedures, the committee’s budget, member and staff travel, and classified information management. He oversaw operations of 70 members of House Armed Services Committee staff working in support of 57 members of Congress serving on committee responsible for oversight of the Department of Defense

From 2007-2019, as a Professional Staff Member of the HASC, Mr. Bush was the lead staff member responsible for analysis and oversight of a wide range of Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy combat system acquisition programs, with a focus on minimizing cost growth, delays, and shortfalls in delivered capability. Aviation programs overseen included fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, and air- launched missiles and munitions. Ground systems overseen included tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious systems, ammunition, small arms, and communications/network equipment programs.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
• 2005-2007, Legislative Director, Office of Congressman Neil Abercrombie, Washington, DC
• 2003-2005, Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Congressman Jim Cooper, Washington, DC • 2002-2003, Legislative Correspondent, Office of Senator Bill Nelson, Washington, DC
• 2001-2002, National Security Analyst, Association of the United States Army, Arlington, VA
• 1993-1998, Officer, United States Army, 24th and 3rd Infantry Divisions, Fort Stewart, GA
 

COLLEGE:
• MA, National Security Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 2002
• BS, Political Science (American Politics), U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1993

Mr. Dave Tremper is currently serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Integration and Interoperability (AI2) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD (A&S)). In this position, he is responsible for deriving strategies for cross- military service development, acquisition, and fielding of joint capabilities in support of the Combatant Commanders’ joint force mission needs.

Mr. Tremper was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in June 2020 as the Director for Electronic Warfare (EW) in OUSD (A&S). In this prior role, he was the U.S. Department of Defense’s senior leader providing guidance and advocacy for
U.S. development and acquisition of EW capabilities and systems.

Prior to coming to the Pentagon, Mr. Tremper served as a program manager at the Defense Applied Research Project Agency (DARPA) from 2017-2020 and at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) from 2008-2017. Within both organizations he created and managed applied research programs in the areas of Electronic Warfare, Counter-Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C-ISR) and Positioning, Navigation and Timekeeping (PNT) for both stand- alone and networked systems applications. He led the development and successful transition of new electronic support (ES), electronic attack (EA), electronic protection (EP) and PNT capabilities into surface, submarine, air, and ground platforms for anti-ship missile defense (ASMD), C-ISR, suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD), counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED), platform protection and passive-targeting operations, including the use of both manned and unmanned platforms. Mr. Tremper formerly served as electronics engineer and section head at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in the Tactical Electronic Warfare Division where he developed, integrated, and tested EW payloads in a variety of manned and unmanned platforms.

In addition to providing leadership over US DoD joint capability acquisition, Mr. Tremper serves as the Co-Chair of the EW Working Group under the bilateral Australia-Ministerial (AUSMIN) Defense Acquisition Committee and the US National Lead for the EW Working Group under the trilateral Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Joint Steering Group. Mr.

Tremper currently serves as the Member-at-Large for EW to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science and Technology Organization Systems, Concepts, and Integration (STO SCI) panel. He formerly served as the Chairman of the STO SCI Integrated Survivability sub-panel.

Mr. Tremper has received numerous awards including the DARPA Meritorious Public Service Medal, both the Department of the Navy Meritorious and Superior Civilian Service Awards, the ONR Future Naval Capability (FNC) Program Manager of the Year Award and the NATO Scientific Achievement Award. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Catholic University of America (CUA) and his Master of Science in electrical engineering from Clarkson University with additional coursework following his master’s degree at both Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and CUA. He formerly served as an adjunct professor at CUA in electrical engineering.

Brendan Burke supports Salesforce Public Sector Strategy and Business Development. He is responsible for supporting global government strategic accounts within Federal, State, Local, and provincial governments as well as driving digital transformation in the public sector.

Prior to joining Salesforce in Brendan was Principal at SDVO Solution LLC, a Value-Added Reseller, where he focused on helping clients develop and execute complex enterprise IT transactions across the Federal space, aiding in the strategy and acquisition of IT solutions.

He was previously a member of the Senior Executive Service from 2018 through 2021. His last Government position was the Deputy Program Executive Officer of Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS). In this role, he managed more than 37 program offices and 71 acquisition programs that supported communications, logistics, medical, finance, personnel, training, and procurement systems for ten combatant commands, with a $4 billion annual budget.

He also held Government leadership roles supporting the Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program and the General Fund Enterprise Business System Increment II. As project director for Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions, he developed a flexible procurement strategy that enabled the Army to procure IT hardware, software and services via the IT e-mart, the Army’s e-commerce site.

Brendan began his civil service career as a contracting officer with U.S. Army Central Command Life Cycle Management Command. Prior to that, he was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, serving in various positions within the contracting field.

Brendan earned a master's degree in national resource strategy from The Dwight Eisenhower School for National Security, a master's degree in Economics from the University of New Hampshire and a bachelor's degree in Operations Research and Economics from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Brendan was a member of the Army Acquisition Corps with Level III certification in both program management and contracting.

David Rouse leads Verizon’s Department of Defense and National Security global sales organization. Verizon delivers mission oriented-solutions globally in support of the National Security agencies, international defense organizations, the DoD and its mission partners.

In his previous roles with Verizon, he served as Director for US Department of Defense sales, Associate Director for Department of Defense wireline sales, Managing Client Partner for the US Department of Air Force, Department of Navy, and DoD Healthcare segments, and as Client Partner on the Defense Information Systems Agency account. Rouse was responsible for the company's early support and increasing role with defense enterprise service offerings in the areas of mobility, cybersecurity, and various technology transformation initiatives.

Beyond Verizon, Rouse served in a variety of technical, sales, and leadership roles with Lumen Technologies and Sprint in support of customers in the federal, state, education, healthcare, utility, and financial industry segments. He also has start-up experience with Quantum Xchange.

Prior to his time in industry, Rouse was a telecommunication engineer at the Defense Information Systems Agency. His work focused on global voice and video communications solutions, including support of Desert Shield/Storm.

Rouse holds a master’s degree in telecommunications and computers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from West Virginia University. He also holds a master’s certificate in organizational leadership from Villanova University.

Bradley Peniston is executive editor of Defense One. A national security journalist for a quarter-century, he helped launch Military.com, served as managing editor of Defense News, and was editor of Armed Forces Journal. His books include No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf (Naval Institute Press, 2006), which has been featured in the Chief of Naval Operations' Professional Reading Program.

Patrick Tucker is science and technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of THE NAKED FUTURE: WHAT HAPPENS IN A WORLD THAT ANTICIPATES YOUR EVERY MOVE? (CURRENT, 2014). Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years. Tucker has written about emerging technology in Slate, The Sun, MIT Technology Review, Wilson Quarterly, The American Legion Magazine, BBC News Magazine, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.

Marcus Weisgerber is the Global Business Editor for Defense One, where he writes about the intersection of business and national security. He has been covering defense and national security issues for more than 16 years, previously as Pentagon correspondent for Defense News and chief editor of Inside the Air Force. He has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and often travels with the defense secretary and other senior military officials.

Marcus’ work has been cited by the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and many other U.S. and international publications. He has provided expert analysis on BBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, SiriusXM and other television and radio networks.

In 2018, he won a Neal Award for his coverage of the Pentagon and defense industry. Marcus served as vice president of the Pentagon Press Association from 2015 to 2022. An avid hockey fan, Marcus earned a bachelor's degree in English/Journalism from the University of New Hampshire.