{"id":15800,"date":"2021-05-13T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:34:23","slug":"preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Return to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Return to the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Return to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The national headlines, industry events and casual conversations with colleagues reinforce the notion that we will return to the workplace as we left it in 2020. In the defense industry, we should not accept this as inevitable. The work paradigm has shifted, and we have an important opportunity to go forward, not backward. We must take advantage of what we have learned and of changing attitudes and perceptions of what the workplace of the future is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment. We need to reflect on the successes we\u2019ve achieved in quickly accelerating to telework by reframing the culture of the defense industry and resetting for the future of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For decades, the defense-industrial base has struggled to recruit and retain top technology talent that is the lifeblood of keeping America\u2019s national security competitive. In January 2020, before offices across the United States were shuttered, the National Defense Industrial Association released \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndia.org\/-\/media\/vital-signs\/2020\/vital-signs_screen_v3.ashx\" target=\"_blank\">Vital Signs 2020: The Health and Readiness of the Defense Industrial Base<\/a>\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/2021\/02\/02\/c-grade-for-us-defense-industrys-health-warns-trade-group-report\/\" target=\"_blank\">gave industry a failing score<\/a> \u2014 a \u201cD\u201d in defense industry production related to skilled labor, goods and services, and raw materials used to develop end products and services for the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The talent challenges of the defense-industrial base are <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalinterest.org\/blog\/buzz\/report-pentagon-says-stem-education-deficit-weakening-america-177680\" target=\"_blank\">well documented<\/a> and made even more complex by requirements to be on or near military installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The need for a skilled, ready defense workforce has never been greater. In light of the evolving geopolitics and China\u2019s continued <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2021\/02\/05\/dont-underestimate-chinas-military-civil-fusion-efforts\/\" target=\"_blank\">investment<\/a> in STEM education as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2021\/04\/26\/china-simultaneously-commissions-three-warships-on-navy-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\">evolution<\/a> of its military-civil national security posture, now is the time to rethink how we can attract, develop and retain top talent in the industrial base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are poised to update our workplace norms in a post-pandemic world. We know our talent is eager for the opportunity to engage in hybrid work environments that provide flexibility for work-life balance and a chance to evolve workplace culture to retain the technology tools that have become ubiquitous to many teleworkers. In a recent Booz Allen Hamilton survey, 82 percent of our colleagues indicated a flexible work schedule is the most appealing aspect of the future of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond our current workforce, a more flexible, virtual future for the industrial base allows us to envision a talent pool beyond traditional military hubs to create more capacity to pull in top STEM talent nationwide. We\u2019ve seen firsthand the power of a distributed workforce during virtual technology demos, which save travel time and dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recent memos from the Air Force and Navy indicating that their workforce will be 50 percent work-from-home indefinitely provide a model for how the broader defense community can adopt progressive approaches that will provide greater flexibility to the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As leaders across industry and government begin to reset and reframe the future of work for the defense-industrial base, we would offer the following observations from our own experience and those we\u2019ve heard from across industry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, leaders must model the way. Military, civilian and industry leaders must set the conditions for hybrid work, signaling to their workforce a priority on flexibility, engaging colleagues both in the office and in telework, and using in-person collaboration time more meaningfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the topic of meaningful collaboration, leaders must reset how they use in-person engagement. In pre-pandemic days, cubes and offices near bases and installations were sometimes a stream of meetings better handled over emails. This status quo will no longer work; we need refreshed approaches to in-person collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second, leaders have an important opportunity to balance collaboration between those in the office and those working virtually to create an inclusive environment and drive toward meetings with greater purpose and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Classified spaces, laboratories and watch-center work will always require in-person elements. But consider how the government, the military and contractors at these facilities may be afforded more flexibility \u2014 whether through flexible work arrangements or compressed days. Given the transformational moment we are in, this may also be a time to consider and review what work must be conducted at classified facilities and what may be conducted remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now is the time. Leaders from industry and the Department of Defense must reset and reframe the future of work for the defense-industrial base. The ability to attract and retain the best and brightest talent in national security technology today and in the future depends on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Karen Dahut is the executive vice president and global defense group lead at Booz Allen Hamilton, where retired U.S. Army Gen. Dennis Via is the executive vice president and a leader in the firm\u2019s Joint Combat Command business and Aimee George Leary is executive vice president and talent lead.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":66,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[66,9,160,12,36,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4207,4208,4209],"class_list":["post-15800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-coronavirus","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XCJRTCSN5ZB4PBPMP4BZFMSOZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Karen Dahut, Gen. Dennis Via (ret.), Aimee George Leary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Karen Dahut, Gen. Dennis Via (ret.), Aimee George Leary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 811,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5112214.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Commentary\",\n\t                \"Coronavirus | COVID-19 Updates\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Industry\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Opinion\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5112214.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5112214.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5112214.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/13\\\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Commentary\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/commentary\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"commentary\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine - Defense News","description":"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine","og_description":"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00","author":"Karen Dahut, Gen. Dennis Via (ret.), Aimee George Leary","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Karen Dahut, Gen. Dennis Via (ret.), Aimee George Leary","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine","datePublished":"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/"},"wordCount":811,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5112214.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary","Coronavirus | COVID-19 Updates","Daily News Roundup","Industry","Newsletters","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/","name":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5112214.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-13T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T21:34:23+00:00","description":"The past 18 months have taught us that the defense workforce is adaptable, productive and collaborative in a virtual environment.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5112214.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5112214.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/05\/13\/preparing-the-defense-industrial-base-for-a-post-pandemic-work-routine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commentary","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/","ad_zone":"commentary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Preparing the defense-industrial base for a post-pandemic work routine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5112214.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15805,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15800\/revisions\/15805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15800"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}