Interview transcript:
Terry Gerton Well, I know that PSC is doing a lot with border security these days, with all of the funding going to DHS through the reconciliation bill and potentially through the 2026 budget. You’ve got an event coming up, PSC on the Hill, that’s focused on border security. Tell us about what’s coming up.
Jim Carroll Thank you, Terry. We are. We tried to be very agile and nimble because that’s what the federal government is asking of our members. And as you said, there’s a lot of emphasis right now on both DHS and DOD. And so we’re responding. We are hosting a meeting on September 16th, so just about a month away, and we’re going to be up at the Rayburn House Office Building for PSC on the Hill. And of course, people can find us at PSCouncil.org. But we’re hosting an event at the request of a member of Congress, an event for protecting our borders. And what we’re doing is, our members are so involved in securing the border, because there’s so much emphasis now, we’re actually hosting an event to showcase the technology and the solutions that PSC members are bringing to this. And so all of the relevant congressional members have been invited, their staffs have been invited from the committees, so that they can actually get a demonstration of this latest technology in keeping with the president and the administration’s focus on the border.
Terry Gerton So what do you want the congressional members and their staffs to take away from that event?
Jim Carroll It’s really just that, that our members are providing the latest solutions, the latest technology. I know the president likes to talk about the wall, but really what we’re talking about are solutions in addition to the physical barrier. It’s the technological solutions that our members bring to bear on this to make sure that we’re focused on the wrong people coming in, to let the immigration folks deal with those folks who are trying to come into the country through appropriate ways, so that we can use technology to secure the border and allow for the president’s mission to be carried out in a safe and effective manner.
Terry Gerton I know you’re also planning a trip to the border, taking members of your council there in person. What do you hope that they take away from that?
Jim Carroll Yeah, we’re bringing Professional Service Council members for what appears to be a two-day visit. It’s gained in popularity within CBP so that one day will be spent at a land port of entry in California. And again, this is for CBP to give an explanation to our members of the problems that they are facing with so many vehicles coming into the country through the ports of entry. It’s the busiest land port in the country at one of the ports in San Diego and just thousands and thousands of vehicles per hour coming through, and how can technology help Customs and Border Protection with those technological challenges to provide solutions? And then the other day, we’ll be driving just a little distance away to what we believe will be the port of Los Angeles. So the seaport where cargo containers, again, by the thousands are coming in, so what CBP has asked is for them to demonstrate to our PSC members the challenges that are presented by this and then for our members to come back, usually to the DMV area where our Federal News Network has a great home here, to come up with solutions and then to come back to CBP. And what they really wanted to understand is something that we’re hearing across the government — so we’re wondering where this phrase started, maybe Terry you can do some digging about it — but they want to understand the ‘art of the possible.’ And we’re hearing that in several different departments. So you, through your network, you’re going to have to figure out where ‘art of the possible’ came in. But that’s what our members are being asked by various departments, including the Department of Defense, to understand what really the latest technology is. Terry, things have changed in the last five years, in the last year, and God knows they probably changed over the weekend in terms of technology. And so those are some of the DHS issues that we’re giving our members right now.
Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Jim Carroll. He’s the executive director of the Professional Services Council. Jim, I know we’ve talked here about domestic focus, but you also are planning some international trips. You’re engaged with AUKUS in some events coming up. Tell us about those.
Jim Carroll Yeah, we’re headed to AUKUS in London, the Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum 2025 will be in London. And there’ll be multiple countries there to understand how to really for governments across the world, and so many of our members are international and the industrial bases there, and so this will be a great opportunity for our members, for us to be there and understand how we can deliver some truly advanced capabilities. I would say most of that is probably DoD-focused, but it certainly is going to be a little bit larger than that. Some of the topics, we know, are going to AI. Terry, you must, again, be hearing from your sources, everyone is talking about AI. And I don’t think it can escape us. It was really interesting, we had dinner with some friends on Saturday night, and we were trying to remember something, and instead of using Google, they pulled up one of their AI apps and did it through that. And so I think we’re going to see that both personally and professionally really expand in 2025 and in 2026 with AI, machine learning, autonomous systems, and the interplay there with defense and national security.
Terry Gerton You’re absolutely right, Jim, a day does not go by when I don’t have an AI conversation with someone. It’s in every part of the technology that we talk about. So as you’re engaged with your counterparts in the international discussion, what do you hope to leave with?
Jim Carroll The fact that there is unifying information across the industry and some of it is about the safeguards. Terry, you just said every day we’re having a conversation, there are parts of AI that present, I believe, some serious challenges and safety concerns for the ability to access data that it should not or engage in some operational aspects where we need to be very cautious of how quickly we’re advancing before we really understand it. And so this is an opportunity in London for us to send a representative, to have some other governments there, to really sort of understand the speed at which we adopt some of this technology.
Terry Gerton Well, you and I have talked about how AI might transform the acquisition process itself across our government. I know that you just hosted your second reverse industry day with NASA, so talk to us about how personal engagement is also transforming the acquisition processes.
Jim Carroll Terry, there’s no replacement for you ever. No AI could ever replace Terry Gerton at Federal News Network. The government still does want face-to-face meetings. They still want to develop their relationship. Earlier this year, we had a reverse industry day at NASA here in D.C. And again, we’re very grateful that NASA found so much benefit to it that they called us and said, would we please host a second one, but do it at Kennedy Space Center. And so last week, we organized an event for our members down at Kennedy Space Center to really understand and meet with the people there that are doing the procurement and the acquisition. And we put on a mock internal discussion with a company about all of the thoughts and all the considerations, all of the deltas that go into whether or not a company should place a bid and how they do it. I saw a mock of the mock prior to the event to make sure that I thought it was going to provide value and it went really well and they really sort of understood, from the feedback we’re getting already, that NASA understood some of the considerations and sometimes how companies are discouraged from applying when in fact, better communications would have, from NASA or from any of these government agencies, would have allowed for more open, competitive, effective, efficient bidding. And so I do want to thank some of our larger and smaller and medium-sized companies who all participated. The 400 members of PSC, we do represent the large, small, medium. PKQ Solutions, CGI Federal, Global Exploration Advisors, Lockheed Martin, FMP, KBR, Amentum, and then the Institute for Digital Enterprise Advancement with Larry Helm. Just a great event with our members going down there. And like I said, our members are going to have to get their frequent flyer card out between going to Florida, going to the southwest border, going to London. We are plugging them in everywhere as quickly as possible. This is a new administration, Terry, and now is the time to get in there and establish these relationships.
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