Leonel Garciga, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer and a two-time Wash100 awardee, has signed and issued a memorandum establishing an interim approved products list, or APL, that the Army can use pending the creation of a validated servicewide APL.

Published on June 4, the memo applies to all Army systems and components that receive, process, store, display or transmit data throughout the entire system development lifecycle, including platforms that support research, development, test and evaluation and Army-controlled systems operated by a contractor or an entity on behalf of the military branch.

Garciga will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2025 Army Summit on June 18. Hear speakers as they discuss the service’s modernization imperatives, force structure optimization, national security missions and more at this Potomac Officers Club-hosted event.

The Army CIO is responsible for developing APL policy, while the deputy chief of staff, G-6, leads its implementation.

Policy for Interim Army APL 

According to the memo, all Army organizations will comply with the interim policy until a validated Army-wide APL is developed.

Army authorizing officials, or AOs, should not require a full assessment of a product on an APL. The sole requirement is that the organization should ensure that the APL item is suitable for operational use and its employment is consistent with the operational environment’s security measures.

The memo states that validating a product’s security on an APL will be managed through a documented configuration control process published by Headquarters Department of the Army for standardization throughout the branch. 

The Army requires security testing results to be recorded in the eMASS record representing the authorization boundary where the product will be used. 

The AO must approve use and reauthorize the boundary if introducing a product from an APL changes the accepted risk of an authorization boundary.

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday released a bill that would appropriate $831.5 billion in defense funding for fiscal year 2026, adhering to the discretionary budget topline in the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed budget.

Advancing US Military Superiority

The FY 2026 defense appropriations bill seeks to enhance investments in 5th and 6th generation aircraft, including the F-35, F-47 and F/A-XX; support modernization of the nuclear triad that includes the B-21 Raider, Columbia-class submarine and Sentinel; and targeting resources for unmanned aerial systems, uncrewed maritime platforms and land-based counter-unmanned aerial systems to advance capabilities and strengthen national defense.

The measure would invest in national security space, including missile tracking satellite, proliferated missile warning and next-generation intelligence collection systems; allocate about $13 billion for missile defense and space programs in support of the Golden Dome project; and preserve F-15s and U-2s while investing in next-generation fighter aircraft and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

The proposed legislation would continue to prioritize innovation by providing $1.3 billion combined for the Defense Innovation Unit, the Office of Strategic Capital, and the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program.

Space Systems Procurement

The measure includes $2 billion to buy 11 space launch missions under the third phase of the National Security Space Launch contract and $680 million to procure two GPS IIIF spacecraft.

Under the defense bill, $7 billion would go to classified space programs, $3.9 billion for missile warning/missile tracking systems and $1.8 billion for jam-resistant and wideband military satellite communications.

Hypersonics Programs

The legislation would provide $955 million for the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon; $483.5 million for the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile program; $806 million for the continued development of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike program; and $412 million for hypersonics test infrastructure.

Other DOD Provisions

The bill proposes an increase of 3.8 percent in basic pay for all military personnel; seeks to reduce $3.6 billion and almost 45,000 civilian full-time equivalents to capture Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative efforts; and requires detailed reporting on DOD’s proposed allocations and expenditures of reconciliation.

The Defense Logistics Agency has announced that it is modernizing its distribution network to support military operations in complex and contested environments.

U.S. Army Maj. James Marley, DLA Distribution’s joint logistics contingency planner for U.S. Central Command, released a new white paper highlighting the shift in logistics from a back-end function to a critical component of military success. Marley draws this conclusion from the Ukraine conflict and the mounting strategic competition with China and Russia. He also emphasized the need to adapt to cyber threats, such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

Key Factors of Modernization

The DLA’s modernization initiative is anchored in four core functions: establishing the conditions for innovation; streamlining enterprise-level systems management; applying data-driven management; and advancing warehouse operations. It embraces operational complexity and focuses on readiness and resilience instead of efficiency and cost, enabling operations through uncertainty and degraded conditions. It hinges on data-driven decision-making and advanced technologies to gain operational oversight through real-time performance tracking, predictive analytics and visualization of operational trends.

Logistics Agency Learning From Past Mistakes

The agency is applying lessons from the 2017 supply misallocation that cost $49 million and other missteps to enhance forecasting methods with data-driven decision-making. It will no longer rely on after-action reports, allowing logisticians to address supply chain issues efficiently.

“Data is no longer a lagging indicator. It is a decision-making tool that shapes how DLA Distribution allocates resources, manages labor and postures inventory,” wrote Marley.