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I have always enjoyed volunteering, it gives me the chance to help my community and get to know it better. It is also an opportunity to meet new people and learn from their experiences. Recently, I had the chance to volunteer at St. Luke's Community House for their Mobile Meals program, this program uses volunteers to deliver meals to people who are unable to leave their homes due to illness or disability. One of the things that made it possible for me to volunteer was the flexible hours that Cana LLC offers. Flexible hours or flextime means employees have different start and end times for their workday than the standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This allowed me to take an hour off from work to help with Mobile Meals and make up the time by working later into the evening when I am more productive. Having flexible hours increases productivity and gives employees the flexibility to volunteer and support their community. The benefits of flexible scheduling don’t stop there, according to this Fingerprint for Success post, employees with flexible schedules tend to be more satisfied with their job and have a better work-life balance. Does your current employer offer flextime, what are your thoughts on it? Lauren Dimbeg is a Software Developer at CANA LLC. You can reach her via her email at ldimberg@canallc.com or on Linkedin.

In recent years there has been a huge AI boom. New technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Github’s Copilot have excited the public and paved the way for rapid innovation. As a result, we are seeing many new AI technologies across fields: AI based anti-virus software, medical databases with integrated AI tools, and AI virtual assistants for programmers. AI technology will soon become a necessity for companies wishing to keep their data secure. In the near future, criminals will use AI to create more effective malware, more believable phishing attacks, and to convincingly impersonate users. The best way to counter these attacks may be to fight fire with fire. AI security systems could be used to detect attacks as they are happening, identify suspicious emails written, or monitor users for suspicious or risky activity. For example, researchers from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiatives at Virginia Tech and Deloitte are currently developing an AI system that can detect interference and jamming attacks on 5G networks as they are happening, and take automatic actions to prevent the system from going down. Through the use of AI, this system could stop attacks in a fraction of the time it would take a non AI system or manual reviewer. Healthcare will see a large amount of AI integration in the coming years. With AI technology healthcare providers will be able to improve their data gathering and analysis capabilities. One important use of AI is to improve the way we capture and reconstruct images, which can be extremely valuable for diagnosing and treating patients. In addition, AI can be given access to electronic health records and genomic data, allowing doctors to easily find relevant records to a specific case, and allowing researchers to find previously undetected connections between the health records and genomic data. On a more global scale, AI could be used to monitor the spread of diseases, allowing international health organizations to spot potential pandemics before they spread. Of course, the AI technologies that will most affect CANA will be those that assist with software development. Already many new technologies have been developed for software developers, most notably, Github’s Copilot and soon Copilot X. Copilot assists programmers by giving code suggestions and generating code from natural language prompts. In the near future, Copilot X will offer additional features such as locating bugs and generating tests for selected sections of code, writing descriptive descriptions for pull requests, and an early adoption of OpenAI’s GPT -4. Another up-and-coming AI tool for developers is Warp, an AI assistant for your terminal. Similar to Copilot, Warp can provide command suggestions, explain errors, or write scripts. No matter what field you are in, AI will soon become a necessary part of your business and everyday life. Whether you need to protect company secrets, improve your health, or develop the next big technology, AI will be there. We must keep up to date with the latest developments because AI is the future. Tristan Rentsch is a Software Developer at CANA LLC. For more information or to reach out to Tristan email him at trentsch@canallc.com

Shawn Charchan | Technical Director of Energy Solutions Adam Evans | Principal Operations Research Analyst Take a deep dive into energy innovation and transformation. CANAers Lauren Dimberg and Kassie McRostie plumb the depths with Adam Evans and Shawn Charchan and talk about the military’s operational energy roadmap and what excites them about the future. Kassie McRostie (KM): How did you become involved with the Department of the Navy Advanced Energy Research Toolkit (DON AERT) project? Shawn Charchan (SC): I’ve been privileged to work next to some amazing analysts and the DON energy director is a supportive and trusting client. All I had to do was listen to all of them and this project emerged naturally. Adam Evans was the thought leader here. Adam Evans (AE): It’s been a winding road for me, from Army sustainment studies to Marine logistics-over-the-shore (LOTS), finally to the DON energy client’s initial interest in Navy tanker sufficiency. We wanted to look at the problem in a different way, and he was happy to support that. Lauren Dimberg (LD): What is the DON AERT project and how did it come about? SC: DON AERT is a 50/50 split between building tools and performing analysis to support client questions. It is simply the next stage in a decade-old relationship. AE: The genesis of AERT lies in the recent energy transformation we see in developments like electric vehicles, solar and wind farms, and advanced battery tech like the power wall. We recognized that the military needs to think differently about the potential of the technology and develop ways to incorporate energy considerations in combat, beyond the fuel-delivery paradigm of traditional energy analysis. KM: How important is DON AERT to the advancement of energy efficiency? SC: Efficiency is a term that I am unabashedly opinionated about. When I think about efficiency, I frame it through the lens of being able to more effectively put “steel on target” as our client says. It is a bonus if we reduce environmental impacts, but we are talking about warfare here. AE: In the early days of the energy efficiency movement, it appeared that efficiency could handicap the mission, so military professionals exhibited skepticism over the prospects of real energy change. Recent developments in energy technology, however, are starting to show that energy efficiency and improved mission performance are becoming more correlated. DON AERT can evidence that correlation, giving power to the importance of energy efficiency. LD: What does the future look like for DON AERT? SC: Our government sponsor for this effort is an intellectual powerhouse and very driven. He has contributed to CANA, being viewed as a thought leader within the larger Operational Energy community. The future of AERT is that CANA will continue to build our tools and will not only serve as a thought leader, but will have a set of tools that enable us to provide the most well-developed energy models the Navy or the other services have. KM: What role has AI played in the Operational Energy community and DON AERT? SC: We have quite a way to go before we incorporate AI. It can enable us to generate novel ways of using emergent energy-related technologies to operate in new ways. Look up alpha go move 37. To get there we have to be pragmatic and practical, though. We will get there, but these things take time. LD: What are the energy innovations you’re most excited about? What do you think is going to be a game-changer? SC: What a great question! How does near-field and far-field wireless power transmission affect a destroyer with a cluster of unmanned air, surface, and subsurface systems? Should power be used for directed energy weapons or Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)? Where precisely in the Philippine archipelago should a geothermal energy plant be placed? AE: Coordinated drone operations facilitating logistics, communications hub operations, and smart ISR mapping, not to mention coordinated fires. While the nature of war will remain with us, unmanned systems are changing its conduct. I wonder what humans’ role in managing and coordinating these AI-informed drone swarms will be in the future? Energy advances brought us to this point. KM: What are the main obstacles the military forces face in using emergent OE technologies? SC: That’s an easy one to answer: the valley of death, as they say in the acquisition community. Getting from research of a technology to a product being delivered to the fielded forces is always very challenging. AE: Acquisition is a tough challenge. My personal challenge in this field has always stemmed from data availability. Notional or surrogate data is great to a point, but eventually, you need real representative data to proceed with a study. The military has always been quick with ideas and funding, but slow to back that up with the effort and effective guidance needed to collect, clean, and make relevant data available. #operationalenergy #logistics #EABO #sustainment #logistics #logisticsovertheshore #electricenergy #hydrogenenergy #innovation #technology #navy You can reach Shawn Charchan, Technical Director of Energy Solutions, at scharchan@canallc.com or on Linkedin. You can reach Adam Evans, Principal Operations Research Analyst, at aevans@canallc.com or on Linkedin.

Several of CANA’s key Principal Operations Research Analysts will give presentations at the upcoming 83rd Military Operations Research Society (MORS) Symposium taking place in Alexandria, Virginia June 22nd through 25th. Learn more about the Symposium here. #mors #event #symposium #conference #education

CANA is a proud sponsor and participant in the upcoming Paralyzed Veterans Golf Open (PVGO) taking place on May 18th at The Golf Club at Lansdowne in Lansdowne, Virginia. All proceeds go to support the Operation Paving Access for Veterans Employment (PAVE) program. So far this year’s tournament has raised over $400,000 for Operation Paving Access for Veterans Employment (PAVE) program, which has worked with over 500 employers to help more than 600 veterans find work. The event has raised over $2.6 million since 2008. More info here. #golf #community #veterans #charity #pvgo #outreach #event #WaltDeGrange #CANAFoundation

CANA LLC wins Marine Corps Research and Innovative Technical Analysis (RITA) Professional Services contract with Northrop Grumman. CANA is part of a team assembled by Northrop Grumman, which has been awarded a competitively bid, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, and multiple award contracts from the Marine Corps Combat. #contract #RITA #MarineCorps

Have you ever wondered how that ‘thing’ that you purchased (whether on-line or in a store) gets to you – a place where you can touch, feel and use it? Have you ever wondered about the complex network of suppliers, distributors, stockers, and customer service organizations that are involved in this seemingly automatic transaction? Do you think about ‘what if’ something happened in the world (e.g. an earthquake in Japan, a tsunami in China, a labor strike in California, a cyber attack on a retail database) and how it might impact our domestic and global economies? At CANA we think about these things. Global supply chains are complex. Running a business, whatever business sector you’re in, no matter how small or big, puts you into contact with a global supply chain. This is inevitable in today’s environment. Understanding your supplier and supply chain risk has moved from interesting to critical – their performance can directly impact your ability to deliver. And face it, we are all motivated to deliver on time, at the right location, in the right form – whether we are delivering products or services. CANA professionals – spanning a range of logistics operations and analytics expertise – think of supply chain risk in simple terms – terms that you’ve typically heard, read about, and maybe even use. Risk is a function of the likelihood of an event occurring, the impact of the event if it happens, and any ‘down stream’ effects on the related supplier and supply chain network. Our differentiator is how we use our expertise and analytics to identify potential risk events, assess the impact of events, and determine mitigation actions that will actually work. Engage us to let us help you improve your supply chain risk awareness and planning capabilities. CANA is leading a working group at next week’s Military Operations Research Society’s (MORS) special meeting on How Risk Assessments Inform National Security Decision Making (we’re leading working group 3, so join us there!). Our working group will focus on socializing and developing analytic methods to assess your supply chain risk (i.e. considering identification, impact, mitigation) whether your organizational mission falls within the Federal or commercial sector. You can register at the MORS site (best way) or let us assist you. Either way, let us know that you’re attending so that we can help customize the working group content toward your needs. If you can’t attend, no worries! Let us know where you’re interested, and we will help assess and improve how you think of and plan for risks across your supply chain. If you haven’t considered the impact of your supply chain on your organizational performance, what are you waiting for? #supplychain #mors #risk #operations #planning

When it comes to ocean shipping, planning for major weather events within your advanced planning systems is critical to ensure on-time delivery. CANA’s Walt DeGrange will be presenting on this topic “Avoiding Tropical Cyclones in Automated Naval Logistics Planning” during next week’s Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS) Annual Meeting. If you’ll be there, stop by his presentation on Wednesday, November 12th, at 12:45. Abstract: ”The US Navy’s Combat Logistics Force (CLF) provides at-sea resupply to US and allied vessels throughout the world. The CLF scheduling system anticipates demand and schedules 45 days in advance to meet demand. Tropical cyclones (TCs) frequently disrupt these plans, requiring diversions, and inefficient steaming speeds. We evaluate the impact of using TC forecasts in operational planning, and the best lead time and geographic extent of severe weather to use in optimizing CLF operational planning.” The research in this presentation was completed in collaboration with Capt Steven Lantz, USMC while CDR Walt DeGrange, USN (retred) was a military instructor at the Naval Postgraduate School. #weather #supplychain #impact #logistics #shipping #navy #cyclones #travel

Imagine an author putting the finishing touches on her latest book while sitting at the back table in a local coffee shop and sipping on an espresso. For many, this is the traditional picture of a virtual worker. However, two major changes are occurring that can allow entire companies to go virtual: technology simplifying communication and workers becoming more independent. Technology now allows modern information workers to perform their tasks from anywhere. Provide an internet connection and laptop and you have a fully functioning worker. The business world is struggling to keep up with this model. As when developing countries completely skipped traditional wired telecommunications and moved directly to a cellular network, new companies can be more agile in adopting a virtual work environment. The benefits for both the company and the workforce are many. First and foremost, there is a reduction in the cost of doing business. The infrastructure overhead is greatly reduced. Instead of the traditional building with cubicles and offices, the workforce is distributed. Having employees spread throughout the country can also be an advantage. Employee locations can overlap with client or partner locations and reduce the travel costs. An infographic from Under Cover Recruiter, http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/new-workstyle-infographic/, focuses on the differences between traditional and new work styles. Workers in the new work environment have a level of independence that up until now has only been enjoyed by the solo creatives. Individuals are given more control over their work conditions which often results in geographically dispersed workforces. Workers can work flexible hours from a variety of different locations. Creatives typing away in the back of a coffeehouse is always a popular visual. Although this is a viable option, there are many different ways to work remotely. Workers may choose to work from home. A well-setup office at home can provide a productive environment. Another option is a coworking facility. These were originally designed for teleworkers, small companies, and as innovation incubators for startups but are perfect for a virtual company. These facilities provide conference rooms, private call areas, comfortable chairs and desks, and office supplies for a fraction of the cost of a full brick and mortar office. The infographic from Deskmag (‘Deskmag | The Coworking Magazine’, 2014) highlights the advantages of cowork locations. Is the virtual company concept just a passing fad? Only time will tell; however with the reduced cost of operations, it is hard to see them going away anytime soon. The Under Cover Recruiter, blog. The New Workstyle. http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/new-workstyle-infographic/ Deskmag | The Coworking Magazine. (2014, July 11). deskman. Where would you like to work every day? Retrieved from www.deskmag.com #virtualcompany #homeoffice #remote #connection #smallcompany #workenvironment

When I first joined CANA, right out of college, it was a bit overwhelming. Transitioning from attending classes and completing homework assignments to attending meetings and completing Jira tasks was a deceptively big change. Although college taught me in theory about programming and software development, I didn’t have much firsthand experience and wasn’t familiar with the technologies being used at CANA. Luckily, CANA had a training schedule ready for me to get me acquainted with the development process and the technology I would have to use. During this training process, I learned JavaScript and TypeScript. In addition, I completed the official Appian training course from their website. Appian is a Marine Corps approved platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that provides the capability for enterprise application development in a cloud environment. I have found this training to be especially helpful, since Appian is mainly what I work with every day, and I haven’t used TypeScript or JavaScript yet. However, I didn’t feel like I had a real grasp on the concepts until I put them into practice. I gained this experience working on real bugs and features for the Integrated Materiel Analysis Toolset (IMAT) system which is designed to replace the Marine Corps’ legacy war reserve. I started with pair programming. Two senior programmers helped work me through some small bug fixes and taught me how they usually approach these issues. There were some differences between how they approached development and what was taught in the official Appian training. In particular, they taught me how to use the hidden Appian lambda functions, which weren’t mentioned in the official training. This training and the experience of working on actual software systems, with paying clients, has been effective in making me much more confident and knowledgeable in the development of software. Besides the training, another challenge was working from home. However, this wasn’t actually a big change for me. In college, I had to work from home during my last semester due to COVID restrictions. In addition, I had experience working from home from my internship with the startup, Northland Creative Wonders. However, with the startup, I occasionally met with my boss in person. At CANA I never meet anyone in person, as a result I must rely more on Zoom meetings and chats to keep in contact with coworkers. I think the biggest challenge of working from home is keeping a schedule. If I was working in an office, the manager would tell everyone when it was time to attend a meeting or do other activities, but when you work remotely, you need to keep track of these things yourself, and it can be easy to get engrossed in a task and not notice what time it is. I have dealt with this challenge by setting up alarms that notify me when it is time to start a new task or join a meeting. I’ve enjoyed working at CANA so far and think this is a great start to my professional career. My favorite things so far have been the friendly company culture, the kind people, and the ability to work from home. My fellow programmers have been very nice and helpful to me during my time working at CANA. They have given me helpful tips and feedback on how to do the best work I can and have assisted me when I was struggling with hard tasks. Although I didn’t get to go last year, I look forward to meeting everyone in person at the next offsite. My advice to a new developer joining the company is this: make sure to manage your time well, try your best to become very familiar with the new technologies we use, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are stuck. Tristan Rentsch is a Software Developer at CANA LLC. For more information or to reach out to Tristan email him at trentsch@canallc.com

Here are some interesting facts, statistics, and other oddities about Friday the 13th: Paraskavedekatriaphobia: It is the fear of Friday the 13th. According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, upwards of 21 million people in the US are impacted by this fear. The Thirteen Club: An elite group of men in New York City founded in 1882 with the intent to repair the number’s reputation by Captain William Fowler, who fought in 13 Civil War battles. With its membership including other notable figures, like Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt, the club met every 13th of the month, at 13 after the hour, in groups of 13. They set out to debunk what they viewed as other irrational fears—like opening an umbrella inside or breaking mirrors—by acting them out at every meeting. Plane crashes: Plenty of plane crashes have taken place on Friday the 13th. Few have been more horrific than the October 1972 crash of Uruguayan Flight 571. Lottery: In a study conducted it was found that the number 13 is the unluckiest ball in lottery draws since it was drawn a total of 120 times since 1994. Or maybe that just means it is bound to be a lucky hit soon, but statistically speaking it’s not. Stock market: According to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal, stock prices fall on Friday the 13th more often than on any other day. The Last Supper: According to Christian tradition, there were 13 people present at the Last Supper, and Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Stock market crashes: The stock market crash of 1929, which led to the Great Depression, occurred on Friday the 13th. Famous birthdays: Many famous people were born on Friday the 13th, including actors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, novelist Samuel Beckett, and former President of Cuba Fidel Castro. Horror movies: The Friday the 13th movie franchise has grossed over $465 million worldwide. However that pales in comparison to the amount of licensed merchandise that the franchise as a whole has raked in since the first movie hit the silver screens in May of 1980. Weddings: According to a study conducted by The Knot, nearly 3% of couples choose to get married on Friday the 13th. Car accidents: A study conducted by the British Medical Journal found that there is a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Friday the 13th. Natural disasters: According to a study conducted by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics, there are fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft on Friday the 13th. However, there is a significant increase in hospital admissions due to accidents. Tattoos: A study conducted by the online tattoo marketplace Inkluded found that tattoos booked on Friday the 13th are often cheaper than those booked on other days of the year. So, if you are looking to get inked maybe this Friday is your best bang for the buck, but let us hope there don’t turn out to be any tattoo nightmares. Have a spooktacular, safe, happy, and fun Friday the 13th everyone! For more interesting statistics and analytics follow CANA on instagram, X (twitter), facebook, linkedIn, or on our website at CANALLC.com 🎃 #fridaythe13th #statistics #analytics #canallc #teamcana #lottery #stockmarket #oddities #facts #canaconnection

Cherish Joostberns | Principal Communications Analyst & Resource Manager Employees of a certain age might remember “Meetings, Bloody Meetings” - a 1976 corporate training film starring John Cleese about a man dreaming he’s on trial for holding disorganized and terrible meetings. As corporate training films go, it is - improbably - a Monty Python-esque “classic”. And for all of us that ever watched annual training films, we know that’s an accomplishment! We’ve included the link to the original here, for anyone looking for a Halloween trick or treat! With CANA being a remote company across multiple time zones, we think we’ve put a pin in running tight, productive meetings. When we have the opportunity to travel and meet the team, clients, and peers, we know it’s a big deal. Face-to-face events allow for learning and out-of-the-box thinking in a way a Zoom meeting or boardroom cannot. Conferences, so many conferences, will have their own sets of headaches - weak wifi, disappointing pastries, bad microphones, or even empty seats - but they are almost always a net positive in who comes to the table and what CANA gets out of every one of them. We know we’ve crossed paths with many of you! In the past few months, CANA attended a number of live events so we could engage in, and promote, electric mobility ideas, initiatives, and opportunities. We’ve met a lot of people, shook a lot of hands, and shared a lot of passion. First stop this August was Newport News, Virginia, for the Association of Marine Corps Logisticians (AMCL) Symposium. A great many of the CANA team were there, by way of first-hand Marine Corps and Navy logistics experience and their current CANA roles. Rob Cranston, CANA President; Jesse Kemp, Principal Program Manager; Tommy Kline, Principal Logistics IT Integrator; Terry Hagen, Principal Logistics Analyst; Jerome Dixon, Senior Operations Research Analyst, and Greg Lewis, Principal Logistics Analyst, among others, were panelists, moderators, and audience members for sessions like “Making 21st Century Logisticians”; “The Fully Burdened Cost of Energy”; and “Advanced Manufacturing”. These are the topics that continue to push issues of energy resiliency, security, diversification, and innovation to the forefront. Several members of CANA flew to Hawaii in late summer for the Operational Energy Logistics Symposium, to include Greg Lewis and CANA’s Technical Director of Energy Solutions, Shawn Charchan. Of note, the symposium was a public introduction of the Advanced Operational Energy Toolkit (AERT), an ongoing effort CANA is establishing within the energy analytics community to research and explore energy systems and emergent energy-related technologies. It will enable users to understand how this emergent tech will enable future forces to use energy as a battlefield enabler and operate in new and novel ways. Will Berry, CANA Principal Program Manager and lead for CANA Electric Mobility Initiatives, also attended the Tactical EV Expo in San Diego. Will met with an array of commercial vendors and federal and military stakeholders interested in developing an already available electric and hydrogen tactical transportation solutions. It was a perfect opportunity to share the continued progress of CANA’s partner, the SoCal Tech Bridge, and the eTHOR prototype partnership. SoCal Tech Bridge Director Ben Cohen was on hand as well, speaking about the challenges and opportunities in bringing electrification to the battlespace. CANA wrapped up the government’s fiscal year in late September at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar Air Show. When people stopped looking up, they checked out the ingenuity on hand at the Air Show’s Tech & Innovation Expo, where CANAers Will Berry, Chris Cichy, Principal AI Analyst, and Shawn Charchan were gathered with partners like AWS and DANNAR LLC to bring the eTHOR prototype and electric energy excitement to literally hundreds of thousands of visitors. Elements of eTHOR have already been involved in real-world missions, and that continued validation of its relevance is always exciting to share. If you attended any of these events, or would like to connect with anyone who attended, we would love to hear from you! Let’s keep the coffee hot, the pastries plentiful, and the conversation going! #electricmobility #tacticalvehicles #logistics #marinecorps #navy #operationalenergy #eTHOR #energysystems #electricvehicles #electrictechnology #sustainability #installationresilience If you’d like to contact Cherish Joostberns, Principal Communications Analyst & Resource Manager, you can reach Cherish at cjoostberns@canallc.com