Search Results

We’re celebrating all things new! Not only is it Spring - finally - but there’s so many great new things happening here at CANA! We’ve been welcoming new people to the team, working on new (and renewed) projects, and generally keeping very busy. The beautiful weather, the longer days, baseball, golf, and yard projects help keep it all in balance. We always want the CANA team to keep its fresh perspective, and embracing the “new” is imperative to this goal. In our latest newsletter, we share several CANAers’ recent trip to Hawaii for a Military Operations Research Society (MORS) Wargaming with Pacific Partners Special Meeting (CANA leads in logistics!); we hear from a CANAer who completely switched career gears for something different; and we talk about a visit to George Mason University to share our passion for the growing world of esports. We’re excited about where all these things may lead, and most importantly, we hope our fresh ideas resonate, and inspire you to ask, “What’s new?!” MORS Wargaming with Pacific Partners: CANA Leads the Charge in Logistics Wargaming By Walt DeGrange - CANA Director of Analytics Capabilities Logistics, wargaming, MORS, and Hawaii made the perfect combination for CANA this past February. The MORS Wargaming with Pacific Partners was a unique event that was the first MORS conference ever held outside the continental United States. CANA was honored to lead the logistics wargaming focus area for the conference and to be joined by just under one hundred attendees representing many U.S. DoD agencies and services, other non-DoD agencies, and our international partners (Australia, Great Britain, and Germany), academic, and commercial supporters. The conference was divided into three days. The first day consisted of multiple tracks designed to teach more about the development and application of wargaming in certain areas. CANA contributed two significant presentations on how to apply analytics in wargaming by Jesse Kemp and how to apply wargaming to explore the use of advanced technologies by Norm Reitter. Both Norm and Jesse touched on using wargaming to test supply chain resilience and how this could inform organizations on actions to mitigate supply chain disruptions. Day two of the conference featured several panels that addressed issues such as training for wargaming, the role of commercial software, and how funding for wargaming worked across different organizations in the U.S. and with our partner countries. Day three's final day of the conference was filled with fun workshops to demonstrate topics covered in prior days. CANA led a four-hour workshop. The workshop focused on designing a logistics wargame at two different levels, strategic and operational. The eighteen participants contributed to the basic design for each game's scope, purpose, scale, players, and scenario. By the end of the day, all participants were left with a basic overview of what it takes to develop an engaging logistics wargame to answer important questions. The MORS Wargaming with Pacific Partners conference was a resounding success. The conference enabled individuals from various countries and organizations to deepen their understanding and knowledge of wargaming and its various applications. It was an incredible opportunity for CANA to share its expertise and learn from others while establishing new connections and collaborations. The success of this conference serves as a testament to the continued importance and relevance of wargaming as a tool for solving complex logistical problems, and we look forward to what the future holds for this field. CANA eSports at the GMU Career Fair By Jack Murray - CANA Business Analyst On March 7th, I had the pleasure of representing CANA at the George Mason University (GMU) Career Jam. The GMU Career Jam is an annual career fair, where students gather to network with companies and organizations. This was a very unique and amazing experience for me, as I am a 2022 GMU graduate and was on the other side of the table just a few years ago. This event was also very beneficial to CANA, and CANA esports, as we look to expand our brand awareness in the collegiate space. CANA drew the most attention from the Computer Science (CS) majors, as our unique background in federal and commercial analytics was captivating to them. I enjoyed speaking with all the students about what CANA esports is, what we are doing in the esports industry, and where we want to go. With GMU having an esports club, many of the students were interested in our esports recruitment platform and our focus on scholastic esports. I had many interesting conversations that allowed me to gather first-hand insight and opinions on what students think of esports, the offerings we have, and how else we could support the industry. Each student had different comments and questions, but they were all hinting at one main point; they would love to see scholastic esports become more acknowledged and accepted. Data and analytics are a few pieces that can support this in a major way. Other than engaging with the students, it was great to see many of the program directors engaging with each company. CANA drew a lot of interest from the professors and program directors because GMU, like many other colleges currently, is working to integrate esports into its overall curriculum and offerings. I had the pleasure of discussing with them how scholastic esports is a crucial sector of the overall industry. It can drastically help build a sustainable pathway to success in esports. A structured scholastic esports system can mend the fragmentation the industry currently deals with, which can lead to an overall more sustainable business model and industry as a whole. It was fascinating to hear the thoughts and ideas of GMU professors and program directors on esports and how they plan to implement it at Mason. Their comments and questions were much more geared toward why esports are beneficial to both the students and the school from an academic standpoint. What most don’t realize is that esports is an amazing path for students in STEM careers. It gives them an opportunity to learn through something they enjoy. We had some really good discussions about the benefits just an esports club team can have, but also the major upside to having a curriculum built around esports. As CANA esports builds for the future, with a main focus on scholastic esports, we look forward to more events like this, growing the relationships we made, and expanding our network! CANA esports - providing the analytics intel for success. Changing Careers, Changing Mindsets By Lauren Dimberg - CANA Software Developer We all have something we are “good” at. Maybe you pick up a baseball for the first time and throw a strike, or you have a ratatouille taste pallet and anything you cook is amazing? For me it was art. I struggled with most other subjects but art was a subject in which I excelled. Growing up, this attitude made me “good at art” which later led me to a career in it. Fast forward to 2021, I have a successful career as a Senior Graphic Designer but it no longer challenges me. I feel stagnant in my current job as I have felt in other positions during my career. The sterile environment a year into Covid only exacerbated this feeling. A change was due which made me think of a career I was always curious about, that of a Software Developer. Three years prior I had taken UI and UX courses at Nashville Software School as a way to spice up my resume. During that time, I saw other students taking a Software Development Bootcamp that intrigued me; however, at the time it seemed like an unrealistic prospect. Yet three years later the idea of pursuing a career as a Software Developer still excited me. With the “end of the world” vibe in the air, I felt reckless, applied to Nashville Software School, and got a scholarship. The scholarship alleviated the anxiety of finances during the boot camp, yet my main obstacle was my mindset which told me “I am not good at this”. Flashback to my elementary school years and the mindset that I grew up with. Praised for high grades in Art and English, but nothing in regards to courses with more logical thinking, of which I associated with coding. I steered away from these more challenging subjects because I wasn’t “good” at them. However, I craved a challenge, and the “Aha” moment after taking the time to investigate and solve a coding problem was magical. I knew coding wouldn’t be easy because I wasn’t good at it, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t get better. I used this mindset whenever I struggled and instead of shutting down with negative thoughts such as “I’m not smart enough for this?” I reframed my thought process to, “I don’t know this yet, that’s ok. I can learn.” Or even better “I don’t know this yet, but why would I? This is all new!” Whenever a failure came I took it as an opportunity to ask questions, practice using my developer tools, and acquire more knowledge. To say I struggled at Nashville Software School is an understatement, however, I pulled through, and in doing so I created a more exciting future for myself. Every day I start work, I know I will learn something new, continue to grow, and be a better version of myself. Best of all, I can give myself a high five because if my high school self saw me now she would think that the world went through a black hole and I was in an opposite land. There’s something cool that I, not a black hole, could change my future in this way. Now that you know my story, I have a challenge for you. Think of all the amazing experiences this world has to offer, now think of something you have been putting off. Maybe you want to paint, but you aren’t “artistic” or you put off running a race because you aren’t “athletic”? Maybe you want to learn Spanish and move to Alicante. Whatever it is, don’t let anything hold you back, give it a shot and see if it sticks. Your future is yours to create, no matter where you are on your journey. Join us on the CANA CONNECTION PODCAST The CANA Connection offers insights from the team CANA experts into analytics, logistics, supply chain operations, big data, and more. Check out some of our latest sessions. Let's talk Colorado Mountain Club Analytics with Kendall Chastain and Norm Reitter Our Host Rob Cranston, and Co-Host Norm Reitter speak with Conservation Manager Kendall Chastain of the Colorado Mountain Club. So, come along with us as Kendall and crew talk about the conservation efforts the Colorado Mountain Club are involved in along with the vast amounts, and types of data they are acquiring within their community using the CMC RIMs app and other efforts. [Connect] Let's talk esports at NYU with Professor Jason Chung Join Guest-Host Jack Murray as they sit down with Director and Esports Business Professor at NYU, Jason Chung to discuss all things collegiate esports. From the rise of esports in higher education to the challenges and benefits of starting and maintaining varsity teams, Dr. Chung brings his wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Don't miss this fascinating and informative conversation on the CANA Connection Podcast. [Connect] The CANA Connection Podcast is available on your favorite podcast platforms! The CANA Connection Newsletter April 2023 © CANA LLC. All rights reserved

New Year, New You! We don’t always keep annual resolutions, but it never stops us from making new ones! Year after year, there’s always a bright New Year’s light of enthusiasm that shines down and makes us think anything is possible. It’s also the time we find the right inspirational message or mantra to shape a whole new year of thinking…and doing. What energizes us personally always carries over to work, and we’re committed to making sure we cross the CANA start - and finish - line together! For 2023, we think George Bernard Shaw said it best, “[p]eople who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” That’s the secret; we get down to business and we do it. At the start of this new and promising year, we’re sharing some of CANA’s newer initiatives, like our Supply Chain Analysis as a Service, as well as detailing aspects of CANA’s well-honed technical and management foundation. It’s an exciting time and we’re here for it. So, that’s our secret - what’s yours? * Liz Cranston CEO, CFO * We would love to hear about what inspires you - share a favorite quote or message for the New Year on our LinkedIn or Facebook. Enhancing Wargaming, Logistics, and Supply Chain Resiliency Through Advanced Analytics By Jesse Kemp CANA Principal Program Manager Across all the military services, wargaming has become an increasingly popular tool to test new warfighting concepts, examine the use of new technologies, and exercise various scenarios against near-peer and peer adversaries. As an example, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory executes 10-12 wargames per year, with multiple overlapping game lines of effort running simultaneously. Yet despite its broad adaptation, wargaming has some acknowledged limitations. Those limitations, and the risks they pose, were the subject of a recent War On The Rocks article by Dr. Jon Compton, where he argued that the DoD’s over-reliance on wargaming for investment planning could have significant negative impacts. Wargames as event planning are fun to attend, and most who attend them come away convinced they learned a great deal. Yet, these event-style wargames produce little in terms of ways forward, innovation, or usable answers. Further, they frequently create negative learning and reinforce existing biases due to the lack of any foundational research or ancillary support studies. Regardless, wargame providers continue to conduct them to the exclusion of more analytically robust designs of research that incorporate smaller, more focused games into broader discovery efforts, and resistance to change appears to be high. For logisticians participating in wargaming events, the frustrations articulated in Dr. Compton’s article are often felt even more acutely. Despite acknowledgments from very senior leaders across the DoD that logistics challenges must be analyzed and addressed, it is rare to find a wargame’s objectives bounded or informed by the limitations of logistics capabilities. Others in the wargaming community argue that trying to bring quantitative analytics, such as logistics feasibility, into wargaming events risks detracting from their primary focus–exploring the human dimension of complex problems. In a September 2022 article titled, “Wargaming and the Cycle of Research and Learning” Dr. Peter Perla emphasized the distinction between a wargame and operations research: “A true wargame is best used to investigate the decision processes of its players, what they believe that leads to those decisions, and how those processes interact; it is not well suited to the calculation of outcomes of physical events–such calculations, when they occur, are inputs to the game, not outputs.” The Cycle of Research In their articles, Dr. Compton and Dr. Perla make a similar case for an integrated “cycle of research” where wargaming, modeling and simulation, and analysis outcomes are combined towards focused learning objectives. While theoretically sound, this approach can have challenges in execution. First, how accurate can a cycle of research be if its wargaming inputs reinforce existing biases or ignore hard problems like logistics? And what if other inputs to a cycle of research are also flawed? Like wargaming, operations research – the process of reducing highly complex problems into component parts and seeking quantitative and repeatable outcomes – has its own set of limitations. Where wargaming events frequently leverage the collective experience of multiple senior leaders and subject matter experts, operations research projects tend to encounter the opposite: very little senior leader involvement, especially in their early stages. This can lead to flawed models, inaccurate assumptions, or results that lack operational context. Thus, independently, both wargaming and operations research have the potential to come up short. Ultimately, the cycle of research could be enhanced by more closely linking the key leader engagement opportunities wargaming events afford with the precision and rigor of operations research techniques. What if, as an example, analytic techniques could be brought to bear fast and in unobtrusive ways during a wargame, effectively quantifying the impacts of participants’ decisions without impeding the pace of the game or altering its primary objective? Imagine if after wargame participants set operational objectives and developed their plans to achieve those ends, weapon-to-target pairings could be quickly assessed to measure a plan’s efficacy. Imagine also if logisticians could quickly and visually “map” the supply chain required to support an operation, overlay distribution resources necessary to maneuver and sustain the force, and rapidly simulate the movement of forces, supplies, and follow-on sustainment resources. These tools could provide valuable in-game feedback on the logistics feasibility of proposed plans. The good news is that the technology required to deliver these types of analytic enhancements to wargaming already exists. Working in partnership with Headquarters Marine Corps over the past four years, CANA developed and applied a unique set of analytic techniques to support the planning for prepositioning and war reserve programs and their material investments. More recently, the Office of Naval Research began working with CANA to incorporate similar analytic methods into a science and technology project designed to aid operations and logistics planning for fleet-level and maritime operations center battle staffs. Tailoring these analysis methods to support wargaming applications is a logical next step and a mission we are excited to embark upon. CANA at MORS: Examining Logistics and Supply Chain Resilience Through Wargaming For this reason, we’re excited to announce our participation in the upcoming MORS Wargaming with Pacific Partners special event in February of 2023. This event will provide an ideal forum for CANA to highlight how currently-available analytic techniques can be adapted and applied to wargaming for enhanced outcomes. And because it is such an underserved element in almost every wargame, our primary focus will be highlighting its use in logistics and supply chain resiliency, demonstrating ways to rapidly quantify the implications of operational plans and provide objective assessments of feasibility. But the most powerful use of these innovative analytic methods could be to enable the design of wargames with logistics as the main objective. By examining key variables such as supply routes, supply locations, amounts of prepositioned stocks, transportation fleet design and positioning, and how/where operational energy is produced and transported, planners can determine what logistics investments are most influential in determining mission success. Supply Chain Analysis as a Service at CANA Logistics wargaming is, in fact, part of a broader line of effort underway at CANA called Supply Chain Analysis as a Service. Our team of subject matter experts and operations research professionals are designing ways to examine the key components of a supply chain and dynamically test its resilience under stress. Customizing these analytic techniques for use in both wargaming and more long-term planning and design applications is a key part of this line of effort. Moreover, this methodology has the potential for value in non-military applications such as food security, disaster preparedness, or other related scenarios. This exciting new frontier, at the nexus of wargaming, logistics, and supply chain analysis, offers many opportunities to enhance support for stakeholders in the DoD, Federal agencies, state governments and beyond. With both analytics and logistics in our company DNA, CANA is well-positioned and prepared to be an influencer in this important area. #wargames #logistics #supplychain Program Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis By Shawn Charchan CANA Technical Director of Energy Solutions As CANA's Technical Director of Energy Solutions, I also serve as the Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis (MS&A) Coordinator for several CANA clients. In that capacity, I have the privilege of working with the analytical leads of various pilot programs to ensure the composite group is capitalizing on work already complete and working with unity of effort. This ensures the collective body of work continues to expand in line with the client’s larger objectives. The analysis and research that CANA supplies often relies on modeling and simulation (M&S) when completing studies in support of pilots. M&S is a powerful, yet often misunderstood, tool that has many uses in the analytical realm; it can be used for applications spanning requirements analysis, to forecasting, to - in several instances -system impact assessments. One of the challenges our teams face when performing pilots is the data we obtain is based on limited lab testing and/or field demonstrations comprising one or two of the systems being tested. M&S can provide the study team a rich synthetic environment in which 10s or 100s of the systems being tested can be represented as a digital twin in a virtual scenario, thereby enabling our study teams to explore the contribution fully fielded systems will (or will not) supply in the context of future warfare. The combination of real-world system testing combined with analysis in a synthetic environment has proven time and again to be an excellent method for obtaining the type of insights that help us engage external stakeholders, inform requirements, and ensure each pilot ends with success. #digitaltwin #optimization #modeling CANA Futures Program Highlights Participation in Virtual Event for Georgia Tech Students By Anna Sterrett Director of Business and People Operations On Wednesday, January 18, 2023, several CANA employees volunteered their time to participate in a virtual event with Georgia Tech students. Throughout the course of the day, mock interviews were scheduled with several students, and they had the opportunity to receive immediate feedback to improve their personal presentation and employability skills. Resume reviews also took place, where students were provided with helpful tips and constructive criticism to broaden student knowledge of what employers look for when considering an applicant. The day was a great success, and students expressed gratitude for the experience coupled with optimistic reviews from CANA employees. Mr. Cliff Carpenter, CANA Principal Logistics Analyst commented,"[g]reat opportunity for CANA to interact with top talent - I hope we were able to give these graduate students a flavor of what to expect in an interview experience with top tech firms." While Ms. Jackie Knapp, CANA Senior Business Operations Manager shared, “I believe it was a great experience for both of us. It allowed me the opportunity to hone interviewing skills that I haven't had the opportunity to use in a very long time. For [the student], I think it was excellent practice and provided some insights for his next interview.” This event is a small sampling of what the CANA Futures Program is doing to make significant connections with students preparing to launch into internships, and fellowships, as well as into their chosen profession. Throughout CANA’s history, there has been a desire to extend an arm to assist with providing professional opportunities to young people. From this passion, the CANA Futures Program was born, where CANA developed this program specifically to seek out and provide a professional experience to college students, transitioning military members, their spouses, and veterans. The CANA Futures Program consists of two programs. The first is the CANA Veterans Program (CVP). CANA prides itself on being a veteran-owned company and believes wholeheartedly in providing opportunities to others who have served our country. CVP provides those opportunities to not only veterans, but to their spouses as well. Through partnership with the federal programs Hiring Our Heroes Fellowship and DOD Skillbridge, CANA has been able to offer veterans and their spouses experience and training in the corporate environment. From first hand experience, Ms. Ashley Castillo spoke to her experience with Hiring Our Heroes: “I would say as a spouse Hiring our Heroes really focuses on the silent ranks. They give us back the ability to speak and be equal in an area that sometimes feels impossible. In the workforce it is hard to prove why someone should take a chance knowing you may be leaving or to explain why you have gaps in employment. They work with companies such as CANA who believe and give possibilities to do it all.” Ms. Castillo was hired by CANA through Hiring our Heroes as a Business Operations Analyst, and has proven essential to its Business Operations Team. The second program within the CANA Futures Program is the Corporate Interns & Fellows Program or CIFP. CIFP provides college students and graduates the opportunity to gain valuable experience in CANA specific industry sectors, such as logistics, program management, business development, software development, and operations research. CANA has found this process to provide a seamless transition from being an in-house trained intern or fellow joining the CANA Team as a hired professional. One such success story belongs to Mr. Jack Murray, who began his professional career within CIFP. Mr. Murray shared, “[t]he internship program here at CANA was my first true professional job, and I was fortunate enough to get this experience during my time in college. I think that the way CANA’s internship program is run truly allowed me to develop my professional skills in a manner that was both comfortable and challenging at the same time. There was a good amount of independence and independent work that allowed me to take things in the direction that I wanted, but the support was always there if and when I needed it.” As Mr. Murray progressed through his internship, it became clear that he was an asset to the CANA Team. He was hired as a Business Analyst, and what he learned within his education, in conjunction with the skills he developed through CIFP, proved to be a perfect match for what CANA was looking for. From his perspective, the experience was also one of great value. He stated, “[t]he blend of independence and guidance is done very well within CANA’s internship program. The best thing about the program is that you can reach out to anyone in the company, and they are more than happy to help you. Everyone here wants to see you succeed! CANA’s internship program directly led to my full-time position here at CANA, and it taught me a great deal about transitioning from the collegiate world to the business world. This program sets you up for success!” For more information, please contact our CANA Futures Program Coordinator, Ms. Stephanie Allison. #CANAFutures #hiringourheroes #internship THE CANA CONNECTION NEWSLETTER CANA LLC 7371 Atlas Walk Way, Gainesville, VA 20155, USA 703-317-7378 canallc.com

The holidays might be the “hap-happiest season of all,” but the fall is without a doubt, the busiest. There’s a back-to-the-grindstone feel, even if we never stopped working! Kids are back in school, new projects are started and funds are released (or not), and the weekends are full of sports, yard work, and other activities. Depending on where you live, the temperatures may not change, but the vibe surely has. And, that’s okay. We’re ready for it. Our team is full of energy, and we want to share all the great things that made these past few months awesome. We’ll talk about some of the great conferences and events we attended, our CANA Foundation, and what we do with all the brain power at CANA - like supporting our Independent Research & Development (IRAD) Program. We’re also excited we’ve had time this summer to work hard on CANA’s Warehouse Management Solutions - services and software that we know are a proven game-changer - and we will soon be rolling that out in force. Have a great fall, y’all! Fun fact: CANA has grown by 45% in the past two years. Things are happening at CANA! Although CANA is a fully virtual company, there are events and occasions where face-to-face makes for some powerful connections. CANA recently attended the Pentagon Energy Expo in Washington D.C., and then crossed the country to San Diego to attend the American Conference Institute’s Unmanned Systems West event. Along with our partners, Naval Information Warfare Center-Pacific and NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge, we were able to share important messages about technology innovation and how it serves the warfighter. Will Berry, CANA Principal Program Manager and our lead on SoCal Tech Bridge’s electric Tactical Humanitarian Operation Response (eTHOR) pilot, shared his experiences. Coast to Coast CANA Attends Key Events By: Will Berry Pentagon Energy Expo The Pentagon Energy Expo took place over two busy days in September, one sunny and one rainy. Regardless of the weather, the courtyard of the Pentagon was the ideal setting for over a hundred exhibitors ringing the central courtyard walking path to demonstrate emerging technology capabilities that will help preserve U.S. military dominance in future contested logistics environments. The Expo was hosted by a number of Department of Defense sponsors including the individual Service branches, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD), Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)), Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF), and the Operational Energy Prototype Fund (OEPF). These sponsors had the opportunity to view a variety of cutting-edge technology, including vehicle electrification, installation energy resilience, batteries, energy storage, energy distribution, power generation, software, and cybersecurity. One of the standout exhibits was the eTHOR, a project funded by OECIF, sponsored by National Information Warfare Center-Pacific (NIWC PAC), and project-managed by CANA. eTHOR will provide a network of electric vehicles capable of storage, transport, delivery, and exportation of energy in a contested environment. In addition, the system is an agile 5G network infrastructure, deploying and extending 5G’s low latency, high bandwidth capabilities to the expeditionary force enabling unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and all domain command and control. The goal of the system is to increase the efficiency of energy logistics in a contested environment and provide sufficient network communications to enable the future force. A tag line of the Expo was, “[e]nergy is the key enabler that will keep the Joint Forces in the fight to achieve decisive victory.” With that in mind, the eTHOR exhibit showcased electric vehicle technology and exportable energy all-in-one by having a DANNAR Mobile Power Station (MPS) at the eTHOR booth. It was a unique visual draw that brought hundreds of visitors to the exhibit. Amongst those visitors was Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks, resulting in a special opportunity to directly share the significant energy plus 5G communications capabilities the eTHOR system will bring to bear. In regards to the Expo, Deputy Defense Secretary Hicks was quoted that energy innovation, "...has to do with national security and what it takes to have the capabilities we need for the warfighter today and going forward.” Well said, we believe, and the eTHOR project is excited to deliver. Unmanned Systems West The Unmanned Systems West Conference took place late September in San Diego, CA, and was a fascinating forum of presentations, analysis and discussion. It focused on how the military, government, technology industry, and academics can work together to develop capabilities that advance Unmanned Systems (UxS) capabilities to benefit the warfighter on land, sea and air. The conference was billed as an opportunity to further dialogue on tactical and technical priorities and the challenges of autonomy and artificial intelligence and to shine a light on ongoing research and innovation that will help integrate both UxS and robotic capabilities. It was successfully achieved on all fronts. Over the two day conference, there were a number of common themes woven through the presentations and panel discussions, including the need for increased collaborative research on design to decrease prototyping systems costs and to increase design speed. Ideas, such as low-cost platform sharing based on common vehicle chassis, were recognized as a tactic to accelerate change; otherwise we risk losing from an acquisition perspective. While there were many different perspectives offered by the presenters and panelists, the iterative design notion – to collaborate, develop, test, fail fast, and evolve – was a common theme that encapsulated the pathway to effectively meet requirements and achieve success. On Day One, the conference was capstoned with a special presentation by one of our partners, NavalX So Cal Tech Bridge Director, Captain Ben Cohen, USMC, who discussed industry innovation needs and requirements. Attendees were enlightened to Capt Cohen’s unique perspective as a Marine Corps warfighter and as the new Director of the NavalX So Cal Tech Bridge. Amongst other things, Capt Cohen discussed bringing warfighters into the academic/industry ecosystem by highlighting the need to focus capabilities on the diverse pool of end users first, with the technology to follow. By focusing on the end user first, the culture of the warfighter is taken into account, which is paramount because, as Capt Cohen stated, “...culture eats strategy for lunch.” #innovation #warfighter #autonomy #5G #connected The CANA Foundation 5K Celebration “5for5” By: Kassie McRostie CANA established the CANA Foundation in 2017 on the premise that we are blessed with individual talents, financial resources, and a successful company that provides a platform for the CANA family to connect with and give back to community areas we feel passionate and care about. We believe we have an obligation to use our skills and resources to help individuals and organizations in our communities overcome any barriers they face. Truly, we rise by lifting others. This year, in 2022, we celebrate five years of the CANA Foundation! These past five years have given us opportunities to give back to our communities in more ways than we could have imagined. Our team has turned their passions into purpose with over 45 completed initiatives. To celebrate the five year anniversary, CANA decided to do our own internal 5K competition! Over the months of June, July and August, the CANA team was challenged to complete as many individual 5Ks as they could over the course of the three months. The “5for5” could be done in any form - kayak, bike, run, walk, skydive, or whatever they wanted! The best part about the celebration is, for every 5K our team members did, we put the CANAer’s favorite charity into a raffle drawing. At the end of the summer, we randomly selected three of the submitted charities to receive a special CANA Foundation donation. Our team had fun sharing photos of themselves at various stages of their 5Ks; we were able to share so many different perspectives! From the beach to the mountains, Team CANA completed over 347 5Ks and over 1,079 miles. If you can imagine, that’s the air distance from Philadelphia to Orlando! Needless to say, our CANAers showed up and rocked the “5for5.” The winning charities selected for CANA contributions ranged from womens’ groups to animal shelters to veterans organizations. We still have three months left to celebrate the CANA Foundation’s 5 Year Anniversary, so stay tuned to see how we wrap up this year! CANA 5for5 Video Link #giveback #CANAFoundation One of the things we pride ourselves on here at CANA is the curiosity and drive of our team. We think our Independent Research & Development (IRAD) program is a great way to encourage that love of learning and thinking outside-the-box. The program enables CANAers to initiate outside projects of professional and personal interest and submit them as proposals to receive degrees of company support such as dedicated time, funding, or technical assistance. IRADs offer a way to potentially bring a new, useful concept or solution closer to fruition. Our Principal AI Analyst, Chris Cichy, recently proposed an exciting Requirements Gaming IRAD to the CANA team. Independent Research & Development (IRAD) Live, Virtual, and Constructive Simulation (LVC Sim) By: Chris Cichy The vision of this IRAD is to utilize a game engine that supports modifications and scripting to develop Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training environments to support concept, doctrine, and requirements development. LVC Simulation (LVC Sim) training has multiple markets within and outside of the Department of Defense; it is applicable to any agency in which training is cost or effort prohibitive, in this case, interagency firefighting. LVC Sim, built on an open world gaming engine, would allow real time wargaming capability with a minimal investment and could be made playable by a large audience to increase the sample size and remove currently existing stovepipes. Playable demonstrations and videos can be made to visualize and pitch new technology and concepts and could be used to develop new marketing tools for a customer’s requirements. For this particular IRAD, CANA could augment its game modification experience through a proposed innovation challenge, or “hackathon.” The goal of this hackathon would be to modify one virtual twin of a technology from an automated fire fighting research and development project led by partners NIWC Pacific and the NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge called Project Vesta. With this head start in development and the experience gained by working with the innovation challenge participants, CANA would develop each of the assets from Project Vesta and create playable use cases for the pilot. Randomizing certain variables within the game world would then allow for a Project Vesta specific virtual training system. The long-range potential is limitless. Follow-on exploration might include producing a virtual training environment for autonomous vehicle software; developing tactics and doctrine lesson plans as modification packs; synthetic training data for Artificial Intelligence (AI) models; or developing synthetic environments with integrated Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) for the training of deep learning models. They are ideas on the cutting edge, and CANA is excited by what our team will think up next! UPCOMING EVENTS/PODCASTS CANA Top Guns! A Chat with Team CANA Top Gun Graduates In this first video episode of the CANA Connection Podcast, our host Rob Cranston, President and COO of CANA, has a fun chat with Top Gun Graduates and Team CANA members, Connor McLemore and Michael Albrecht about their experiences from the Top Gun program and their thoughts on the recent blockbuster Top Gun Maverick. Buckle up and enjoy the ride and as always remember to Analyse, Assess and Execute. [ Video ] [ Audio ] Talking esports at Full Sail University with Sari Kitelyn In this special CANA ESPORTS episode of the CANA Connection Podcast, Host Rob Cranston with fellow CANAer Co-Host Jack Murray speak with Sari Kitelyn, the Director of esports and Project Development at Full Sail University. So, join in as the team has a great conversation about the unique environment and opportunities presented at Full Sail University and the future of esports in education, and its inclusivity efforts in esports as a whole and within the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). [ Video ] [ Audio ] 5 Years of the CANA Foundation In this episode of the CANA Connection Podcast our Host and President of CANA Rob Cranston, along with fellow CANAers, Digital Media Coordinator Kassie McRostie, and Senior Operations Manager Kenny McRostie talk about the 5 years of the CANA Foundation, its history, the current efforts, and the future of the foundation. So, join in as the team has a great conversation about the CANA Foundation outreach efforts and its bright future at CANA and beyond. [ Video ] [ Audio ] Talking eSports Business & Law with Justin M Jacobson Esq. In this CANA ESPORTS episode of the CANA Connection Podcast, Host Rob Cranston and fellow CANAer Co-Host Jack Murray speak with Justin M. Jacobson, Esq., an Entertainment and Esports Attorney, Professor, and Author of "The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming." So, join in as the team has an insightful conversation about the unique challenges and opportunities involved with the future of esports. [ Video ] [ Audio ] The CANA Connection Newsletter Copyright ©2022 CANA LLC.

Recently CANA had its annual Company Spring Offsite. It was once again held at the lovely Airlie resort and hotel in Warrenton, VA. As always, the Airlie was very accommodating and a refreshing location to host our meetings and get together. Beyond the lovely atmosphere provided by the rolling hills of Warrenton, VA, the Offsite afforded our team a great chance to connect face to face and to talk about the current state of CANA and the future of where we are going. The general theme of the offsite was technology and more to the point, our utilization of current technologies and how we at CANA are using them or could use them to expand our footprint into the analytics, logistics, and operational realms with the new technologies. Look for some great blog posts and articles from our CANA team members coming soon about some of these technologies, and what the future holds for everyone as new data utilization tech becomes more common. The annual Offsite also provided us the chance to welcome aboard a couple of new team members to the CANA family. CANA would like to welcome the talents and expertise of Mr. Jerome Dixon and Mr. Tom Turner. WELCOME ABOARD OUR NEW TEAM MEMBERS! Jerome Dixon retired from the U.S. Navy in 2016. He is passionate about the balance between People, Processes, and Technology and how best to use these strategic levers to drive up organizational effectiveness and add value. Jerome joins our team as Senior Operations Research Analyst at CANA. Tom Turner also joins CANA as a Senior Operations Research Analyst bringing his former US Marine Corps experience and years of private, public and corporate sector analyses. "His unique background adds a deeper depth and breadth of expertise and experience to our various clients and their diverging interests. The passion both these new team members bring to the table will help CANA in the government, corporate and public sectors with strategic advantage and efficiencies as well as how best to use People, Processes, and Technology to solve or improve societal challenges. So, as we welcome new members and build upon our own technologies, 2017 continues to look bright for CANA and awesome for our clients. #CANAFoundation #CANA #team #offsite #technologies #analytics #analysis #2017

CANA is proud to announce that Walt DeGrange, one of its Principal Operations Research Analysts, was just elected as the President of the INFORMS Sports Analytics Society. Learn more about INFORMS here. #informs #sports #analysis #analytics #WaltDeGrange

At CANA, we believe in maintaining strong community bonds. Our community starts within our core of talented employees and extends to our clients, partners, professional organizations, families, and individual social circles – our community impacts our way of thinking through an exchange of ideas, concepts, history, and feedback. These connections allow us to understand how we can provide better services and products to positively impact personal lives and business outcomes. To support these bonds, we have taken a small, but important step to open up our ideas, concepts, solutions and products to our CANA Community – through a new part of our Website, called “CANA Connection”. CANA Connection is a virtual place where you can visit to see the latest happenings at CANA, read blog posts from our talented and visionary employees, and engage us in a conversation. We know that this increased level of virtual interaction will lead us to identifying new problems to tackle and help engage with our innovations processes to help create improvements throughout our community. CANA Advisors embraces a virtual business model. We feel that this helps us get outside of the ‘cube farm’ mentality of chasing a number and puts us in a place where our workforce is able to more freely engage in active conversation outside the boundaries of traditional brick and mortar. Our virtual workforce adds additional client and partner benefit, allowing us to engage clients and partners across a wide geographical area while also allowing us to use the latest technology to effectively collaborate, brainstorm, and improve government and business operations. We are proud of our workforce and are glad that we can support them to “work their passion” in an environment that best suites them. CANA Connection adds to CANA’s robust collaborative infrastructure and is your connection into our community – yes, this is now your community too. Keep coming back to see our posts. Connect with us on our social media pages – Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. Engage. We look forward to sharing our ideas and hearing yours! #CANA #Connection #outreach #community

Connecting to you is important to us. To improve how we do this - providing you information and getting your feedback - we developed a new Website. We feel that this site is more modern, aesthetic, mobile friendly, and sensible. Let us know what you think. CANA Connection is a great place for you to connect with us. We consider you as part of our extended community of clients, partners and otherwise collaborators. This is the place where you will find our latest news and ideas - where you are able to interact with our team of professionals on current topics that are relevant to you. You will also find an event calendar to stay up to date on our upcoming activity. To complement our new site, you will also see a jump in our social media sites (Google+, FaceBook, Linked In, and Twitter). Click the social media icons below to engage us on these sites too. So, welcome to our new site! Take advantage of our CANA Connection site and, by all means, provide us feedback. Let us know how you would like to engage. What kind of information would you like to see on our new site? #new #website #CANAAdvisors #CANA #connection #community #blog #launch

We are proud to announce the following newest members to the CANA team. Each brings their own unique set of skills as well as deep expertise and experience to our Logistics & Analytics services. Please welcome Jackie Knapp, Aaron Luprek, and John Moore to CANA! Jackie Knapp is a career business analyst who brings decades of experience providing in-depth business analyses and financial planning support to both commercial and government projects. Jackie joins CANA as a Business Analyst. [LinkedIN profile] Aaron Luprek is a talented software developer who brings immediate expertise in multiple software languages. He, too, boasts experience working with both commercial and government clients. Aaron joins CANA as a Senior Software Developer. [LinkedIN profile] John Moore brings a wealth of expertise in project management, operations research, change management, business process re-engineering and performance management & measurement to the CANA Team. Most recently, he has dedicated his expert services to multiple DoD clients to include the USMC and the U.S. Army. He joins CANA as a Senior Operations Research Analyst. [LinkedIN profile] Welcome aboard! #Jackie #Aaron #JOhn #businessanalyst #softwaredeveloper #researchanalyst #CANA #CANAAdvisors #team

As fellow MORSians, CANA understands the impact and value that MORS members have provided through continued volunteering - a similar principle that CANA also supports through purposeful give-back. With decades of combined military service and application of operations research methods to military and commercial logistics problems, CANA appreciates the value of MORS and recognizes the positive impact that the MORS community has had on important National Security decisions. For more information on MORS and the MORS community go to www.mors.org. #MORS #Phalanx #CANAAdvisors #research #operationsresearch #nationalsecurity

CANA would like to congratulate our Director of Analytics, Mr. Norman Reitter, as the new president of the Military Operations Research Society (MORS). This is a significant achievement and adds to Norm’s distinguished career in National Security Analysis. In becoming President of MORS, he joins a distinguished cadre of past presidents including Wayne Hughes, Gregory Parnell, and his Master’s Advisor, Dr. David Schrady. Norm has served as a Director of MORS since 2011. Prior to becoming President-Elect in 2015, he served as Vice President, Financial Management. You can read about Norm’s plans for his year as President as well as the rest of the Society’s activities here. #CANA #MORS #president #award #phalanx #society #NormanReitter

This is not a pipe I, like the rest of our team, frequently use the R language for statistical analysis for various projects. One really cool feature of R is that it has a vibrant user community and contributors. I was working on some analysis last week and saw an example using the ‘pipe’ operator %>% along with a lot of ‘buzz’ on sites like Stack Overflow and R Bloggers. I have to admit at first, I was resistant to a new package and functions, and I simply didn’t ‘get it’. Still, the magritttr package seemed to be changing the way people wrote functions in R. I tried it – mostly to rebut my colleagues who had recommended it. After a few minutes of stumbling around, and much to my shock and amazement, have concluded that they were right! What does the ‘pipe’ operator do? The pipe operator does a (deceptively) simple thing. It takes whatever is on the left hand side of the operator, and ‘pipes’ it to the first argument to the right hand side. So, x %>% f() = f(x). The simplest example I can think of is the following: library(magrittr) 3 %>% + 2 [1] 5 Big deal, right? Actually, it is a big deal, because you can chain them together! Consider this: library(magrittr) data(cars) cars %>% subset(speed<50) %>% subset(dist > 10) %>% plot() Reading from left to right, it is completely obvious even to a non-programmer what was done. And the best part? The ‘cars’ object remains pristine, and no accessory datasets were stored in the process! The Name Magrittr is a nod to the Belgian painter Rene Margritte, and his painting ‘The Treachery of Images’ (The French at the bottom translates to ‘this is not a pipe’). #magritttr #Rlanguage #analysis #PIPE #pipes #functions #statisticalanalysis #statistics

The defining characteristic of a professional is the constant drive to be as fully proficient as possible in their chosen endeavor. One standardized way of measuring proficiency in Operations Research and several other fields – notably computer science – are certifications. A Certification is a voluntary credential that professionals acquire to demonstrate their competence in the community. This is distinctly different than Licensure, which are legally mandated to perform a certain type of work. If certifications are voluntary, why pursue them? To my mind, there are three reasons: First, to demonstrate your competence to your colleagues (and potential employer) Second, to demonstrate your competence to yourself Third, as a goal for self-study. I’ll address each of these in turn, and then speak to the three professional certifications I currently hold: Certified Analytics Professional (CAP, INFORMS), Accredited Professional Statistician, (PStat, American Statistical Association), Chartered Statistician (CStat, Royal Statistical Society). For professionals in the fields of Operations Research and Statistics, the need to demonstrate competence has never been greater, and was brought into sharp focus during my recent transition from the US Navy. I never needed to demonstrate my competence via certification inside Navy, because the community is small, we all knew each other, and we all routinely saw examples of each other’s work product. Approaching transition, I realized that the field of people currently claiming membership in the OR “Tribe” was far greater than the true size of our profession. The normal means to overcome this difficulty, showing a portfolio of recent relevant work, was not an option because all of the work I did was privileged (a common problem in our field). Certification from INFORMS was a great way to demonstrate professional competence without sharing work examples. People take certifications for a number of reasons; I will expound on mine below. The common reasons are because it is mandated by an employer or contract, because the individual wants to demonstrate to others that they have a given level of competence, or that they want to demonstrate to themselves that they are competent. As you will see below, my experience is a mixture of desiring to demonstrate my competence to myself, and some good natured, but pointed, encouragement from my mentors in the broader community. It probably doesn’t matter why a person undertakes a course of action if it is, in the long run, good for both themselves and the Profession. In short, I took the CAP exam for three reasons; first, because I write a recurring article for INFORMS/Analtyics Magazine, and felt that it may be conspicuous to be a regular contributor without having the certification. Second, my family happened to be out of town the week that the test was offered and I had nothing better to do. Finally, I had dinner with a colleague who was a CAP and he essentially told me to ‘man up’ and do it. I took the PStat certification for two reasons; first, I have been privately concerned for the past few years that there may be negative growth in Analytics in the future. How can I make such a heretical comment? As was mentioned in the keynote address of the 2016 INFORMS/Analytics conference in April of this year, businesses have put a lot of resources against “Analytics” and do not uniformly feel that they have received the expected return. (note: In my own practice I am hyper-attuned to this sentiment.) I felt that it was important to have a second qualification as a hedge against an uncertain future. However, the real reason was that I had lunch with a colleague who was a PStat and he essentially told me to ‘man up’ and do it. Yes, it is the same colleague from the preceding paragraph. I took the CStat certification for two reasons, and these are not nearly as satisfying as the preceding two. First, I saw advertised in Significance that for a limited time, the Royal Society would automatically confer CStat status to any PStat holder that applied. This is not simply ‘certificate collecting’ but adds my name to a third professional registry, which may prove useful should I ever desire to do business in the United Kingdom. The real reason, however, is so that I can have a meal with my colleague from the last two paragraphs and it will be my turn to do the goading! The Process I will now briefly discuss the mechanics of application for CAP and PStat: CAP. The Certified Analytics Professional currently consists of a verification of education and experience, verification of soft skills, ethics pledge, and written examination. The best reference for exam preparation is the CAP Website. For those looking to take the exam, I will make two comments: It is a ‘breadth’ of knowledge exam, not a ‘depth’ exam. There were areas of the exam that I had no education or previous contact with. This is a common experience. The best way to prepare using the materials from the INFORMS website is to understand not only why the right answers are ‘right’ but also why the wrong answers are ‘incorrect’. PStat. The Accredited Professional Statistician is different in that there is no written exam. Petitioners must demonstrate professionalism in several areas to include: education, practice, commitment to continued education and ethics pledge. I found this to be more daunting than the CAP process. There is an interesting aspect to PStat that I did not know before sitting in a 15 June webinar by ASA’s Executive Director – applicants who fail to achieve PStat standing are mentored by ASA – given career advice, if you will, as to what personal and professional milestones are next in their careers. CStat. Because of the conferral agreement, for me this consisted of submitting my credentials from ASA for review by the Royal Society. “Junior” Qualifications Both INFORMS and ASA offer lower level qualifications – the “Associate Certified Analytics Professional” and the Graduate Statistician (GStat). These are meant to serve as ‘stepping stones’ for early career professionals enroute to eventual full certification. I’ve covered the external reasons in this note, and would now like to turn to the internal, personal reasons for seeking certifications. Each one for me has led to a personal reckoning of the state of my career, and what ‘next things’ I should be doing – not just in terms of Practice, but also Scholarship and Service. The satisfaction of having attained certification and (re)affirming your commitment to the Profession and the Profession’s recognition of your efforts is immense, and well worth the price of admission, both in terms of money and ‘sweat equity’. Article by Harrison Schramm, Principal Operations Research Analyst, CANA Advisors #certifications #professional #licensure #INFORMS #CAP #PStat #CStat #Accredited #analytics #ASA #GStat #qualifications #sweatequity