The Readiness Dividend: Turning Acquisition Reform into Competitive Advantage

Acquisition reform isn’t coming — it’s here. Initiatives like the SPEED Act, FoRGED Act, SHIPS for America Act, and Section 1092 authorities are reshaping how the Department of War evaluates performance, risk, and delivery. The organizations that will thrive in this environment recognize one truth: reform rewards readiness.

We call this the Readiness Dividend — the compounding advantage gained when teams anticipate change rather than react to it, the same principle as taking a lead turn with guns in a dogfight. To deliver the readiness the SOW demands and our Warfighters deserve, organizations supporting our Nation need partners who are accustomed to accountability in high-stakes, capital-intensive environments with aligned incentives and a bias for execution.

This requires teams ready to translate new policy into action: rapidly aligning government and private sector technology efforts, leveraging authorities to optimize contracting strategies, shifting from gatekeeping to collaboration, and accelerating technology iteration so capabilities reach Warfighters at the speed of relevance.

Secretary of War Hegseth’s memorandum captures the core challenge — and the opportunity:

“Today’s unacceptably slow acquisition delivery and fielding times stem from three systemic challenges: (1) fragmented accountability … (2) broken incentives … and (3) government procurement behaviors that disincentivize industry investment, efficient production, and growth.”

Problems define opportunity — and the Night-1 team is built to break through systemic barriers that slow readiness. We turn strategy and leadership intent into real outcomes by aligning incentives, driving business agility, and enabling organizations to deliver capability at the pace Warfighters deserve. This supports the Secretary’s push to transition acquisition from a gatekeeping bureaucracy into a warfighting-first function and a true enabler of national power.

The result is competitive advantage — not status-quo compliance. Structuring capture and execution around the reformed environment gives our Nation time, capability, and cost advantages.

Night-1 Readiness transforms reform into speed  and readiness outcomes our Warfighters deserve.