From Special Operations to Scenario Architect: Rebuilding Defense Thinking

What happens when a Special Operations veteran decides the future of national defense depends on creativity?In this Success After Service (SAS) Special Episode of GovCon Unscripted, Chelsea Roberts sits down with Daniel Gomez, Founder & CEO of First Person Xperience, to explore why creativity is rewarded on the battlefield, but punished in garrison. And why that mindset gap may be costing more than we realize.From Civil Affairs and JSOU instruction to building immersive national defense simulations, Danny shares how experiential learning, controlled failure, and scenario design can reshape how the defense community prepares for future conflict.They discuss:Why we’re always preparing for yesterday’s warThe failure of imagination cited in the 9/11 reportHow immersive training changes retention and decision-makingThe AI experiment that left leaders “woefully unprepared”Why innovation gaps between adversaries matterBuilding The Lab: a national defense creativity engineTimestamps:02:15 – Danny’s transition from Active Duty to Founder06:40 – What “First Person Experience” actually means11:10 – Immersion vs. virtual training16:35 – “Creativity is rewarded on the battlefield and punished in garrison”22:20 – Fighting yesterday’s war27:05 – The failure of imagination problem31:40 – The AI scenario experiment (Project Genesis)39:10 – Trust, control, and no-win futuresResources:Daniel Gomez's LinkedIn ProfileFirst Person Xperience WebsiteChelsea Roberts's LinkedIn Profile🎧 Listen now on:🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHyLike and follow us:🔹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpodcast/🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/Join our #govcon #community:https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/New to GovCon? Here’s a guide for you:https://share.hsforms.com/288nO18bsRCCmdJZL66pClwbzmvx21 AI Prompts to Supercharge Your GovCon BD Engine:https://collaborativecompositions.com/21-ai-prompts-to-supercharge-your-govcon-bd-engine/AI Prompt Guide for Federal Contractor Marketinghttps://collaborativecompositions.com/ai-prompt-guide-for-federal-contractor-marketing/