Dr. Albert Einstein has a famous quote: “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.” [1]
While this and more recent documents [2] indicate that Open Source software is encouraged in the Army, the reality is that software selected first has to be on the site local "Approved Products List" or APL, or the wider Army APL. If it is not then an approval request form must be submitted, requiring services running, ports opened, and so on. The approval process can be weeks or even months.
Years. This has taken years for me in some cases. The further down the totem pole you are, in terms of technology, the longer it takes.
Sometimes the point of contact on the DoD or the program office side is a vacant position that never gets filled, and the person up the chain from them refuses to sign off.
The key is to find, institutionally, a heavy hitter doing something similar to what you're trying to do, and join forces. This is a lot harder than it sounds. The whole industry is stovepiped to a degree that's hard to express to outsiders. I've gone years before meeting peers in the same sort of spec areas I deal with, for example. Alone, with these weird arcane documents and disappearing vendors made of lies and ghosts, you start to feel a bit like a crazy person.
I agree, it does take years sometimes. I've been working on getting Rust approved on my contract for two years. Also, an institutional heavy hitter is key like you said. Often, you cab find someone to work with in special ops, who can get waivers to use cutting edge technology for their missions.
I can report that perseverance pays off sometimes though. As of this month my program is approved to use Rust along side C++ on our contract. We will be submitting an approval authorization to get Rust on the APL, but can use it before then since we are CRN and have contractual approval.
Sometimes the point of contact on the DoD or the program office side is a vacant position that never gets filled, and the person up the chain from them refuses to sign off.
The key is to find, institutionally, a heavy hitter doing something similar to what you're trying to do, and join forces. This is a lot harder than it sounds. The whole industry is stovepiped to a degree that's hard to express to outsiders. I've gone years before meeting peers in the same sort of spec areas I deal with, for example. Alone, with these weird arcane documents and disappearing vendors made of lies and ghosts, you start to feel a bit like a crazy person.