DoD official outlines Build Freedom, IBAS expansion and a plan to halve second-source qualification timelines

Kadin Nazeem (transcript), the Department official leading industrial-base policy, told the subcommittee that Build Freedom is designed as a national hiring, training and awareness campaign to channel candidates into scholarships, credentials and jobs through a new hub at buildfreedom.us and local program partners.

He said the office invested roughly $340 million into workforce programs in fiscal 2026, has rolled Build Freedom out in three states with plans to expand, and aims to align IBAS projects with local transition partners so pilot programs can become enduring. On supplier resilience, he said certification and qualification timelines are a major bottleneck and described an aggressive target to reduce second-source rocket-motor qualification timelines by 50%.

The assistant secretary urged reauthorization of Defense Production Act authorities and described CRAMIN (Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network) to qualify commercial manufacturers as alternate defense suppliers. He also said the department is mapping critical-minerals dependencies and coordinating with Office of Strategic Capital, EXIM and other agencies to invest in domestic capacity.