Photo of Stephanie Barna

Stephanie Barna

Stephanie Barna draws on over three decades of U.S. military and government service to provide advisory and advocacy support and counseling to clients facing policy and political challenges in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie was a senior leader on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Most recently, she was General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where she was responsible for the annual $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Additionally, she managed the Senate confirmation of three- and four-star military officers and civilians nominated by the President for appointment to senior political positions in DoD and the Department of Energy’s national security nuclear enterprise, and was the Committee’s lead for investigations.

Previously, as a senior executive in the Office of the Army General Counsel, Stephanie served as a legal advisor to three Army Secretaries. In 2014, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appointed her to be the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. In that role, she was a principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all matters relating to civilian and military personnel, reserve integration, military community and family policy, and Total Force manpower and resources. Stephanie was later appointed by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to perform the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, responsible for programs and funding of more than $35 billion.

Stephanie was also previously the Deputy General Counsel for Operations and Personnel in the Office of the Army General Counsel. She led a team of senior lawyers in resolving the full spectrum of issues arising from Army wartime operations and the life cycle of Army military and civilian personnel. Stephanie was also a personal advisor to the Army Secretary on his institutional reorganization and business transformation initiatives and acted for the Secretary in investigating irregularities in fielding of the Multiple Launch Rocket System and classified contracts. She also played a key role in a number of high-profile personnel investigations, including the WikiLeaks breach. Prior to her appointment as Deputy, she was Associate Deputy General Counsel (Operations and Personnel) and Acting Deputy General Counsel.

Stephanie is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army and served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps as an Assistant to the General Counsel, Office of the Army General Counsel; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne); Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs); and General Law Attorney, Administrative Law Division.

Stephanie was selected by the National Academy of Public Administration for inclusion in its 2022 Class of Academy Fellows, in recognition of her years of public administration service and expertise.

Contact:Read more about Stephanie BarnaEmail

Congress is considering so-called “right to repair” legislation that could produce one of the most consequential changes to Department of War (“DoW”) intellectual property rights in decades. Provisions advanced during consideration of the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) would make Government Purpose Rights the default for certain technical data, computer software, and computer software documentation delivered under future DoW contracts, subcontracts, and other agreements.  Contractors seeking to deviate from Government Purpose Rights to impose more restrictive rights would bear the burden of identifying the affected material and establishing the basis for those restrictions by “clear and convincing evidence.”

The provisions respond to concerns that DoW may lack access to the technical information needed to maintain and repair military equipment without relying on the original manufacturer.  But the proposed solution appears to have impacts that go beyond DoW’s right to repair and broadly affect DoW rights to contractors’ internally funded technology.  At a minimum, this approach would require contractors to place a renewed emphasis on proposal and marking practices and relationships with suppliers; at worst, it may undermine industry’s willingness to incorporate commercial or dual-use technology into defense systems.

Continue Reading Right to Repair or Rewrite of DoW Data Rights? Five Questions for Defense Contractors

On September 14, 2026, Deputy Secretary of War Stephen Feinberg issued a memorandum and an accompanying appendix focused on strengthening the defense industrial base by reforming acquisition requirements related to a wide range of issues, including accounting standards, efficiency, government oversight, procedural requirements, audits, pricing, and more.  Building on prior policymaking, including Executive Order 14402 (April 30, 2026), this memorandum directs agency actions aimed at making defense acquisition more commercially oriented and less dependent on government-unique accounting and oversight regimes. 

Among other things, the memorandum directs the Department of War (“DoW”) to shift away from the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) and increase its reliance on the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), including by advancing CAS coverage reform at the CAS Board.  The memorandum further directs a number of other reforms related to accelerating acquisition transformation, scaling advance market commitments, improving efficiency, reducing administrative burden, limiting audits, streamlining business system reviews, and increasing the use of commercial contracting and other transaction authority (“OTA”) agreements. 

Continue Reading Department of War Issues Memorandum Aimed at Strengthening the Industrial Base Through Acquisition Reform

For decades, the United States and India circled each other as potential defense partners—aligned by democratic values and shared strategic concerns, yet separated by Cold War legacies and divergent procurement cultures.  Now, a proposed Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement (“RDPA”) promises to open each country’s military marketplace to the other’s defense…

Continue Reading The U.S.-India Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement:  A New Chapter in a Complex Relationship

Over the last month, we have issued multiple client alerts outlining developments related to the Chinese military company covered lobbyist prohibition enacted by Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025, codified at 10 U.S.C. § 4663. This is a follow-up to…

Continue Reading Defense Department Publishes Guidance Page Concerning Restrictions on Defense Contractors Retaining Outside Consultants

The Chinese military company covered lobbyist prohibition enacted by Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025, codified at 10 U.S.C. § 4663, took effect on June 30, 2026. Just before that date, the Department of Defense took steps to implement the…

Continue Reading Regulations Issued for New Restrictions on Defense Contractors Retaining Outside Consultants

In January 2025, Covington issued a client alert noting that the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025, which sets annual spending and policy for the Pentagon, introduced new China-related prohibitions on defense contractors and their consultants. The provision is finally set to take effect on…

Continue Reading New Restrictions on Defense Contractors Retaining Outside Consultants Set to Take Effect

Over one year ago, on May 2, 2025, the FAR Council took the first concrete step in the administration’s “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (“RFO”) initiative by issuing the initial round of rolling model deviation guidance—a deliberate move to translate reform of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) from an abstract policy goal into acquisition text.  That moment marked the beginning of a new implementation reality: rather than waiting for a single, comprehensive rulemaking, the government began operationalizing the overhaul in increments, part by part, through deviations.  Now, a year later, the question for contractors is no longer whether the overhaul is “coming,” but how it is being implemented across agencies and systems.  This is therefore a good time to take stock of where implementation stands, where friction is emerging, and what sophisticated contractors can do to stay ahead of the curve.  For additional information, our prior coverage of the RFO roll-out can be found here and here.

Continue Reading From Paper Reform to Practice: How Agencies Are Actually Implementing the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul

On April 29, 2026, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told the House Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon will “shortly announce a sub-unified command of autonomous warfare.”  The announcement came as the Department of War (DoW) unveiled its fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget request, which proposes approximately $54 billion for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG)—a dramatic increase from the roughly $226 million the DAWG received previously.  When all DoW drone and counter-drone related budget lines in the FY 2027 budget request are aggregated, the total approaches $74 billion—an amount Pentagon officials have described as the largest investment in such technologies in U.S. history.  

Beyond the headline numbers, Secretary Hegseth’s reference to a “sub-unified command” is institutionally significant.  It raises fundamental questions about how the DoW intends to organize autonomous warfare inside the joint force and warrants a closer look at what a sub-unified command actually is.

Continue Reading The Pentagon’s New Sub-Unified Command for Autonomous Warfare:  What It Means and Where It Might Land

On April 20, 2026, one week after President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (Public Law 119-83) into law, the Department of War (“DoW”) issued a press release announcing that it was “immediately advancing” a “redesigned and more focused initiative to accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities to the warfighter.”  As we covered last month, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act reauthorizes the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (“SBIR/STTR”) programs through September 30, 2031, ending a nearly six-month lapse that froze new SBIR/STTR solicitations and awards across federal agencies.

The DoW’s announcement signals that the Department intends to be the first mover in implementing the reauthorized SBIR/STTR programs.  The announcement also introduces a new initiative, the Accelerated Research for Transition (“ART”) Program, that warrants close attention from the defense small business community.

Continue Reading SBIR/STTR Is Back and the Department of War Is Wasting No Time