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Arlington County Chamber of Commerce

Good morning. It's nice to be with you today. These are interesting and challenging times. And our times are different today. So let's talk about them.

First, Arlington County is the place CACI has called home for the past 35 years. Our company moved here from California in 1967 to take advantage of the new and emerging federal government services market. I came to CACI five years later, in 1972, as a Program Manager. The company had a few dozen people. We were located at 1815 N. Ft. Myer Drive, right here in Rosslyn.

Meanwhile, just down the street, the old Defense Communications Agency was gearing up to make history for Arlington and the world. In 1975 DCA took over operational management of the brand new Internet - and you all know how fabulously that story turned out. That particular invention - creation, if you will - is the reason many of us are in this room today. So I don't have to convince the people in this audience that Arlington County is a great place to do business. And, even though there have been some setbacks in the national economy over the last year, our local economy has weathered the storm and appears to remain strong.

As CEO of a large corporation I have been very disturbed by some of the events making the headlines over the past year. Our national economic picture has been tarnished by repeated stories of corporate wrongdoing - Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Arthur Anderson, Adelphia and others. These events have led to layoffs, ruined pension funds and diminished investor confidence. I firmly believe these tragedies are due to the greed and corruption of just a few individuals, and I am gratified to see most of these individuals being brought to justice... perhaps slowly, and perhaps not all of them yet... but some justice is being meted out just the same.

I am also eager to see this chapter put behind us, and for Americans to get on with doing their business, based upon the business ethics and value standards that the vast majority of us live by. Having said that, I won't get into the over reaching excesses of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act itself. But let me repeat for emphasis: Even though there have been some clouds in the national economic picture, our local economy is going strong and, I believe, will remain strong.

First, we have some remarkable strengths and advantages: Last year, the Washington area was home to more than 15,000 high tech companies - more high tech firms than any other area of the country, including Silicon Valley.1 Arlington County alone has over 300 high tech companies.2

The Washington area also tops the nation in the number of workers in the computer science and engineering fields - approximately 251,000 of them.3 And, although there appeared to be some softening of the technology picture over the past few months, a survey released by Arlington's own Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) just last month predicted a rebound in these critical sectors.4

In addition, most of our industry revenue (the vast bulk of it) comes from the federal government, which not only will continue to spend, but is now increasing its funding programs, and more so in the areas of defense and homeland security. In 2000 the federal government spent $14.8B on technology services and products in the Washington area. This was about 38% of the region's technology revenues.5 And of course Arlington itself is an attraction. The county has many quality of life pluses that draw an upwardly mobile, tech savvy workforce. The county sports great business and residential facilities, competitive high wages, proximity to the nation's capital and a spectrum of shopping and entertainment venues that support all our people and their interests.

Another reason our local economy continues to be strong is that Arlington County has been making the right moves to retain and increase its business attractiveness6. We have established Technology Zones to spur growth of technology firms in major business locations. We are offering attractive tax packages for firms in the Internet economy. And we are aware of another initiative underway that is planning for clusters of super wired "smart buildings" that will allow businesses to move into newer space as they grow.

And further, there's something more about Arlington - a spirit that cannot be quantified, but was everywhere evident on September 11, 2001 - and in the days that immediately followed. After the devastating attack on the Pentagon by the fanatical Islamic terrorists we had Arlington's true heroes coming forward - our firefighters, EMTs and policemen. They rose immediately to the occasion. Stories of the terrorist victims' heroic strength and fortitude filled the news in the following months.

And the "hardhats" who restored the Pentagon called their task "Project Phoenix." This was work that would make the Pentagon rise out of the flames of the killers and their hatred.7 These American patriots achieved their self defined goal of demolishing and rebuilding 400,000 square feet of the Pentagon in less than 11 months. And I want to add that CACI played a key role in this project, too. Our people were instrumental in managing the project and its purchasing systems support. And we received special recognition from the DoD for our people's efforts.

That leads me to the topic of our national security. I am proud to be CEO of a company that boosts the local area economy with approximately 3000 jobs as well as significant tax revenues. But most of all, I'm proud that CACI International is able to support our government in the critical areas of National Defense and Homeland Security.

All of us here, and especially those in the IT industry, are important to that fight. As Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said, "We're going to win this war against terrorism armed with information and armed with knowledge…"8 And President George W. Bush has promised to nearly double government funding for a sustained strategy of homeland security and the improved safety of our people. This will amount to almost $38B in 2003. It will create significant opportunities for the IT community.9 And CACI is very proud to be involved in the creation of several of these mission-critical systems. Just last month we were honored to receive the 2002 Grace Hopper Government Technology Leadership Award for Homeland Security for our support of a special purpose battlefield sensor system for the U.S. Army called I-REMBASS.

Of course, we hope that all these tools will bring about and hasten "freedom's victory," as the President calls it. We hope they will all create a world in which Americans can live... in freedom... in safety... and in security. So thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you this morning. Arlington County has the resources... the skills... the talent... and the drive... to face the challenges and seize the opportunities, arising in this new and sinister post-9/11 world.

Arlington truly is - a capital place to do business.

Thank you.

1 "Hobbes' Internet Timeline – the Definite ARPAnet and Internet History."

2 "Questions and Answers: Arlington County's Economy." Washington Techway, August 28, 2000, p. 3.

3 Adler, op. cit.

4 "Survey: IT Services Business May be Brightening." Washington Technology, November 4, 2002.

5 Adler, op. cit.

6 Daniels, Alex. "Incentives to Grow: Arlington Spruces up its Tech Image to Attract, Retain, Companies." Washington Techway, April 9, 2001, p. 28.

7 "Honor, Resolve at Pentagon 9/11 Remembrance."

8 "The New Defense Era," speech delivered by JPL to Northern Virginia Technology Council, February 13, 2002.

9 Ibid.