Federal 100: John R. Kahler Jr.
Name: John R. Kahler Jr.
Title: Chief of the Joint On-Demand Interoperability Network
Communications-Electronics Command
Agency: Department of the Army
The JUICE man. Kahler helps run the Joint Users Interoperability Communications Exercise, an annual test of systems integration and network operations by U.S. agencies and allies. His quest for interoperability is motivated by the communications difficulties first responders experienced during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and though he has been involved in the exercise for years, his efforts led to a breakthrough in 2014: It was the first time participants from the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. military and state emergency operations centers were able to communicate seamlessly.