FROM THE READER
By Lynndy Smith, President & CEO— Global Defense & Industry Coalition
THE RIGHT PEOPLE, THE RIGHT ROOM, THE RIGHT TIME.
In early 2023, I boarded an 18-hour overnight train from Poland to Kyiv. There were no direct flights into Ukraine. I wasn’ t sure what I’ d find when I arrived— only that U. S. industry had more to offer Ukraine than it was being given the opportunity to provide, and I needed to understand why. That trip led to conversations with nearly every relevant ministry, the head of defense intelligence, and multiple meetings with President Zelenskyy himself. It changed the trajectory of everything I had been building.
Lynndy Smith is President & CEO of the Global Defense & Industry Coalition( GDIC) and the Arizona Defense & Industry Coalition( AZDIC), a 501( c)( 6) nonprofit trade association. In her individual capacity, she serves on the Supervisory Board of JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry.
That was my first trip. I’ ve now been to Ukraine over a dozen times, and the work is far from finished. But to explain how an Arizona defense coalition ended up on that train, I have to go back a little further.
I grew up in Arizona with a dad who was a pilot— weekends at the airport watching jets, a fascination with flight and national security that eventually pointed me toward defense. My entry came through Senator John McCain’ s office, where I first encountered the industry not as a contractor, but as a policy problem to be solved. I was hooked. When Senator McCain stood up in the Senate Armed Services Committee and pushed for direct communication between Congress and industry, the Arizona Defense & Industry Coalition— AZDIC— was born.
58 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS