Chris Decker on What's Really Happening in Indo-Pacom, Africa, and Southcom Right Now

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with Chris Decker, President and Founder of Planate Management Group, a veteran-owned small business operating in 26 countries doing some of the hardest engineering and infrastructure work in the world's most challenging locations. Chris is a Naval Academy graduate and Navy Civil Engineer Corps veteran who built his company from the ground up across three global hubs in the Philippines, Florida, and Kenya. In this conversation he gives a rare ground level view of what is actually happening right now in Indo-Pacom, Africa, and Southcom, why the defense acquisition system is consolidating, and what AI could mean for the future of government proposals. He also serves as past chairman of ISOA and hosts his own podcast, Mission Ready. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hook: Why service contracting is so inefficient right now 00:31 – Welcome and introduction 01:38 – Who is Chris Decker: President and Founder of Planate Management Group 03:28 – Historic times: the most transformation since 9/11 06:22 – Growing up in Pennsylvania: Navy family, German roots, soccer 07:25 – Choosing the Naval Academy 09:06 – The three tracks in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps: Seabees, public works, contracts 10:22 – Leading a major Pentagon acquisition program for seven years 11:11 – The moment he knew he wasn't built for the Corps 12:27 – How Planate Management Group was born 13:25 – His son Joe, now activated with a Seabee unit 17:49 – What Planate Management Group does today: planning, design, engineering, construction 20:16 – The origin of the name Planate: three books and a mathematical surface 22:04 – Three support centers: Subic Bay, Orlando, and Nairobi 24:08 – What's happening on the ground in Indo-Pacom right now 27:28 – Pent up demand: construction running two years behind operational plans 30:20 – China's investment strategy vs. the US approach in the Pacific 31:41 – Shifting to Africa: the decline of USAID and the rise of DFC investment 35:46 – Rare earth minerals, energy, and the real US interest in Africa 38:25 – Shifting to Southcom: the border wall, Peru, Puerto Rico, Guantanamo 40:05 – Where the center of gravity is moving in Southcom 41:47 – The great realignment: consolidating acquisition authority toward GSA 46:48 – Concerns about small business set asides and execution costs 48:50 – Executive order driven change without congressional support 51:09 – Fast forward to 2029: what does the engineering and construction market look like 52:07 – Progressive design build and cutting government oversight layers 53:40 – Could AI eliminate the proposal process entirely 54:23 – One word on the future: "Speed" 55:35 – ISOA's role and Chris's time as chairman 58:01 – The Mission Ready podcast and why he started it