As noted in the article, “Maj. Gen. Jennifer Napper…respects people willing and able to accomplish the mission regardless of obstacles. That can-do attitude is highly valued in the military, and Gen. Napper witnessed it first hand in 2004 when deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom II.”

The Signal article recounted Napper’s experiences as a colonel leading the 7th Signal Brigade from Mannheim, Germany. She cited the experience as one of the highlights of her military career because of the soldiers’ willingness to “rise to the occasion” and “just make it happen.”

“We had a lot of challenges, taking on mission sets from people who had already been there, taking on some new mission sets, just a lot of unknowns during that rotation,” she said in the article.

One unit in Kuwait, for example, went through an equipment reconfiguration, trained for a new mission and deployed to Afghanistan to set up communications, all with less than 10 days’ notice. “The soldiers did things I wouldn’t think were possible along timelines that were not realistic, and they still made it happen. We had to train them on the different rules of engagement, different threats and everything while they were reconfiguring. Soldiers are amazing people. That’s one of the reasons I loved being in the Army,” Napper told Signal.

She also discussed her military career path, adding that she wasn’t certain, when she first joined, whether the Army would be a career or simply a short term of service. “About five years in, she determined it would indeed be a career, and she set her sights high. And then exceeded them,” the article said.

“Once I decided it was going to be a career, my hope was to be a battalion commander. I kind of modified that a little bit. When I served in the 4th Infantry Division, I decided I just had to be a battalion commander in an infantry division,” she said.

Napper went on to lead the Army’s Network Enterprise Technology Command, an organization with more than 16,000 people in more than 20 countries.

Regarding her move to Unisys about a year ago, Napper told Signal she has found that her industry colleagues also are able to make things happen. She noted obvious similarities between the Army and industry, especially in terms of dedication to the mission, whatever that mission may be. “It’s really heartwarming to see that’s the same regardless of whether you’re in government or industry,” she said.

The article also described Unisys’ unique approach to security, with Unisys Stealth as a prime example. By substituting traditional hardware topology for software-based cryptography, Stealth prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information and reduce the attack surface, thereby making endpoints invisible to unauthorized users.

“We’ve been focusing on micro-segmentation and how to help secure networks with a different mindset and a different security posture, not just the traditional defense-in-depth of more obstacles along the way for the adversary,” Napper told Signal, adding that Stealth has received National Information Assurance Partnership and Commercial Solutions for Classified Programs certifications for use in classified systems by governments around the world.

Signal added that the private sector offered her an additional advantage to someone who prefers to be called by her first name. “It’s Jennifer. I have a first name again,” she said.