I started feeling that way also a while ago. Before the tech boom hit full-swing, the government contractors were the place to be to work with new technologies.

I started feeling that way also a while ago. Before the tech boom hit full-swing, the government contractors were the place to be to work with new technologies. It was at SAIC that I was able to get our division to implement a major project in Java. In the past few years, though, the government contracting industry in DC has grown, but at the same time mired in ever increasing bureaucracy and antiquated tools, systems, and applications. The talent pool shifted quite a bit as well; before the tech boom, there were lots of technies in government, after that, most of them had moved on to commercial work, in many cases elsewhere. It's nice to hear that there is something going on that will (hopefully) change that, but for now I'm enjoying the fact that Seattle has a much more vibrant tech community than DC, and Seattle's tech community isn't largely classified. :)