DoW Small Business

National Small Business Month may be ending, but the mission continues.

🔹 99.9% of U.S. businesses are small businesses
🔹 46% of America's workforce is employed by small businesses
🔹 Millions support federal missions
🔹 Thousands contribute to the defense industrial base

These companies are designing, manufacturing, innovating, and delivering the capabilities that help keep our nation secure.

Throughout May, we highlighted the critical role these companies play in supporting readiness, expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, and delivering innovative solutions to meet national security needs.

The Department of War Office of Industrial Base Growth is committed to helping more businesses find their place in the defense marketplace through resources such as APEX Accelerators, Project Spectrum, the Mentor-Protégé Program, and LYNX, our digital platform designed to help businesses assess readiness and connect with mission-aligned opportunities.

The mission is too important to leave talent on the sidelines.

Thank you to the small businesses powering the warfighter and strengthening America's industrial base.

Small Business. Big Mission. Learn more at business.defense.gov.

Congratulations to the FY25 nominees for the Ms. Tracey L. Pinson Small Business Professional of the Year Award, which honors individuals who champion small business growth and sustainability in alignment with the Department of War mission and the legacy of Tracey L. Pinson, a trailblazing Army acquisitions leader.

The winner of this prestigious award will be announced at the Vanguard Awards Ceremony on June 17 during Small Business Training Week.

Congratulations to the FY25 nominees for the Revolutionary Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who lead by example to overcome barriers and drive innovative small business inclusion across the Department of War marketplace.

The winner of this prestigious award will be announced at the Vanguard Awards Ceremony on June 17 during Small Business Training Week.

Registration is now open for the Department of War's Small Business Training Week (SBTW) 2026.

Planned for government personnel and APEX Accelerator staff, SBTW is our premier workforce training event focused on best practices, tools, and insights that strengthen the defense industrial base.

Learn more and register: https://dowsbtw.com

Join colleagues from across the federal acquisition workforce in New Orleans, June 15–18, 2026. We look forward to seeing you there!

May is National Small Business Month — a time to recognize the businesses driving our economy and delivering critical capabilities for our warfighters.

On Monday, President Trump hosted a summit honoring the contributions of small businesses across the nation. As the President said clearly: small businesses are “the lifeblood of the American economy…[and] our country is made up of a lot of small businesses and that ends up being a really big business.”

President Trump, through his “Great Big Beautiful Tax Cut and Regulation Cut Bill” (as he remarked at the event), has unlocked significant capital flow for America’s small businesses. In fact, 12 million small businesses received an average tax cut of over $7,000.

At the Department of War, small businesses aren’t just part of the industrial base ecosystem — they are essential to mission readiness, innovation, and delivering capability at speed and scale.

As we join our federal partners and industry this month in recognizing National Small Business Month, we are proud to highlight the businesses making a daily impact on mission readiness, acquisition outcomes, and defense industrial base resilience.