At the same time, Red Hat released the first version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1. The Army deployed Red Hat’s operating system in its Blue Force Tracker system, which lived in jeeps and tanks on the battlefield. Major General Nicholas Justice, the man responsible for Blue Force Tracker, said later:

“When we rolled into Baghdad, we did it using open source.”1

To this day, the U.S. Army remains one of Red Hat’s largest customers by volume. Red Hat was recently made part of the Army’s Common Operating Environment, which is their enterprise standard.

web.archive.org/…/red-Hats-decade-of-collaboratio…

I didn’t know red hat was working for the US government. Can you tell me in what way?

tldr: www.redhat.com/en/solutions/public-sector/dod

see also: web.archive.org/…/israeli-defense-forces-case-stu…

Various documents in (what wikipedia now calls) the “2010s global surveillance disclosures” showed that many components of NSA (and other Five Eyes partners) infrastructure is run on RedHat Enterprise Linux.

According to a 2008 study by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, private contractors make up 29% of the workforce in the United States Intelligence Community and cost the equivalent of 49% of their personnel budgets. RedHat is part of that industry.

It’s often illuminating to search a company’s job listings for words like “clearance”. There are currently only eight listings for that query at RedHat but sometimes they have many more. Here (archive) is a current one. Here is another one archived last year.

Consulting Architect, TS/SCI + Polygraph Clearance Required (Fort Meade) remote type Remote locations Remote US MD time type Full time posted on Posted 30+ Days Ago job requisition id R-038935 About The Job Red Hat’s Public Sector Consulting team is looking for a Consulting Architect with a solid background in Linux, container platforms, IT Automation, virtualization technologies and an active TS/SCI + Polygraph security clearance to join us remotely in Maryland. In this role, you will help Intelligence Community customers design and operate core infrastructure that can scale to the demands of the modern digital marketplace. You’ll work with customers in small teams to build, test, and iterate over innovative application prototypes attached to real business value. You’ll use a variety of modern application development practices, along with emerging technologies from open source communities to get it done. As a Consulting Architect, you will help us become the defining technology company of the 21st century built on open source principles. You’ll also help us to fulfill our vision by guiding the strategic success of our customers using Red Hat’s solutions by building the industry’s best team of open source developers and partnering with our customers to build the premium software systems of tomorrow. This position requires frequent on-site work at Fort Meade and an active TS/SCI + Polygraph security clearance. What You Will Do * Deliver successful discovery, analysis, and design workshops for teams of technical and non-technical backgrounds that shape the customer use cases and architecture design decisions * Scope delivery projects and guide customers through successful pilot and production deployments * Oversee the design, creation, and delivery of content that enables the broader Red Hat teams to sell (presales), service (consulting), and support our cloud solutions at scale * Work closely with product business, product engineering, consulting, technical support, and sales teams to ensure excellent customer experience with Red Hat’s offerings * Contribute to the development of repeatable methodologies and tools designed to scale Red Hat’s services capabilities, promote repeatable customer engagements, and lower delivery risk * Demonstrate expertise in cloud and DevOps communities by producing outstanding whitepapers and webinars, code contributions to relevant projects, and speeches at industry-leading conferences * Work with customers on the writing of business justifications if needed * Work with the open source community to engineer labs-based software solutions designed to further accelerate our customers’ success at Labs * Become a trusted adviser to our customers, helping them achieve business success in an ever-changing technology landscape What You Will Bring * Active Top Secret w/ SCI security clearance + Polygraph * Broad knowledge of Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux * Broad and deep technical experience with virtualization, container, and cloud technologies * Solid Linux system administration skills; Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)-level Linux skills or better; certifications are a plus but not required * Experience with cloud technologies, especially Red Hat OpenStack Platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Compute Platform (GCP) * Extensive technical experience with virtualization, especially Red Hat Virtualization, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer; VMware Certified Professional certification is a plus * Solid debugging, troubleshooting, and general problem-solving skills * Great customer service skills and desire to make users successful * Positive attitude, ability to work as part of a team, and excellent written and verbal communication skills * Deep understanding of working with DISA, FISMA, NIST, and STIG security guidelines and how to adhere to them * Experience working within the US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Intelligence Community (IC) * Ability to make on-site customer visits The following are considered a plus: * Practical experience with Red Hat Satellite or similar systems-management technologies * Experience with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform or other IT automation and configuration management tools like Puppet or Chef * Experience with datacenter automation tools and processes * System administration or datacenter architecture experience * Windows system administration * Ruby, Python, or PowerShell programming experience * Ability to study and learn quickly and put new topics into practice * Passion for open source software #LI-REMOTE #LI-AL2 The salary range for this position is $138,350.00 - $228,310.00. Actual offer will be based on your qualifications. Pay Transparency Red Hat determines compensation based on several factors including but not limited to job location, experience, applicable skills and training, external market value, and internal pay equity. Annual salary is one component of Red Hat’s compensation package. This position may also be eligible for bonus, commission, and/or equity. For positions with Remote-US locations, the actual salary range for the position may differ based on location but will be commensurate with job duties and relevant work experience. About Red Hat Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Spread across 40+ countries, our associates work flexibly across work environments, from in-office, to office-flex, to fully remote, depending on the requirements of their role. Red Hatters are encouraged to bring their best ideas, no matter their title or tenure. We’re a leader in open source because of our open and inclusive environment. We hire creative, passionate people ready to contribute their ideas, help solve complex problems, and make an impact. Benefits * Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage * Flexible Spending Account - healthcare and dependent care * Health Savings Account - high deductible medical plan * Retirement 401(k) with employer match * Paid time off and holidays * Paid parental leave plans for all new parents * Leave benefits including disability, paid family medical leave, and paid military leave * Additional benefits including employee stock purchase plan, family planning reimbursement, tuition reimbursement, transportation expense account, employee assistance program, and more! Note: These benefits are only applicable to full time, permanent associates at Red Hat located in the United States. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Red Hat Red Hat’s culture is built on the open source principles of transparency, collaboration, and inclusion, where the best ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. When this is realized, it empowers people from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to come together to share ideas, challenge the status quo, and drive innovation. Our aspiration is that everyone experiences this culture with equal opportunity and access, and that all voices are not only heard but also celebrated. We hope you will join our celebration, and we welcome and encourage applicants from all the beautiful dimensions of diversity that compose our global village. Equal Opportunity Policy (EEO) Red Hat is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We review applications for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Red Hat does not seek or accept unsolicited resumes or CVs from recruitment agencies. We are not responsible for, and will not pay, any fees, commissions, or any other payment related to unsolicited resumes or CVs except as required in a written contract between Red Hat and the recruitment agency or party requesting payment of a fee. Red Hat supports individuals with disabilities and provides reasonable accommodations to job applicants. If you need assistance completing our online job application, email [email protected]. General inquiries, such as those regarding the status of a job application, will not receive a reply.

This is true, but then why not base it off Guix (the GNU distro)? …I’m sure Fedora is full of binary blobs and not-so-free software.

If they needed it, they could still add extra software and blobs to Guix, sourced by the EU… and I think doing that would allow it to carve itself a niche (a version of Guix with more compatibility would be interesting for many) rather than sticking a white label on Fedora and call it something else. I don’t see a lot of value on this over just using Fedora directly, I’m not sure if it’s true that Fedora & Red Hat do not benefit from this… wouldn’t their support agents be able to just start providing support also to EU OS customers if they (both customers and support agents) want? Wouldn’t it make it more interesting for private companies working closely with the government to choose Red Hat as a partner when it comes to enterprise Linux?

I guess we’ll have to see how much they customize it, but in my experience with previous attempts, I’m expecting just a re-skin, just Fedora with different theme. At most, with some extra software preinstalled. I don’t think that’s a threat to Fedora or Red Hat, but rather an opportunity for expansion.