The article explores the complexities and solutions involved in deploying Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) within air-gapped environments, specifically for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It highlights the necessity of a DevSecOps culture to deploy software efficiently, while meeting stringent security and compliance requirements. The piece details the deployment process using Platform One's Iron Bank hardened Elastic images in a DISA STIG certified RKE2 Kubernetes cluster, emphasizing the challenges of operating without direct internet access and the strategies to overcome them. The deployment involves utilizing a combination of Terraform and Ansible for setting up infrastructure, downloading necessary Docker images, and ensuring compliance with various security protocols. The article underscores the importance of security considerations in Kubernetes configurations and offers a step-by-step guide for deploying ECK in an air-gapped environment, ultimately aiming to achieve observability, security, and software factory goals within the DoD framework.