Maj. Gen. Brett Williams

The Air Force is placing more emphasis on capabilities relating to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in response to budget reductions, Federal Computer Week reported.

At a briefing Feb. 6, Air Force officials said their main concerns include gathering intelligence from large amounts of data, securing cyberspace and training new airmen.

Brig. Gen. Scott Bethel, vice commander of the Air Force’s ISR agency, said the Air Force is working on cross-cuing tools where sensors communicate automatically with each other.

Maj. Gen. Brett Williams said the Air Force will also address cyber threats that could damage critical infrastructure.

Williams added the the Air Force will assess risks and determine what its most valuable technological assets are.

Heidi Shyu

President Obama has nominated Heidi Shyu assistant army secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, the White House announced Friday.

Shyu has served as acting assistant secretary since Malcolm O’Neill resigned in June 2011.

The nomination is subject to Senate approval, after which she will become the Army’s top weapons buyer.

Shyu previously held executive positions at Raytheon from 1997 to 2010.

Shyu’s most recent position at Raytheon was vice president of technology strategy for space and airborne systems.

While at Raytheon, she also served as vice chair of the Air Force‘s scientific advisory board.

Photo: Defense.gov

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday a primary focus of NATO‘s defense ministers conference this week will be how to fund Afghanistan’s police and army forces.

Panetta said in a press conference the ministers will also discuss a timeline to withdraw NATO troops from Afghanistan, according to AFPS.

The group previously agreed upon a strategy at NATO’s November 2010 summit in Lisbon, Portugal that called for Afghan forces to take more of a lead role in security.

Pannetta said this transition, which was scheduled to take place by 2014, will be complete by mid-to-late 2013.

“About 50 percent of the population of Afghanistan will now be under Afghan governance and security,” Panetta said. “That’s an important step.”

Forces will shift from a combat focus to a security and advisory role, according to AFPS.

(usda.gov)

The Defense Department has awarded six teams $18 million in funds to develop and implement energy savings technologies, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

The Pentagon said the technologies are intended to reduce energy demand and the programs coincides with the military’s new strategy for a leaner, more agile combat force.

In 2009, the Pentagon used 75 percent of its total energy resources on energy required to train, move and sustain forces, weapons and equipment for military operations.

In March, the Pentagon and the Small Business Administration will host an information session to link small businesses to the teams.

“An important objective of this fund is reaching sources of energy innovation new to the department, which primarily are small businesses,” said Andre Gudger, director of the Pentagon’s small business programs office.

In one of the first hangouts Monday, President Obama admitted the U.S. has attacked Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Pakistan with unmanned drones.

“For the most part, they’ve been very precise precision strikes against al-Qaeda and their affiliates, and we’re very careful in terms of how it’s been applied,” Obama said.

A New York City-based participant had asked the president about the use of military drones. The hangout’s moderator indicated the question was drawn from a New York Times report that said the U.S. is operating unmanned surveillance vehicles in Iraq.

“The truth of the matter is we’re not engaging in a bunch of drone attacks inside of Iraq,” he said. “There is some surveillance to make sure our embassy compound is protected.

“It is important for everybody to understand that this thing is kept on a very tight leash.”

Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly (marines.mil)

President Obama nominated Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly as commander of the U.S. Southern Command, according to a Pentagon announcement Friday.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, who has held the position since June 2009. Fraser has not announced his future plans.

If confirmed, Kelly would be the third Marine Corps commander of Southern Command. Gen. Peter Pace, the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led Southern Command from 2000 to 2001 and Gen. Charles Wilhelm led the command from 1997 to 2000.

Kelly is currently the senior military adviser to the secretary of defense. From 2009 to 2011 he commanded two Marine reserve units. Starting in 2008, Kelly commanded the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during a year-long mission in Iraq’s Al Anbar and Ninewa provinces.

Southern Command’s areas of responsibility include Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. Southern Command comprises nearly 1,200 military members, civilians and contractors.

Photo: NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technologies is calling on agencies to take the lead in addressing security and privacy challenges relating to public cloud computing.

NIST’s Guidelines on Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing do not suggest any specific service or deployment method for cloud computing, but lists several guidelines agencies should follow when considering their cloud services.

NIST asked agencies to plan and consider the security aspects of utilizing the cloud and said agencies should ensure cloud solutions fulfill the agency’s requirements.

The document also suggests agencies establish strong contractual obligations and stay on top of agency need and whether the provider is meeting those needs. NIST told agencies they are responsible for securing data and applications implemented and deployed in public cloud computing environments.

“The organization should collect and analyze available data about the state of the system regularly and as often as needed to manage security and privacy risks, as appropriate for each level of the organization,” NIST said.

The Pentagon currently operates with a $38.5 billion IT budget. The Pentagon is looking to trim around $40 billion from its overall budget in 2013 in order to reach its goal of cutting nearly $500 billion over the next decade.

Recently, the Pentagon announced its plans to consolidate its IT infrastructure and predicts it will cut between $1.2 billion and $2.2 billion annually by fiscal year 2016 through the process.

According to Federal Times, the Pentagon expects to require military services and agencies to use departmentwide contracts for buying IT products and services. Currently, Pentagon components are only required to consider using departmentwide contracts.

Frank Kendall

President Obama is nominating Frank Kendall to be the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, a position he is currently serving in an acting role, the White House announced Monday.

Kendall became acting defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics after Ashton Carter was confirmed as deputy defense secretary in September.

Obama announced three other nominations for top Pentagon positions:

• Erin Conaton, current undersecretary for the Air Force, to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness
• James Miller, current principal deputy undersecretary for policy, to be undersecretary for policy
• Jessica Lynn Wright, current deputy assistant secretary for manpower and personnel, to be assistant secretary for reserve affairs

If confirmed, Miller will take the position now held by Michele Flournoy, who announced in December she would leave the Pentagon in February.

Lt. Gen. Michael Balsa (af.mil)

Lt. Gen. William Lord will retire as the U.S. Air Force’s chief information officer at the end of July after three years of service, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Michael Balsa, who currently serves as vice commander of the Air Force Space Command, will succeed Lord, according to his official biography page. Balsa brings more than 30 years of military experience to the table.

In his current position he maintains mission-ready space and cyberspace forces for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Strategic Command and variety of other geographic combatant commands.

Balsa has worked in five operational communication units and has served on the staffs of the U.S. Transportation Command, Joint Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Communications Command.

Prior to his current position, Balsa served as vice director for C4 Systems for the Pentagon.