/
Air Force Releases Results of GBSD Missile Environmental Assessment
Published on
Air Force Releases Results of GBSD Missile Environmental Assessment

The Department of the Air Force has released an environmental assessment of efforts to modernize the U.S. military's intercontinental ballistic missile. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) test program's final environmental assessment covers proposed efforts to demonstrate GBSD at U.S. Army Garrison–Kwajalein Atoll and waters surrounding the Marshall Islands, the U.S. Air Force said Sunday.

The analysis also tackles the establishment of the program's dedicated training unit at Vandenberg Space Force Base, and how the demonstration may impact the environment.

The GBSD program aims to deliver an updated ballistic missile system that would replace and succeed the existing Minuteman III. Northrop Grumman develops GBSD.

Interested parties may access the environmental analysis here.

/
USMC Approves 3D-Printed Vehicle Maintenance Tool; Capt. Matthew Audette Quoted
Published on
USMC Approves 3D-Printed Vehicle Maintenance Tool; Capt. Matthew Audette Quoted

A Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) unit has approved a 3D-printed tool built to help maintainers detach steering wheel columns from military vehicles without breaking or damaging the automotive control hardware.

The Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell (AMOC) created the metal steering wheel removal device with two partners from the private sector and added the tool design to an online repository of additive manufacturing models, the command said Wednesday.

MCSC intends for the new maintenance tool to cut the number of days it takes for service personnel to change parts in a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement or a Logistics Vehicle System Replacement platform. The metal printer system being used by Marines works to produce 36 removal devices each day.

"As we put additive manufacturing and other advanced manufacturing capabilities into the maintenance battalions, we can go through and design one-off parts based on a hyper-specific need that we only need one or two of," said Capt. Matthew Audette, MCSC's AMOC project officer.

The Marine Corps established AMOC in 2019 to provide round-the-clock 3D printing assistance to program offices and oversee the approval process for ground equipment replacement parts developed by servicemen.

//
DOD Reviews Definition of ‘Prohibited Extremist Activities’ Among Troops; Gen. Lloyd Austin Quoted
Published on
DOD Reviews Definition of ‘Prohibited Extremist Activities’ Among Troops; Gen. Lloyd Austin Quoted

The White House National Security Council released the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism and the Department of Defense (DOD) is now assessing and updating its definition of “prohibited extremist activities” among uniformed service members in line with the strategy, Defense One reported Thursday.

DOD will also look at policy recommendations to address such activities among contractors and civilian employees, according to the 32-page document. A senior administration official said DOD is considering “quite literally how they define ‘extremism’ for these purposes.”

“They are working that quite hard, both as a policy matter with the security experts and with lawyers at the Defense Department and elsewhere to ensure they’re doing this in a way they feel ratchets up the protections but also respects expression and association protections,” the official added.

Lloyd Austin, secretary of DOD and a 2021 Wash1000 Award winner, said the strategy is a “milestone” in U.S. efforts to address domestic terrorism.

He said DOD will do its share in support of the new strategy, such as maintaining relationships with federal law enforcement agencies and refining policies to address the threat within the Pentagon.

The new strategy has four pillars: understanding and sharing domestic terrorism-related information; preventing domestic terrorism recruitment and mobilization to violence; disrupting and deterring domestic terrorism activity and confronting long-term contributors to domestic terrorism.

Each pillar has specific strategic goals. For the first pillar, the White House outlined three objectives: enhancing domestic terrorism-related research and analysis, improving information sharing across all levels within the federal government and illuminating transnational aspects of domestic terrorism.

/
Navy Puts Ford Aircraft Carrier Through Live Explosive Test
Published on
Navy Puts Ford Aircraft Carrier Through Live Explosive Test

The U.S. Navy kicked off a series of full ship shock trials on Friday to determine whether its Ford-class aircraft carrier could withstand harsh conditions that may arise in a battle mission.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) completed its first scheduled explosive event in the Atlantic Ocean and the Navy plans to use test data in shock hardness assessment, the Navy said Friday.

The FSST phase follows 18 months of the vessel's post-delivery testing period that saw crew members perform improvement and maintenance work onboard.

CVN 78, the lead ship of the Navy's Ford-class, is scheduled to enter a six-month planned incremental availability before the carrier reaches the operational employment stage.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division delivered CVN 78 to the Navy on May 31, 2017.

The branch conducts shock trials of its surface ships to comply with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 9072.2 under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.

//
House Lawmakers Want CISA to Take Tougher Approach to Critical Infrastructure’s Cybersecurity; DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted
Published on
House Lawmakers Want CISA to Take Tougher Approach to Critical Infrastructure’s Cybersecurity; DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted

House lawmakers have called on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to take a more robust approach to oversee the cybersecurity posture of critical infrastructure amid recent ransomware attacks, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee Thursday and responded to a question by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., on whether he would consider allowing CISA to collaborate with the Transportation Security Administration on the issuance of cyber standards for all modes of transportation.

“We are looking at critical infrastructure across the board and how best we can use our administrative tools and our regulatory tools that are resident in different parts of the federal government to bring up a cohesive approach to an increased cyber hygiene,” Mayorkas said.

Mayorkas said CISA is taking a prudent approach to spending its increased budget. “We are extraordinarily busy,” he added.

Eric Goldstein, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, said the confirmation of Jen Easterly as CISA director and Chris Inglis as national cyber director would help the government further develop its processes for engaging with the private sector and that CISA is seeing a rise in companies reporting cyber incidents following the recent attacks into Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods.

“We are seeing organizations across the country recognize this risk and recognizing that CISA is a source of support and expertise,” Goldstein said. “We just need to make sure that that continues and that we reach again into every corner of the country going forward.” 

//
HHS Creates $80M Program to Build Up Public Health IT Workforce; Secretary Xavier Becerra Quoted
Published on
HHS Creates $80M Program to Build Up Public Health IT Workforce; Secretary Xavier Becerra Quoted

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has received $80 million in funds through the American Rescue Plan for a program that seeks to train over 4,000 individuals in public health informatics and technology fields over a period of four years. 

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for health information technology at HHS will award up to $75 million in cooperative agreements through the Public Health Informatics and Technology Workforce Development Program, HHS said Thursday.

ONC is inviting universities and colleges, including historically black colleges and universities, to participate in the PHIT Workforce Program and expects award recipients to ensure the sustainability of training, placement and certificate programs to establish a diverse pool of public health IT professionals.

“With this funding, we will be able to train and create new opportunities for thousands of minorities long underrepresented in our public health informatics and technology fields. Investing in efforts that create a pipeline of diverse professionals, particularly in high-skilled public health technology fields, will help us better prepare for future public health emergencies,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient.

Applications for the PHIT Workforce Program are due Aug. 11th. ONC will hold an information session about the funding opportunity for the initiative on Wednesday, June 23rd, and expects to make awards by Sept. 14th.

/
Air Force, Army to Conduct Joint Contracting Support Training; Lt. Col. Peter O’Neill Quoted
Published on
Air Force, Army to Conduct Joint Contracting Support Training; Lt. Col. Peter O’Neill Quoted

U.S. Air Force and Army personnel are participating in a five-day virtual training program to practice operational contract support tasks for large-scale military operations.

The 2021 Joint Forces Contracting Exercise (JFCE-21) is intended to prepare servicemen in performing joint regional contracting work and to revalidate their ability to obtain commercial goods or services for multidomain missions, the Air Force said Thursday.

"Meeting the challenges we’ll face in the next conflict will require an understanding of how the other service incorporates contracting into operational planning and execution," said Air Force Lt. Col. Peter O'Neill, deputy director of the exercise.

Army Lt. Col. Marlon Elbelau, the lead planner for the event, pointed out that JFCE-21 going virtual opens the doors for training in various locations while reducing expenses for travel, venue and support staff.

However, Elbelau conceded that being online reduces the real-time collaboration opportunity between units, limits networking and relationship building between servicemen and presents the risk of network issues.

JFCE-21 builds on the Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise series, which was canceled after the 2018 edition due to budget constraints.

/
NASA Moves to Address Contracting Barriers in Underserved, Underrepresented Communities; Bill Nelson Quoted
Published on
NASA Moves to Address Contracting Barriers in Underserved, Underrepresented Communities; Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has unveiled a comprehensive initiative to reform processes that may hinder underserved and underrepresented groups from pursuing contracting opportunities at the space agency.

Wednesday's announcement of Mission Equity comes after the agency issued a request for information on how it could open up more procurement and grant programs to people of color.

The RFI notice states that the agency will conduct research and use technology to support the implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order No. 13985, titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

Agency officials intend to provide further details of the public input collection effort at a June 29th virtual meeting and set a July 12 deadline for feedback submission.

“The agency’s new Mission Equity is a bold and necessary challenge for NASA to ensure our programs are accessible to all Americans and, especially, those living in historically underserved communities across the country,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

/
Accenture Federal Services Lands $112M CISA Task Order For FCEB Cybersecurity Support; Aaron Faulkner Quoted
Published on
Accenture Federal Services Lands $112M CISA Task Order For FCEB Cybersecurity Support; Aaron Faulkner Quoted

Accenture Federal Services (AFS) announced on Friday that the company secured a potential, five-year $112 million prime task order by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to protect the Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) systems against cyberattacks.

The contract requires AFS to provide advanced cyber services for CISA to help FCEB agencies mitigate the effects of cyberattacks that include ransomware, botnets and malware campaigns while increasing real-time visibility into cyber threats.

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial for our nation to move from a ‘detect and respond’ to a ‘predict and prevent’ model for dealing with cyberattacks. Our solution delivers a whole-of-government view of the threats we face as a nation. Accenture Federal Services is excited to build upon our track record of delivering highly complex cyber solutions at scale,” commented Aaron Faulkner, AFS managing director and cybersecurity Practice Lead

Cloudflare, as a team member on the CISA Task Order, will partner with AFS to strengthen federal government systems by blocking phishing and malware attacks before they occur and containing breaches that occur on devices, such as laptops and cell phones.

“Cyberattacks are becoming much more sophisticated. As a result of several recent newsworthy breaches, we are all now much more aware of the impact cyber threats can have on our daily lives. We’re proud to partner with AFS in helping to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for our nation,” stated Matthew Prince, Cloudflare co-founder & CEO.

/
Clarifai Names Ellen Lord As Senior Advisor And Public Sector Advisory Council Member
Published on
Clarifai Names Ellen Lord As Senior Advisor And Public Sector Advisory Council Member

Clarifai announced on Friday that Ellen Lord, former under secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and four-time Wash100 Award winner, has joined the company as senior advisor and member of its Public Sector Advisory Council. Lord will use her vast public and private experience to assist Clarifai in achieving business success and growth.

"I have been impressed with the breadth and applicability of Clarifai's artificial intelligence technology. I'm looking forward to collaborating with Clarifai in helping government agencies enhance intelligence, scale operations efficiently and reduce risks," Lord commented. 

As undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Ellen was responsible for all matters related to acquisition for the Department of Defense (DOD). She drove significant policy changes focused on simplicity and speed of hardware and software procurement.

Before serving as an undersecretary, Ellen was president and CEO of Textron Systems. At Textron, she commercialized a wide range of products and services that supported defense, homeland security, aerospace and infrastructure protection.

Ellen is a vice-chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association and a former director of the U.S.-India Business Council. She has served on the industry steering committee for the Center for New American Security's (CNAS) task force on ‘Strategy, Technology and the Global Defense Industry," along with CNAS's DOD-Industry collaborative project ‘Future Foundry.’

She holds an MS degree in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire. Ellen served on the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Naval Institute Foundation. 

"Ellen Lord brings a wealth of experience to Clarifai gained over 30 years serving the defense industry, including her most recent tenure leading all matters relating to acquisition for the Department of Defense,” commented Dr. Matt Zeiler, Clarifai's CEO. 

"We're humbled by the opportunity to work with Ellen to bring Clarifai's artificial intelligence capabilities to serve the missions of the U.S. Government with state-of-the-art commercial technology,” added Zeiler. 

1 … 1,051 1,052 1,053 1,054 1,055 … 2,609