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Cybersecurity Exec Kiersten Todt Named CISA Chief of Staff
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Cybersecurity Exec Kiersten Todt Named CISA Chief of Staff

Kiersten Todt, formerly executive director of a cybersecurity commission under Barack Obama, has been appointed to serve as chief of staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

She will lead efforts to develop plans, manage resources and establish objectives in pursuit of CISA’s goals, the agency said Monday.

Todt formerly served as CEO of Liberty Group Ventures, where she also supported the National Institute of Standards and Technology in efforts to develop a cybersecurity framework.

She also held the role of managing director at the Cyber Readiness Institute, a nonprofit that gathered executives from across the globe to create free cybersecurity resources for small businesses.

In 2016, she was the executive director of Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, where she led the documentation of cybersecurity recommendations.

“I look forward to shaping CISA’s long-term planning and working with industry, federal agencies and state, local, tribal and territorial government partners to chart the path forward for a more secure and resilient nation,” Todt said about her new role.

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OPM Seeks ‘Dedicated Funding’ for IT Modernization; Kiran Ahuja Quoted
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OPM Seeks ‘Dedicated Funding’ for IT Modernization; Kiran Ahuja Quoted

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has agreed to the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) recommendation to Congress to provide more funding that will support OPM's information technology modernization efforts, FedScoop reported Monday.

OPM recently released its response to the congressionally mandated report of NAPA, which urged the agency to prioritize IT modernization and ask for resources from the lower house for the development of its digital platforms and programs. 

OPM, an agency that serves as the chief human resources bureau of the federal government, said it needs “dedicated funding” for major IT advancement initiatives and authority from Congress to establish an IT working capital fund.

As part of the IT modernization implementation strategies, the agency is looking to develop an enterprise-wide approach, eradicate fragmentation and align the investments to its core goals. 

The response also covers OPM’s action plans on NAPA’s other recommendations, which are integrated into the agency’s fiscal 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

Kiran Ahuja, OPM director, said the document “reflects OPM’s vital role and demonstrates our commitment to providing agencies with the guidance, tools and services needed to meet their evolving human resource needs.”

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Gen. John Raymond: Space Force to Capitalize on Small, Fast Satellites
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Gen. John Raymond: Space Force to Capitalize on Small, Fast Satellites

Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force's chief of space operations, said microelectronics and advanced propulsion can enable small satellites that can be deployed in large numbers while having the computing power to rapidly transmit data, Space News reported Monday.

He said at an Arizona State University-sponsored virtual conference that USSF wants to capitalize on these technologies as the military updates satellite networks.

Raymond, who is also a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said his team wants to take advantage of achieving orbital persistence through satellite quantity.

Low-Earth orbit satellites use remote sensing to gather and transmit data, which the military can now analyze via artificial intelligence, he noted.

This goal, according to Raymond, would also foster collaborative opportunities for the private sector and international entities.

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John Kirby: DOD Global Posture Review Considers al-Qaida Threats in Africa
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John Kirby: DOD Global Posture Review Considers al-Qaida Threats in Africa

John Kirby, press secretary of the Pentagon, said the military will continue its counterterrorism efforts in Africa and other locations being pursued by al-Qaida, despite the end of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Kirby said at a conference the Department of Defense continues to review if it has deployed the right amount of forces at specific areas across the globe, DOD News reported Monday.

He said the global posture review is nearing completion and considers how Taliban may continue to pursue locations outside Afghanistan.

The press secretary said it is still too soon to determine how Taliban's rule over Afghanistan will influence terrorism in Africa, but the U.S. will continue to keep watch.

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Alice Hill: Federal Government Could Help State, Local Officials Understand Climate Risk
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Alice Hill: Federal Government Could Help State, Local Officials Understand Climate Risk

Alice Hill, former special assistant to President Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council (NSC) staff, said the federal government can support state, local and tribal leaders as they make decisions when it comes to preparing for climate impacts.

“The federal government can play a role in providing the very best science so that local leaders can understand their risks,” Hill, David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Government Matters in an interview published Monday.

Federal leaders could also offer programs that help local officials deal with the impacts of climate change and provide incentives to “help people move away from risk instead of toward risk,” she added.

Hill called on federal government officials to consider climate risk in the decision-making process in order to develop resilience to climate change. One of the measures she suggested is assessing all federal investments to ensure that they are resilient to climate impacts.

She also highlighted the need to prepare for droughts, wildfires, extreme rainfall and other types of disasters that accompany rising temperatures.

POC- Meeting the challenge of climate change in industry, government and society

On Tuesday, Sept. 22st, Potomac Officers Club will host its Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change in Industry, Government and Society Virtual Forum to define a clear picture of the challenges that the U.S. and the rest of the world are facing as well as some of the most significant questions surrounding climate change.

Dr. Renee McPherson, university director for the University of Oklahoma’s South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Forum to discuss the societal and ecological impacts of climate variability and change as well as its long-term impact on the health of the Earth, our national security and way of life. 

Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to register for the platform’s Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change in Industry, Government and Society on Sept. 22nd.

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GAO: DOD, Service Branches Postpone Nonessential Purchases to Minimize Effects of Continuing Resolutions
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GAO: DOD, Service Branches Postpone Nonessential Purchases to Minimize Effects of Continuing Resolutions

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Department of Defense (DOD) and military services have implemented practices to mitigate the effects of a continuing resolution, such as delaying nonessential training and purchases and commencing start dates of service contracts after the fiscal year’s first quarter.

GAO interviewed DOD officials and found that activities associated with preparing for and operating under a stopgap measure have become routine for the department, according to a report published Monday.

Those activities are developing spending plans, adjusting contracts to reflect the availability of funds and creating legislative anomaly proposals. The congressional watchdog also found a slowdown in the hiring of defense civilian employees during CRs.

“For fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2020, DOD hired on average about 200 civilians per day during CR periods as compared with about 250 people per day during non-CR periods,” the GAO report reads.

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US to Provide Support Services for UK C-17 Program Under FMS Agreement
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US to Provide Support Services for UK C-17 Program Under FMS Agreement

The U.S. government will provide support for the U.K. government’s fleet of eight Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft over a five-year period under a foreign military sales agreement signed on Aug. 31 at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Royal Air Force, which uses C-17 to support disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and other missions, recently employed the aircraft to evacuate British and Afghan nationals from Afghanistan, DSCA said Monday.

“Recent global events have demonstrated just how important the C-17 fleet is to defense, and this new support agreement means C-17 can continue providing uninterrupted service anywhere in the world where it is needed,” said Richard Murray, director air support at the U.K. government’s defense equipment and support office.

Jed Royal, deputy director at DSCA, said the C-17 program seeks to ensure strategic airlift capability for the U.K. government and highlights the mutual defense cooperation between the two countries.

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Orion Spacecraft Production Progresses for Artemis Mission; Program Manager Cathy Koerner Quoted
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Orion Spacecraft Production Progresses for Artemis Mission; Program Manager Cathy Koerner Quoted

NASA is almost finished working on the Orion spacecraft to be used for the first Artemis mission, which will lead to a series of flights aimed at reviving manned space exploration.

The space agency said Friday that it is now working on Artemis II's assigned Orion and has also concluded welding activities for Artemis III's pressure vessel, with the support of prime contractor Lockheed Martin.

“NASA is shifting its focus from the development phase to the production phase for the Orion spacecraft to enable a long-term presence on and around the Moon,” said Cathy Koerner, program manager for Orion.

The spacecraft and its components have undergone testing over the past years, including 2014 when Orion flew in high-Earth orbit for the first time. Milestones achieved under Orion's design, development, test and evaluation phase allowed NASA to enter production.

NASA signed the Orion Production and Operations Contract with Lockheed to order up to 12 Orion spacecraft. In addition to existing orders, the agency plans to order three more Orion units in fiscal year 2022 for the sixth, seventh and eighth Artemis missions.

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Marine Corps Demos Operational Heavy Lift Capability With King Stallion Helicopter; Lt.Col. Luke Frank Quoted
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Marine Corps Demos Operational Heavy Lift Capability With King Stallion Helicopter; Lt.Col. Luke Frank Quoted

The U.S. Marine Corps demonstrated the use of the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter for aircraft recovery missions, with a test that took place on Sept. 5.

The King Stallion lifted and recovered an MH-60S Knighthawk from the White Mountains of California as part of an official heavy-lift mission, Naval Air Systems Command said Thursday.

Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One or VMX-1 handles USMC's heavy-lift capability, which is currently under initial operational test and evaluation.

“VMX-1 received a request for assistance from the Naval Safety Center about an MH-60S Knighthawk that suffered a hard landing near Mt. Hogue, Ca., at an elevation of 12,000’ mean sea level in July,” said Lt.Col. Luke Frank, a detachment officer in charge of VMX-1's CH-53K operations.

CH-53K is designed to lift almost 27,000 pounds and carry that weight across 110 nautical miles. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, produces the CH-53K helicopter.

“After six months of flight operations with the CH-53K, the detachment had every confidence in the aircraft’s abilities to conduct the mission safely," Frank added.

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NAVCENT Creates Task Force for AI, Unmanned Tech Integration; Michael Brasseur Quoted
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NAVCENT Creates Task Force for AI, Unmanned Tech Integration; Michael Brasseur Quoted

Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) has launched a new task force to accelerate the implementation of artificial intelligence and unmanned platforms across the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. 

Task Force 59 will integrate these technologies in alignment with the unique climate, geography and strategic characteristics present in the 5th Fleet's area of operations, NAVCENT said Thursday.

Capt. Michael Brasseur will contribute his maritime robotics expertise to lead the task force as commodore. He was recently a member of NATO's Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative.

“As we continue to adapt and implement cutting edge technology, I fully expect our talented team will enrich and enhance the 5th Fleet mission,” Brasseur said.

The task force will build human trust in AI over the coming weeks in preparation for next year's International Maritime Exercise, which will demonstrate unmanned systems in multiple dynamic scenarios.

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