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Nand Mulchandani on JAIC’s Joint Warfighting Mission Initiative
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Nand Mulchandani on JAIC’s Joint Warfighting Mission Initiative

Nand Mulchandani, chief technology officer at the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), said JAIC considers the joint warfighting mission initiative as its flagship product and is working to identify ways to transform how the country will go to war, National Defense reported Tuesday.

“Our early products … were really focused on kind of starter AI projects when it came to things like predictive maintenance and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Mulchandani told the publication in an interview. “The algorithms were not that hard. … [However,] joint warfighting is the hardest problem at the DoD for us to take on.”

He said JAIC is starting with decision support and human-machine teaming, among other technologies, and noted that the joint warfighting mission initiative will contribute to the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System program, joint all-domain command-and-control concept and other DoD programs.

He also discussed the impact of a continuing resolution on JAIC’s joint warfighting programs and “new starts,” the center’s relationship with industry, efforts to advance rapid acquisition and work on an acquisition initiative called Project Tradewind to establish connections with small businesses.

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Agency CDOs on Connecting With Federal Employees With Data Science Skills
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Agency CDOs on Connecting With Federal Employees With Data Science Skills

Chief data officers said they were able to establish connections with federal employees with skills in data science driven by recent visibility into their mission, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“You tread a little bit lightly, but fact is these groups have been looking for greater guidance and greater alignment. The establishment of a centralized CDO office provides them with a place to go with respect to questions,” said Jamal El-Hindi, interim CDO at the Department of the Treasury.

Daniel Morgan, CDO at the Department of Transportation, said the agency helps empower a group of employees to gain access to data and make connections with other individuals through his office. 

“At least in my agency, what I have is a bunch of folks who are really dedicated to managing high-quality data sets, and they’re just never satisfied with how good they are,” Morgan said. 

“And if you can harness that kind of energy and transform the disappointment into a positive direction, and equip them with the tools and the policies and the practices that will help them succeed, that’s the way to find the quick win – to get the data set that they never had before, to connect the data that they weren’t able to previously connect.”

Jim Rolfes, CDO and chief information officer at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said at the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council’s ReImagine Nation ELC virtual conference the growth in the number of agency CDOs has provided an informal community of federal data scientists with greater visibility.

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OFPP Chief Michael Wooten Issues Memo to Boost Involvement of People With Disabilities in Federal Contracting
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OFPP Chief Michael Wooten Issues Memo to Boost Involvement of People With Disabilities in Federal Contracting

Michael Wooten, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), has issued a new memo outlining five measures agencies should take to boost the participation of people with disabilities in federal contracting through the AbilityOne program.

OFPP directs senior procurement executives at agencies to designate an AbilityOne (ABOR) representative that promotes federal procurement in compliance with required source contracting procedures and engages with personnel to advance the use of the program, according to the memo released Friday.

The OFPP will establish and oversee a cross-agency team of ABORs to support the work of the AbilityOne Commission by advocating and sharing best practices for increasing opportunities for people with disabilities and assisting with the development of legislative changes and regulations that promote job opportunities for persons with disabilities, among others.

Other measures are making a pledge with the commission by Dec. 15th to boost the percentage of spend on services and products from the procurement list, identifying hiring opportunities for people with disabilities within their acquisition workforce and announcing a call for ideas to identify employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the federal contracting field.

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Navy Fields USS Marinette Littoral Combat Ship
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Navy Fields USS Marinette Littoral Combat Ship

The U.S. Navy has deployed a Freedom-class littoral combat ship manufactured by Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp. to the Menominee River.

Dubbed LCS 25, the future USS Marinette is the second vessel to bear the name and the first to be commissioned by the Navy, the service branch said Monday.

The ship is built to perform anti-submarine, mine countermeasures and surface warfare operations. The Navy can also integrate new technology into the LCS to adapt to current and future mission requirements.

Eleven LCS units under the Freedom and Independent classes are currently undergoing construction. Lockheed Martin supervises the production of Freedom-class units.

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USCYBERCOM Opens Integration Office for Unified C2, Analytics Platform
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USCYBERCOM Opens Integration Office for Unified C2, Analytics Platform

U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) has opened a new integration office for its Unified Platform that works to consolidate cyber, data analytics and command-and-control operations as part of the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA), C4ISRnet reported Monday.

UP operates as a subset of JCWA and integrates parts of the Big Data Platforms under USCYBERCOM, the U.S. Army Cyber Command, U.S. Marine Corps and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The U.S. Air Force operates UP on behalf of other cyber mission forces and USCYBERCOM.

“UP is the single unifying cloud-based infrastructure connecting disparate cyber capabilities within the JCWA to enable full-spectrum cyberspace operations,” a spokesman for the Air Force told C4ISRnet in an email.

JCWA is comprised of joint C2 systems, a sensor network, a suite of common firing technologies, cyber tools and the Persistent Cyber Training Environment.

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AECOM Wins Contract to Provide Design Services to Tuen Mun South Extension; Troy Rudd Quoted
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AECOM Wins Contract to Provide Design Services to Tuen Mun South Extension; Troy Rudd Quoted

AECOM has been awarded the detailed planning and design consultancy contract for the Tuen Mun South Extension, Hong Kong, including a 1.5 mile extension of the West Rail Line from the existing Tuen Mun Station to a new terminus at Tuen Mun South, AECOM recently reported. 

“As we execute our strategy of bringing together one integrated design organization, we will leverage our best-in-class, global transportation design capabilities to bring the full breadth of our expertise to bear on this project,” said Troy Rudd, AECOM’s chief executive officer.

AECOM will also deliver a new intermediate station A16 to the new terminus with the property development in the area. Under the contract, the company will provide development of the scheme into an engineering design, preparation of the construction program, gazette plans, project cost estimate and liaison with government departments and other stakeholders. 

AECOM will collaborate with the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Projects team to deliver the services. The company’s effort will improve local connectivity and livability for residents, and support planned housing developments. 

“Over the past 5 decades, AECOM has worked in close partnership with MTR and provided strategy studies to 90 percent of Hong Kong’s rail system. We look forward to working with MTR on this latest rail transportation project which builds upon this to enhance connectivity of our communities in Hong Kong,” said Ian Chung, AECOM’s chief executive, Greater China.

About AECOM

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is the world’s premier infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. We partner with our clients in the public and private sectors to solve their most complex challenges and build legacies for generations to come. 

On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, governments, energy and the environment, our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of approximately $13.6 billion in fiscal year 2019.

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Boeing Invests Funds to Support Indigenous Communities; Marc Allen, Kathleen Jolivette Quoted
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Boeing Invests Funds to Support Indigenous Communities; Marc Allen, Kathleen Jolivette Quoted

Boeing has recently committed $1.3 million to support Indigenous communities across the nation. The company has donated $300 thousand to clean water, education and natural disaster response; $140 thousand to the Pacific Northwest; and $60 thousand to support Oklahoma STEM education programs for students. 

An additional $840 thousand will fund future projects for Native American and Indigenous communities. 

"We recognize the toll on Native American and Indigenous communities from centuries of injustice, and we take seriously our role in supporting education and development in these communities," said Marc Allen, Boeing's chief strategy officer, senior vice president of Strategy and Corporate Development and enterprise executive sponsor of the Boeing Native American Network. 

The new investments build on the company's previously announced multi-year commitment to combat racism and advance racial equity and social justice at all levels. Since 2018, Boeing has invested nearly $660 thousand in organizations supporting Native American and other Indigenous communities.

Boeing’s global support for these populations has reached approximately $2 million. The company's employee-led Boeing Native American Network Business Resource Group has also  promoted awareness of the diversity of Native American and Indigenous cultures. 

The program has also encouraged STEM careers for Native American youth and provided training opportunities for Native Americans to develop their professional and personal skills.

"Just as I am proud to be a Native American, I too am proud to work for a company that is not only continuing to address racial equity by funding immediate needs, but also looking for ways to partner with Indigenous communities for long-term solutions," said Kathleen Jolivette, Boeing vice president of Attack Helicopter programs and senior Mesa, Arizona, site executive. 

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Military Approaches Industry for Help to Address Small Drone Threats; Col. Greg Soule Quoted
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Military Approaches Industry for Help to Address Small Drone Threats; Col. Greg Soule Quoted

The Department of Defense (DoD) has engaged with industry partners in a recent event to address the growing amount of potentially threatening drones in U.S. airspace. DoD administered an Industry Open House event last Friday to discuss the development of a common architecture for countering small unmanned aircraft, the U.S. Army said Monday.

The U.S. military wants a synchronized system of tools designed to spot, identify, track and deter small UAS threats. DoD intends to take a joint, unified counter-sUAS approach that would have the service branches working together instead of individually.

“If your company has a product that addresses one of our opportunities, then you will be potentially invited to demonstrate that capability solution at a joint common test range and evaluate it against common test protocols,” said Col. Greg Soule, director of Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office’s acquisition and resources division supporting the Joint C-sUAS Office.

Officials from the department have so far selected 10 initial systems for the joint C-sUAS effort. DoD now seeks industry’s help to move the effort forward.

RCCTO and JCO plan to conduct up to two demonstrations per year. The first one will take place in fiscal year 2021’s second quarter.

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Maj. Gen. Robert Skinner Confirmed for DISA Leadership Role
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Maj. Gen. Robert Skinner Confirmed for DISA Leadership Role

Maj. Gen. Robert Skinner has received Senate confirmation to lead the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) as director, succeeding Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, Air Force Magazine reported Monday.

He will rank up to lieutenant general for the role through which he will lead efforts to protect the Department of Defense’s (DoD) enterprise infrastructure and operate joint command-and-control functions.

Skinner will return to DISA after concluding his tenure with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as director for command, control, communications and cyber. He formerly functioned as DISA chief of staff, a role he held for over half a year.

The DISA director-to-be will concurrently serve as commander of the Joint Force Headquarters—DoD Information Network. JFHQ DODIN oversees cybersecurity matters relevant to DoD’s information technology infrastructure and connected devices.

Skinner joined the military in 1989 and went on to take up various communications- and software-related work at the U.S. Air Force.

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NSA Personnel Karen Presley, Linda Burger Named to Federal Laboratory Consortium Board
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NSA Personnel Karen Presley, Linda Burger Named to Federal Laboratory Consortium Board

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) has appointed National Security Agency (NSA) research directorate personnel Karen Presley and Linda Burger to join the organization’s executive board.

Presley and Burger will demonstrate the implementation of technology transfer efforts to augment NSA’s efforts as part of their new roles, the agency said Monday.

Karen Presley, deputy director of the Technology Transfer Program at NSA
Karen Presley, deputy director of NSA’s Technology Transfer Program

The consortium has named Presley to lead the education committee as its first chairperson. She will work to help the team enhance education initiatives for its members. Burger has also taken the role of vice chair at the committee under her appointment.

Composed of 300 federal government research laboratories, centers and agencies in the U.S., FLC seeks to promote tech transfer efforts to its member laboratories to achieve commercialization objectives.

About Federal Laboratory Consortium 

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the formally chartered, nationwide network of over 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers that fosters commercialization best practice strategies and opportunities for accelerating federal technologies from out of the labs and into the marketplace.

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