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Army Fuses Europe, Africa Forces Into Single Command; Ryan McCarthy Quoted
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Army Fuses Europe, Africa Forces Into Single Command; Ryan McCarthy Quoted

The U.S. Army has combined its forces assigned in Europe and Africa into a single command to be led by Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Inside Defense reported Monday.

The service branch's consolidated Army Europe and Africa command (USAREUR-AF) will support regional and global readiness in alignment with the National Defense Strategy, said Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the Army and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. 

“The new structure will increase command and control effectiveness, flexibility and the capability to conduct large-scale, joint and multidomain operations,” McCarthy added.

Cavoli formerly served as U.S. Army Europe's commander and has been with the military since 1987. His military career also includes deployments in Asia.

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Chuck Rettig: IRS Speeds Up Programming, ‘Health Testing’ for IT Systems Amid Budget Uncertainty
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Chuck Rettig: IRS Speeds Up Programming, ‘Health Testing’ for IT Systems Amid Budget Uncertainty

Chuck Rettig, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), said the IRS has expedited “health testing” and programming work on information technology systems partly due to uncertainty over the passage of a comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2021 in Congress before a stopgap measure ends on Dec. 11th, Federal News Network reported Friday. 

“The IRS response serves to illustrate how critical it is for the agency to receive consistent, timely and adequate multi-year funding such that we can succeed in providing the services that our country and our citizens so rightly deserve,” Rettig told the House Ways and Means Committee. 

The IRS introduced a six-year IT modernization initiative in April 2020. Rettig said reduced funding and other setbacks would take the agency longer than six years to carry out that plan. 

Rettig told the House panel the IRS would need $6 billion to $7 billion in multiyear funds to support the modernization effort, which includes internal agency works. 

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DOD’s Thomas Wingfield Warns Against Cyberattacks, Highlights Need for Cyber Resilience
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DOD’s Thomas Wingfield Warns Against Cyberattacks, Highlights Need for Cyber Resilience

Thomas Wingfield, deputy assistant secretary for cyber policy at the Department of Defense (DoD), has flagged the increasing risk of successful cyberattacks against the U.S. and its allies, and warned that the Pentagon's cyber force is "not enough."

He said during the Aviation Cyber Initiative Summit that cyber resilience can be achieved through collaboration among leaders, "who understand the promise and pitfalls of technology," and allies, interagency partners and industry.

Wingfield believes that all personnel should regularly be trained and tested because the entire organization is responsible for ensuring cyber resilience.

"Organizations need to move from a paradigm of cybersecurity, to one of cyber resilience," remarked Wingfield. He clarified that cybersecurity and cyber resilience are not synonymous, but are complementary.

According to the deputy assistant secretary of defense, cyber resource-enabled systems need to have cyber resilience to continue operation even after being targeted. 

"Cyber resilience is, therefore, about more than protection. It is about continuity of operations and mission assurance," he said.

Wingfield concluded by noting that "the most important part of [cybersecurity and cyber resilience] is having a strong cyber immune system in every network on every system."

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Gil Alterovitz: VA’s Artificial Intelligence ‘To-Go’ Delivery Model Gaining Traction
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Gil Alterovitz: VA’s Artificial Intelligence ‘To-Go’ Delivery Model Gaining Traction

Gil Alterovitz, director of artificial intelligence at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), said more than 12 VA sites plan to pilot AI modules developed as part of the department’s AI “to-go” delivery model, FedScoop reported Friday.

He announced in July 2020 that the development of an AI module that helps VA’s health facilities predict an individual’s risk for COVID-19.

Alterovitz noted that VA’s medical centers and facilities have other use cases for those AI modules, which can be packaged as embeddable add-ons to current software.

“We’re now using that to generalize and essentially created a new platform so that artificial intelligence research and development can be added as modules in the future,” Alterovitz said of the AI to-go delivery model at FedTalks.

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Lt. Gen. John Thompson: Space Force’s Budget to Rise in Coming Years
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Lt. Gen. John Thompson: Space Force’s Budget to Rise in Coming Years

Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), said the U.S. Space Force expects to see its budget increase in the next few years as the Department of Defense (DoD) prioritizes spending on space platforms and recognizes space as a warfighting domain, C4ISRNET reported Friday.

The new service branch is working on budget requests for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Thompson said he believes those proposals will include increased funding for space systems. 

“We pulsed up the space portfolio significantly to address users’ needs,” he said. “I can’t give you the exact dollars and obviously it’s all pre-decisional. But the [Deputy’s Management Action Group] and many other DoD leaders are clearly sending a message that across the [Future Years Defense Program], the importance of the space enterprise is growing and needs to grow further.” 

The Department of the Air Force requested a budget of $15.4 billion for the Space Force in FY 2021, up from $14.6 billion in funds the department asked for the service in FY 2020.

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Army to Continue Modernization Efforts Despite Topline Reductions; Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette Quoted
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Army to Continue Modernization Efforts Despite Topline Reductions; Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette Quoted

The U.S. Army plans to continue fully resourcing selected modernization programs under its cross-functional teams despite potential reductions to its topline budget, Defense News reported Thursday.

Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, the Army's deputy chief of staff for G-8, said at an Association of the U.S. Army event that leadership changes in the White House will not affect the service branch's efforts to prepare for potential topline reductions.

He noted that the service’s mindset with regards to deficit spending will enable it to continue funding the Army Futures Command’s  (AFC) modernization priorities with minimal disruption.

“I don’t believe the Army will hit the easy button this time around,” said Pasquarette. “Modernization would be protected, to a degree, as we balance the programs under a top-line adjustment downward if that happens.”

Reductions in tax revenue and pandemic-related increases in government spending could result in the Army’s “decision to pull back the levers on spending,” he noted.

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Senate Passes Bill on AI-Driven IT Modernization; Sens. Rob Portman, Maggie Hassan Quoted
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Senate Passes Bill on AI-Driven IT Modernization; Sens. Rob Portman, Maggie Hassan Quoted

The Senate has approved legislation introduced by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., to help drive the government’s information technology implementation efforts in line with the Artificial Intelligence in Government Act.

Portman’s office said Wednesday the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence Program Act will codify the General Services Administration’s (GSA) AI CoE program while promoting government agencies’ rapid deployment of the latest IT capabilities.

As part of the bipartisan bill, the AI CoE will provide technical assistance to agencies, support government AI procurement efforts and “promote U.S. competitiveness through agency and industry cooperation.”

“America is known for its innovation, but federal agencies haven't always kept pace with changing technologies and developments,” said Hassan. 

“As technology continues to change and advance, it’s important that the federal government understands the significant impacts it will have on our country, economy, and society,” Portman noted.

Portman currently serves as co-chair and cofounder of the Senate AI Caucus.

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Accenture Acquires Arca to Expand 5G Network Capabilities; Manish Sharma Quoted
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Accenture Acquires Arca to Expand 5G Network Capabilities; Manish Sharma Quoted

Accenture has acquired Arca, an engineering services company with a focus on network operations and business services, Accenture reported on Friday. With the purchase, Accenture will gain 640 employees. 

“Arca’s vast experience with network services fully complements Accenture’s strategy of driving shared value with clients through the collaboration of human ingenuity and digital technology. Together, we will help clients adapt their operating model, expand the skills of their people and drive innovation to unlock the full potential of 5G,” said Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. 

Arca has provided multidisciplinary services for network operations, including engineering, design, deployment and telecom infrastructure management. The company’s offerings are supported by an integrated platform that automates network monitoring, optimizes processes and predicts system anomalies. 

Under the acquisition, Accenture will combine its SynOps platform with Arca’s services to transition operating models to new sources of growth. The purchase will advance Accenture’s footprint across engineering, design, deployment and operation of network services. 

It will also enhance the company’s network capabilities in Spain and Portugal, offering clients a comprehensive set of transformation services across 5G network deployment, engineering, operations and industry services.

Founded in 1998, Arca has experience working with network operators, telco infrastructure services enterprises and other large companies to help them transform their business and processes and implement new communications technologies. 

Arca also offers business services, including sales support, analytics, process assessment, provisioning and service assurance. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. 

Our 506,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. 

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DoD Awards Siemens Healthineers Contract to Support COVID-19 Testing
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DoD Awards Siemens Healthineers Contract to Support COVID-19 Testing

The Department of Defense (DoD), in coordination with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has awarded a $12.38 million contract to Siemens Healthineers, the department reported on Thursday. 

BARDA funded the award through the Health Care Enhancement Act to support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources.

Under the contract, Siemens Healthineers will work to expand U.S. based industrial production capacity of the DoD’s SARS-CoV-2 antigen test, run on the ADVIA Centaur and Atellica  testing platforms. 

This industrial base expansion effort will allow Siemens Healthineers to increase production capacity of the antigen test at its Walpole, Massachusetts manufacturing facility, increasing production capacity from 8.25 million to 50 million tests per month by July 2021, to support domestic COVID-19 testing. 

The DoD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition (DA2) Cell led the effort in coordination with the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force. DA2 has assumed the interagency efforts for COVID-19 medical resource acquisition previously coordinated by the DoD’s Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF).

At the beginning of the COVID-19 national health emergency, Hon. Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, established the JATF to synchronize the acquisition execution of DoD’s support to interagency requests for COVID-19 medical resources.

Under DA2, the DoD also awarded a $6.98 million Firm-Fixed Price contract action to Teel Plastics in Oct. 2020 to expand US-based industrial production capacity of injection-molded and extruded swabsticks used in the production of COVID-19 testing kits.

The contract will increase Teel Plastics’ production capacity by approximately an additional 50 million per month for each swabstick type by March 2021, to support domestic COVID-19 testing.

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GSA Names Payman Sadegh as New CDO; Bob De Luca Quoted
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GSA Names Payman Sadegh as New CDO; Bob De Luca Quoted

Payman Sadegh has been appointed as chief data officer (CDO) with the General Services Administration (GSA), FedScoop reported on Friday. Sadegh will succeed Kris Rowley, the first appointed CDO, who left the agency for the private sector March 31 after serving a seven year tenure. In the interim, deputy chief information officer, Beth Killoran, served as acting CDO.

Sadegh joined GSA‘s IT leadership team in Oct. 2020 with more than two decades of experience. He will bring expert knowledge of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as predictive analytics and marketing analytics. 

Sadegh has extensive experience and track record of delivering value through advanced analytics in several industries, including Financial Services, Healthcare, Internet, Retail, CPG, Telecom, Automotive, Aerospace and Education. 

Most recently, Sadegh served as co-founder and CEO of patient engagement startup ChainSquared. Sadegh previously served as chief data scientist with Visual IQ, where he helped build new data science algorithms and solutions, including one of the first marketing attribution platforms.

He also worked to automate Visual IQ's marketing mix and develop innovative attribution methodologies for delivery of high dimensional predictive and optimization models and output at scale, and partnered with clients to ensure value delivery through use of the company’s marketing optimization platform.

Prior to his tenure with Visual IQ, Sadegh served as program manager with Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company. With the company, he advanced technology programs in aircraft health and usage data mining and analytics, and led development of algorithms for predictive modeling of aircraft maintenance based on clustering of maneuver patterns.

In Oct. 2020, Sadegh joined GSA’s Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) 2021 class of fellows. He joined technology and industry leaders that will work to develop innovative solutions to national issues. The fellows will partner with 22 federal agencies to increase resilience.

“Innovation thrives in partnerships, and with this new cohort, Presidential Innovation Fellows is uniting the best talent between the federal government and the private sector to drive the next generation of modern, human-centered solutions for the public,” said acting FAS deputy commissioner and Technology Transformation Services director Bob De Luca.

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