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DHS OIG Report: FEMA Should Address Data Quality Issues in New System for Flood Insurance Program
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DHS OIG Report: FEMA Should Address Data Quality Issues in New System for Flood Insurance Program

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) office of inspector general has issued a report saying the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) has experienced improvements after it modernized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) system but still needs to address data quality issues in its new NFIP platform.

DHS OIG said in a Nov. 2nd report the transition to the new PIVOT system has helped FIMA speed up processing of policies and claims transactions, improve policyholder address validation and enhance reporting capabilities.

However, data reliability issues continue to exist. To address these issues, the inspector general recommended that the deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation develop a strategy to improve data quality in the PIVOT system by making vendors accountable for rectifying transaction errors.

FIMA should also integrate a data quality evaluation into its PIVOT operational reviews and come up with a strategy to inform stakeholders of the data issues in the historical NFIP data and publish warnings with regard to the use of those data.

The report said FEMA concurred with all those recommendations.

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William Bookless Named Acting NNSA Administrator
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William Bookless Named Acting NNSA Administrator

William Bookless, principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), assumed the role of acting administrator of NNSA after Lisa Gordon-Hagerty stepped down from the post.

NNSA said Friday Gordon-Hagerty, who received Senate confirmation in February 2018 to serve as head of NNSA, also resigned as undersecretary of energy for nuclear security.

Bookless brings more than 35 years of nuclear security experience to the role. He spent more than three decades at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California as a senior physicist.

He previously served as a senior adviser to the NNSA administrator for policy and as assistant laboratory director for policy and planning at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.

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NSWC PHD, USACE Celebrate Modernization, Renovation Effort
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NSWC PHD, USACE Celebrate Modernization, Renovation Effort

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme Division (PHD) held an event to mark the conclusion of a modernization and renovation project for a building slated for occupation by NSWC PHD’s air dominance department.

The partnership incorporated open-seating desks, carpet and vinyl floor installation, a new kitchenette, refurbished bathrooms and a data closet into the 2.5K-square foot building as part of the $747,000 project, Naval Sea Systems Command said Thursday.

The team installed 3D building numbers and a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system onto the facility’s roof. USACE and NSWC PHD also worked with OCS Construction Services to repair the building’s exterior wheelchair ramp.

NSWC PHD initially constructed the building as a base support administration facility in 1985.

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Air Force Uses Enterprise Training Tool to Evolve Cyber Defense Approach; Lt. Col. Ken Malloy Quoted
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Air Force Uses Enterprise Training Tool to Evolve Cyber Defense Approach; Lt. Col. Ken Malloy Quoted

The U.S. Air Force is using the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE) to further the development of a redesigned training concept that involves cyber protection teams, C4ISRnet reported Saturday.

The squadron recently conducted an exercise called Vigilant Eagle to test the new approach which entails breaking teams into smaller groups with roles encompassing cyberthreat emulation, mission protection, cyber readiness, cyber support and counter-infiltration.

PCTE, which the U.S. Army manages on behalf of the U.S. Cyber Command and joint cyber force, works to test the new cyber tactics at the individual and CPT levels. Capt. Jonathan Poole, team lead for the Air Force's 300 CPT, told C4ISRnet that the CPTs enable flexibility in defending networks separated by long distances.

“Sewing up those gaps and training as you would any other professional team and understanding where those weaknesses are so you can shore those up is what we’re trying to identify through the team exercise component such as Vigilant Eagle,” noted  Lt. Col. Ken Malloy, commander of the 834th Cyberspace Operations Squadron.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Groen: JAIC’s Joint Common Foundation to Begin Offering Services in 2021
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Lt. Gen. Michael Groen: JAIC’s Joint Common Foundation to Begin Offering Services in 2021

Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, director of the Department of Defense‘s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), said he expects the Joint Common Foundation (JCF) platform to start providing simple services in 2021, Nextgov reported Friday.

Groen said Friday during a webinar that the JCF will have a soft services component to promote best practices around testing and verification, among other areas, and a technical aspect or a cloud-based platform that would enable users across the department to work on AI programs.

JAIC awarded Deloitte Consulting a $106.4 million task order in August to design and build the JCF environment to help test, validate and implement AI-based tools.

Groen said the center is looking to transition from being a product development unit into a service hub for AI as part of the “JAIC 2.0” vision.

“The instantiation of AI across the department is very uneven,” Groen said. “Some places are very robust, some places haven’t even thought it through yet. So we will continue to adapt our organization to meet that demand signal wherever that is and as the department matures and as AI integration we’ll continue to move up the value chain.”

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Army to Soon Complete Tests of AR-Powered Situational Awareness System; Brig. Gen. David Hodne Quoted
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Army to Soon Complete Tests of AR-Powered Situational Awareness System; Brig. Gen. David Hodne Quoted

The U.S. Army will soon conclude the testing of a system designed to provide soldiers boosted situational awareness via augmented reality. The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) functions as a heads-up display device that facilitates battle and training through AR technology and networked information, the Army said Thursday.

Tests for IVAS commenced on Oct. 18 and will be ending this week. Soldiers worked alongside marines at  Fort Picket in Virginia to demonstrate the system.

“In an environment where we share the night, the folks who can move faster, decide faster and think faster are the ones who have the advantage on today and tomorrow’s battlefield,” said Brig. Gen. David Hodne, who leads the Soldier Lethality Cross-Functional Team.

The Army intends to deliver IVAS’ first units within fiscal year 2021’s final quarter. The service branch funds IVAS’ development through alternative contracting methods to shorten the timeline. Microsoft has partnered with the Army to support IVAS’ development.

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DISA Officials Say Cloud-Based Internet Isolation Could Help Block Malware, Reduce Bandwidth; Vice Adm. Nancy Norton Quoted
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DISA Officials Say Cloud-Based Internet Isolation Could Help Block Malware, Reduce Bandwidth; Vice Adm. Nancy Norton Quoted

Officials with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) said implementing the Cloud-Based Internet Isolation (CBII) system for browsing the web could help the Department of Defense (DoD) improve cybersecurity and generate approximately $300 million in savings, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

“CBII, by translating the web browser experience off of the desktop and into a cloud, relieves a lot of that bandwidth requirement and therefore allows us to not operate or increase the capabilities at the same rate we otherwise would have. Thus the $300 million in cost avoidance,” DISA comptroller Christopher Barnhur said during the AFCEA TechNet Cyber webinar.

CBII could help reduce the bandwidth and protect against malware by assigning a cloud-based intermediary that oversees all direct communication between the user’s computer and the server.

“Malicious software doesn’t come down to the browser, so there’s no additional risk in using the cloud.” said Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and a previous Wash100 Award winner.

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NAVFAC Changes Name to Emphasize Technical, Procurement Responsibilities; Rear Adm. John Korka Quoted
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NAVFAC Changes Name to Emphasize Technical, Procurement Responsibilities; Rear Adm. John Korka Quoted

Naval Facilities Engineering Command has renamed itself to highlight the organization’s responsibilities in technology and technical service delivery.

NAVFAC, now named Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, made this change to emphasize its role to support shore facilities, expeditionary engineering systems and base operations, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

The move also aims to better present NAVFAC as an authority for real estate procurement, facility construction and engineering, disposal, management and environmental services.

“This change better reflects the full spectrum of critical work that NAVFAC does to enable warfighter lethality, and it helps current and potential future supported activities understand the technical and procurement authority assigned to NAVFAC,” said Rear Adm. John Korka, NAVFAC commander and chief of civil engineers.

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U.S. Joins South American Partners to Discuss Common Space Opportunities; Lt. Col. Peter Atkinson Quoted
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U.S. Joins South American Partners to Discuss Common Space Opportunities; Lt. Col. Peter Atkinson Quoted

The U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command and U.S. Southern Command jointly held a virtual event with South American partners to highlight multi-national space security cooperation in the region.

The Americas Space Conference gathered stakeholders from Peru, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and the U.S. to discuss common interests in space-focused national security, USSPACECOM said Friday.

Canada also took part in the event as an observer to gather input on Latin America's space interests.

Lt. Col. Peter Atkinson, chief of international engagements at USSPACECOM, said the event served as an avenue to identify and tackle the countries' common issues and opportunities in a forum-based approach.

"This event was extremely useful to equalize the diverse views of the Air Forces of the allied countries on important topics to be developed," said Brazil's Maj. Gen. Jose Vagner Vital, executive vice president of the South American country's space systems commission. 

Thomas Cooley, chief scientist for Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate, provided guidance for the conference's discussions.

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Space Force’s Lt. Gen. John Shaw on Int’l Space Domain Issues
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Space Force’s Lt. Gen. John Shaw on Int’l Space Domain Issues

Lt. Gen. John Shaw, commander of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Operations Command, has said that international issues on the use of space weapons prove that space is a contested domain, GeekWire reported Friday.

Shaw, who also serves as commander of the Combined Force Space Component Command, told attendees at a University of Washington-hosted virtual event that the Department of Defense initially built satellite-based command and control systems “as if we were in a benign domain.”

Brad Townsend, a space strategy and policy adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same event that adversaries such as Russia and China have begun experiments on satellite defense operations. He noted that international regulations on anti-satellite weaponry must be in place to de-escalate potential catastrophic events.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, an associate professor of strategy and security studies at the U.S. Air Force's School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, said she expects related efforts like NASA’s Artemis program to continue even after the U.S. elects a new president.

A Biden administration could lead to “a little bit more emphasis on the commercial capabilities and commercialization of space on the part of NASA,” she noted.

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