Army Looks to Implement Revised Modernization Model in FY 2022
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Army Looks to Implement Revised Modernization Model in FY 2022

The U.S. Army is planning to implement a modernization framework in fiscal year 2022 in line with the service branch’s efforts to update its doctrine as well as its tactics, techniques and procedures.

The Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model (ReARMM) will focus on synchronizing regionally-based training approaches and ensuring readiness in multidomain activities, the Army News Service reported Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Peter Benchoff, director of force management for G-3/5/7, said at an Association of the U.S. Army event that ReARMM will also modify the Army’s doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy (DOTMLPF-P).

The framework was first detailed in the fiscal 2018 National Defense Strategy and require regular training, modernization and mission requirements cycles that could last for up to 18 months, Benchoff noted.

The Army will undergo rehearsals and stress tests to accommodate ReARMM adjustments ahead of FY 2022.

“ReARMM also allows us to adapt to national defense planning and guidance” and meet joint-force demands, Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, Army deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7 said.

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Halfaker Names Katrina Tuisamatatele Deputy EVP of Health Operations; Dawn Halfaker Quoted
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Halfaker Names Katrina Tuisamatatele Deputy EVP of Health Operations; Dawn Halfaker Quoted

Halfaker has appointed Katrina Tuisamatatele as deputy executive vice president of Health Operations to support projects across the Health division, the company reported on Wednesday. 

Halfaker's Health Portfolio includes programs across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Defense Health Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

"I am pleased to welcome Katrina to the team," said Dawn Halfaker, president and CEO for Halfaker. "Her unique blend of technology, healthcare and leadership experience will strengthen our Health portfolio and enhance our ability to deliver critical healthcare IT services and solutions to all Americans, including our military service members and Veterans."

Tuisamatatele has more than two decades of experience in federal and private sector markets across IT and lean process engineering. Throughout her career, she has improved decision making and delivered intuitive and powerful products and solutions.

Prior to joining Halfaker, Tuisamatatele served a 12-year tenure with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OI&T). She served as the director of the Health Portfolio, where she led and managed the IT planning and execution to improve health services. 

Tuisamatatele also helped position OI&T to meet the VA's state information technology. Her progress supported the implementation of a Community Care Network of Providers. Tuisamatatele also expanded the Program for Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, which advanced verteran health.

In addition, she served as the Community Care Portfolio manager, prior to her role as director. As manager, Tuisamatatele led all IT planning efforts of over forty projects across multiple portfolios, ensuring the continuous improvement of the Veteran experience.

"I am honored to join Halfaker and Associates," Katrina commented. "My passion lies in transforming healthcare IT delivery and I am thrilled to leverage my experience to support Halfaker's vision to 'Continue to Serve.'"

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BAE Systems Partners with Elbit to Deliver Advanced Operational Capabilities; Jim Miller, Ridge Sower Quoted
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BAE Systems Partners with Elbit to Deliver Advanced Operational Capabilities; Jim Miller, Ridge Sower Quoted

BAE Systems has partnered with Elbit Systems to develop and integrate advanced operational capabilities for combat vehicles. The team will provide new technologies on combat vehicle systems that deliver advanced warfighting capabilities.

“BAE Systems and Elbit America are investing in transformational combat vehicle technologies and turret solutions that will greatly enhance the lethality and survivability of next-generation combat vehicles for the U.S. and international militaries,” said Jim Miller, director of business development at BAE Systems.

Under the partnership BAE Systems and Elbit Systems will advance crew automation, vehicle protection systems and other defensive and offensive systems. The companies will integrate solutions into turrets of various cannon calibers and support weapon systems for combat vehicles.

“Our relationship demonstrates a commitment to provide our customers with solutions for future battlefields based on our collective combat vehicle expertise,” added Miller.  

BAE Systems and Elbit Systems will combine their comprehensive experience for the evaluation, demonstration and validation of multiple mission payloads and capabilities for the next generation of combat systems.

“Our broad portfolio of mission-enhancing solutions and technologies, coupled with BAE Systems’ proven track record for providing highly effective combat systems, will greatly benefit warfighters as they face new challenges and needs,” said Ridge Sower, vice president of ground combat and precision targeting at Elbit Systems of America.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems is a leading systems integrator supporting militaries, governments, and U.S. intelligence community members across the globe. The company’s advanced technologies and services protect people and national security, and keep critical information and infrastructure secure across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.

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US Navy Awards Amentum $89M Task Order to Support FDRMC; Jack Kasiski Quoted
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US Navy Awards Amentum $89M Task Order to Support FDRMC; Jack Kasiski Quoted

The U.S. Navy has awarded Amentum a five-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee task order worth up to $89 million to provide technical and programmatic support services to its Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) under the Seaport NxG contract vehicle.

“Amentum has been a critical partner to the Navy’s Regional Maintenance Centers for more than two decades, and we look forward to extending our specialized expertise in support of the service’s mission worldwide.” said Jack Kasiski, senior vice president of Sustainment, Engineering and Acquisition for IS4.

Under the task order, Amentum will leverage its Intelligence, System Engineering, Security, Services & Solutions (IS4) Strategic Business Unit to provide program and engineering support to FDRMC and its naval ship fleets.

Amentum will provide program management professionals, engineering technicians, integrated test engineers, project support engineers and quality assurance specialists, as well as IT, security, human resources and administrative expertise.

The company will also deliver fleet technical assistance, assessments and inspections and depot and intermediate maintenance support. “We are excited to expand our support to the Navy’s Regional Maintenance Centers around the globe,” Kasiski added.

Work will be performed primarily at FDRMC facilities in Manama, Bahrain; Naples, Italy; and Rota, Spain. Additional work may take place at other locations in the FDRMC operational area or that of the 5th and 6th Fleets, to include Romania and Poland, at contractor facilities, in office or shipyard environments, or aboard naval vessels.

The task order follows Amentum’s recent win of the U.S. Navy’s $430 million contract. in Aug. 2020. Amentum will operate and maintain a military range that examines underwater communications, sonar tracking and anti-submarine weapons systems.

Amentum will support operation of the branch’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center and manage a 1-square-mile outpost. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center received six offers for the cost-plus-award-fee, cost reimbursement and firm-fixed-price contract and will obligate $1M at the time of award.

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IndraSoft Wins USAF DevSecOps Contract to Advance Cybersecurity; Raj Lingam Quoted
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IndraSoft Wins USAF DevSecOps Contract to Advance Cybersecurity; Raj Lingam Quoted

IndraSoft has been awarded a 5-year Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) for DevSecOps Services to support the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division’s LevelUP Platform One program, the company reported on Wednesday.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the LevelUP Platform One team to help deliver solutions that would transform the way software systems are rapidly and securely developed and deployed across DoD at the speed of agile to create a competitive edge for our war fighters,” said Raj Lingam, president and CTO of Indrasoft.

Under the BOA, Indrasoft will help the U.S. Air Force integrate Agile and DevSecOps technology innovations to enable the service branch to deliver capabilities that support Air Force and Department of Defense (DoD) missions.

Indrasoft has supported federal cyber missions by leveraging architects, full stack developers, and systems and cybersecurity engineers. The company will utilize its Vauban Cybersecurity Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platform to advance technology operations.

SOAR has been built to enhance security operations and  continuous monitoring throughout the DevSecOps delivery pipeline. The platform will help customers evolve to achieve continuous authority to operate (C-ATO) in a DevSecOps CI/CD containerized and secure cloud environment.

“We are proud to add DevSecOps Services BOA in addition to our existing DevSecOps Tools BOA to support our DoD customer base.”

About IndraSoft

IndraSoft provides cutting edge Enterprise IT solutions to our customers across DoD and Civilian Federal Agencies including U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Defense Manpower Data Center, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, USTRANSCOM, Department of State, and U.S. Census Bureau. IndraSoft’s Agile/DevOps, Cybersecurity, Cloud, Data Analytics, AI/ML and Blockchain solutions enable our customers to focus on mission imperatives with confidence in the value of IndraSoft’s commitment, ability, and high performing staff.

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Accenture Completes N3 Acquisition; Manish Sharma Quoted
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Accenture Completes N3 Acquisition; Manish Sharma Quoted

Accenture has completed its acquisition of N3, a business-to-business (B2B) sales firm specialized in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities, Accenture reported on Wednesday. 

“Together, our real-time insights will augment decision-making, deepen sales interactions and help our clients achieve sustainable growth. We are excited about the potential of what Accenture and N3 can achieve together,” said Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. 

N3 has been integrated into Accenture Operations, adding 2,200 employees who have specialized skills across cloud, IT platforms and 5G networks. Accenture will combine N3’s cloud-based AI/ML technology with its SynOps platform to aggregate interaction points into actionable insights. The combined offering will help Accenture’s customers drive sales growth. 

“Bringing N3 into the Accenture family will better enable us to help companies influence purchasing decisions at critical stages,” added Sharma. 

Accenture entered an agreement to acquire N3 in Sept. 2020. N3’s platform is supported by cloud-based, AI/ML technology that has provided smarter, more efficient customer interactions and sales conversions. N3 has served Microsoft, Cisco and SAP. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA with locations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the U.K.

The acquisition of N3 further expands Accenture B2B growth initiatives. Accenture acquired Yesler, a business-to-business (B2B) marketing services agency that helps many of the world’s leading brands run their global marketing programs and operations at speed and scale, in April 2020. 

With the purchase, Accenture will strengthen and scale Accenture’s B2B marketing services, expanding its offerings, including account-based marketing, customer advocacy, sales enablement and marketing automation. Yesler is headquartered in Seattle and has additional offices in Portland, Philadelphia, London, Toronto and Singapore.

“Yesler’s expertise in B2B has given them a unique understanding of how businesses make purchase decisions — insights that empower marketers to influence purchasing decisions at critical stages, enabling them to achieve growth and adapt their operating models for continued success,” said Sharma said in regards to the earlier acquisition of Yesler. 

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NOAA, DOE Roll Out Ocean Observation Tech Dev’t Challenge
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NOAA, DOE Roll Out Ocean Observation Tech Dev’t Challenge

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) launched a multistage competition that seeks to incorporate renewable energy into ocean observation systems.

The DEVELOP Competition tasks the participants to build technologies that can monitor, map and explore the ocean in a bid to enhance NOAA's hurricane forecast capabilities, the agency said Monday.

Competitors will be given opportunities to design, build and demonstrate their prototypes within a controlled environment during the challenge. Winners will receive $2.4 million in cash along with access to in-kind support, tank and sea-based tests. The competition's design phase has begun and will run through Feb. 16.

NOAA and DOE intends to implement wave energy harvesting technologies into autonomous underwater vehicles to develop self-charging ocean observing systems for hurricane monitoring activities.

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Air Force, MIT Partner to Develop AI Tech; Share Relevant Data; Maj. David Jacobs, Derek Eichin Quoted
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Air Force, MIT Partner to Develop AI Tech; Share Relevant Data; Maj. David Jacobs, Derek Eichin Quoted

A partnership between the U.S. Air Force and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has begun to address national and military challenges related to the use of artificial intelligence. 

The USAF-MIT AI Accelerator brings together students, scientists, engineers and airmen to develop AI systems that the military and society can quickly implement, USAF said Monday.

The partnership grants MIT students and researchers access to USAF datasets that would serve as input for AI system development.

“By making data more accessible and available, we are able to bring the smartest minds to bear on AI challenges that directly impact the Department of the Air Force and the United States,” said Maj. David Jacobs, who serves as the AI Accelerator's chief legal adviser.

The accelerator has access to the Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked and Trustworthy or VAULT data platform that securely centralizes USAF datasets.

Derek Eichin, lead research analyst at the USAF's Chief Data Office, said VAULT serves as an environment where tenants can collaborate, leverage USAF enterprise tools, input data and process data analytics.

“We are partnering overall in an effort to make data accessible to not only internal partners within the department, but also universities and small businesses," Eichin added.

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DOE’s Greg Sisson Warns Public on Social Engineering Scams
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DOE’s Greg Sisson Warns Public on Social Engineering Scams

Greg Sisson, acting deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity and chief information security officer at the Department of Energy (DOE), said the public must be wary of scams that use social engineering tactics amid the pandemic.

Sisson wrote in a blog post published Monday that social engineering scams use human interaction through texts, phone calls, emails and online platforms to obtain personal information.

He noted that common forms of social engineering scams include phishing, spoofing and disinformation campaigns. He also cited “smishing,” which are messaging attacks that manipulate users into clicking malicious links; and brushing, which are primarily used by online vendors to exploit personal data and fabricate orders as well as positive reviews.

“Criminals’ level of sophistication has increased, and they are using machine learning and artificial intelligence to build patterns and improve their tactics,” said Sisson.

He recommends users to confirm email senders, assess message content, contact sources before sending personal information, remove unwanted data on social media and verify the trustworthiness of online content.

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Navy Completes USS Zumwalt Live Fire Test
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Navy Completes USS Zumwalt Live Fire Test

The U.S. Navy conducted an initial live fire test for a missile launching platform aboard the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) destroyer. The demonstration sought to test the vessel's capacity to detect, track and repel anti-ship cruise missiles via the use of the Mk 57 Vertical Launching System, the Navy said Monday.

The service branch also evaluated potential degradations or hazards from live ordnance fire and determined if USS Zumwalt can withstand shock and vibration from weapon firing activities.

USS Zumwalt measures 610 feet long and is built to perform a range of surface, undersea, and aviation operations. The destroyer is slated to transition to the next stage of developmental and integrated at-sea trials following the completion of combat system installation and activation phase.

The Navy expects USS Zumwalt to reach initial operational capability by 2021.

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