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House Bill Seeks to Ensure Efficient Mid-Band Spectrum Allocation
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House Bill Seeks to Ensure Efficient Mid-Band Spectrum Allocation

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., has introduced a bill that would extend the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority and help advance 5G and next-generation technologies by ensuring the efficient allocation of mid-band spectrum.

What Would the Bill Do?

Allen’s office said Thursday the proposed Spectrum Pipeline Act would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, to identify at least 2,500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum that can be reallocated to non-federal or shared use in the next five years.

Under the bill, FCC should auction at least 1,250 megahertz of spectrum for full-power commercial wireless services within six years and allocate at least 125 megahertz of additional spectrum for unlicensed services as part of efforts to promote unlicensed innovation.

The measure would require FCC and NTIA to submit to Congress annual progress reports as well as reports within 60 days of each identification made by NTIA.

The legislation would also eliminate a limitation in current law to allow federal agencies to procure new equipment using spectrum auction proceeds.

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 5G Summit on Feb. 27 to learn more about how the technology supports DOD’s Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control and other warfighting capabilities. Register here.

POC - 2025 5G Summit
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Sheila Thomas Named NSA Executive Director
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Sheila Thomas Named NSA Executive Director

Sheila Thomas has been named the next executive director of the National Security Agency.

The agency said on Jan. 21 Thomas will work directly with the NSA’s director and deputy director to lead efforts in sustaining the agency’s external agreements with its partners and stakeholders. As the second-highest senior civilian leader, she will continue efforts to build and maintain public trust and confidence to help execute the agency’s vision and strategy. 

40-Year Career in Federal Service

Before her appointment, Thomas held a variety of crucial roles within the NSA and Department of Defense. She started her career in 1985 in the field of intelligence analysis, where she provided her expertise to the Department of Commerce, the Pentagon, FBI and the United Kingdom. Thomas also spearheaded the analysis and production at the NSA/CSS Texas, SIGINT Directorate Office of Compliance and Strategy, Performance and Programs for Analysis and Production.

The NSA executive played a crucial role in the analytic modernization of the agency. She was heavily involved in the implementation of the NSA21 campaign and was the chief of information and intelligence analysis within the Directorate of Operations. Thomas was instrumental in the creation of NSA as we know it today.

Thomas most recently served as director of engagement and policy, where she led and integrated NSA functions such as policy and compliance, internal and external communications, international partnerships and delivery of intelligence products and services. She also served as special United States liaison officer, London, or SUSLOL, working on maintaining the cryptologic partnership with the U.K. Thomas was additionally a senior member of the U.S. Embassy, London country team. 

Thomas takes over the role vacated by the recently retired Catherine Aucella, who served as executive director from August 2022 until December 2024.

General Timothy Haugh, commander of USCYBERCOM and director of NSA, said, “Sheila brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from a variety of roles across NSA and the Department of Defense.”

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USAF Aligns Doctrines With Efforts to Build More Lethal Force
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USAF Aligns Doctrines With Efforts to Build More Lethal Force

The U.S. Air Force has updated three publications to underscore its ongoing efforts to build a more lethal and resilient force under the Great Power Competition doctrine.

The documents reflect the current evolution of doctrines to ensure that the service adopts an operational mindset that advances warfighting effectiveness, USAF said Thursday. The doctrine realignment involves Air Force Doctrine Publications for operations, command and control, and planning.

Advancing USAF’s ‘One Force Design’ Framework

The modified documents want to ensure that the service is ready to employ airpower to deter and prevail in conflict, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in a memo issued with the publications. “Like our force design, these doctrinal changes developed through deliberate analysis of our rich history while considering the rapidly changing strategic landscape,” Allvin explained.

The updated doctrine supports the military branch’s “One Force Design,” which seeks to bolster structure, capabilities and strategies to meet the demands of contemporary and future warfare. The initiative is designed to address the challenges of modern warfare.

Leveraging Unique Functions and Capabilities

The publications outline the Air Force’s foundational doctrine on applying, commanding, and using airpower to focus on leveraging unique functions and capabilities. They also describe the service’s new C2 concept of aligning its force deployment to respond to Great Power Competition and facilitate joint all-domain operations. In addition, the documents establish the Air Force Planning Process to equip airmen with the tools to solve complex problems, empower units of action and prepare for future joint planning.

According to Maj. Gen. Parker Wright, commander of LeMay Center, the revised publications equip U.S. warfighters with relevant doctrines that align with the country’s national defense strategy.

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Nautilus Slated to Replace Legacy Navy IT Devices by October
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Nautilus Slated to Replace Legacy Navy IT Devices by October

All legacy Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, or NMCI, and OCONUS Enterprise Network, or ONE-Net, devices are set to be fully converted to the Nautilus platform by October this year, according to an article posted Friday on the Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services website.

Table of Contents

What Nautilus Offers

Nautilus devices are cloud-managed devices that work to provide end-users within the Department of the Navy with secure information access. The benefits of such devices include faster login times, better performance, seamless updates, a state-of-the-art security architecture and access to the latest operating systems. The PEO Digital article notes that Nautilus devices currently enjoy a customer satisfaction rating of 4.64/5.00.

Upgrade Progress

Conversions of NMCI and ONE-Net devices to Nautilus are being carried out in batches, though specific timelines are up to each command. As of December 2024, 3,816 legacy devices had already been transitioned to Nautilus.

Apart from upgrades, Nautilus will also be made available out of the box as new devices.

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NRO Launches CubeSat Designed to Advance Capabilities in Space
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NRO Launches CubeSat Designed to Advance Capabilities in Space

The National Reconnaissance Office has launched the Otter research and development demonstrator nanosatellite, which will help advance capabilities that will enable operations in an increasingly complex space environment.

New Zealand Defence Force Payload

Otter, a 6U CubeSat, will carry one primary payload and a pair of secondary payloads, NRO said Friday. The primary payload, dubbed Tui, will work to characterize and validate the performance of space-based communication networks. Tui belongs to the New Zealand Defence Force and was built by NZDF Defence Science & Technology.

NRO Payload

The secondary payloads are meant to help with the development and evaluation of communication technologies as well as future CubeSat operation concepts. The secondary payloads are built by the Naval Postgraduate School, or NPS.

Advancing Capabilities in Space

Concerning Otter, Aaron Weiner, director of NRO’s Advanced Systems & Technology Directorate, said, “The NRO is always looking for innovative ways to advance our capabilities in space. This demonstrator showcases the value in rapidly space-qualifying low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf hardware.”

Launch Details

Otter was built and is operated by NPS on behalf of NRO. The demonstrator was launched on Jan. 14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard the Transporter-12 mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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John Ratcliffe Confirmed as CIA Director
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John Ratcliffe Confirmed as CIA Director

The Senate confirmed John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence, as head of the CIA on Thursday by a 74-25 vote.

In November, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Ratcliffe as the next director of the intelligence agency.

Ratcliffe’s Stance on China During Confirmation Hearing

The Hill reported that the former Texas congressman warned about the threat posed by China to the U.S. during his confirmation hearing.

“Understand that the nation who wins the race of emerging technologies of today will dominate the world of tomorrow,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers. “Which brings me to the need for the CIA to continue and increase an intensity to focus on the threats posed by China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party. As DNI, I dramatically increased the intelligence community’s resources devoted to China.”

He noted that he would keep the CIA politically neutral and would not terminate agency employees based on their political views about the president.

John Ratcliffe’s Professional Background

He most recently served as co-chair of the Center for American Security at the think tank America First Policy Institute.

In 2021, he became a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation after serving as DNI under the first Trump administration.

Ratcliffe started his career as a lawyer and served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

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Trump’s Executive Order Calls for AI Action Plan
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Trump’s Executive Order Calls for AI Action Plan

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that directs the development of an action plan aiming to retain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and improve the country’s economic and national security.

The White House said Thursday the assistant to the president for science and technology, the special adviser for AI and crypto and the assistant to the president for national security affairs should submit the AI action plan within 180 days.

Specifications of the EO

The EO provides the director of the Office of Management and Budget 60 days to revise OMB Memoranda M-24-10 and M-24-18 to align such policies with the order.

The new policy also revokes existing AI directives and policies that were seen to hinder the country’s AI innovation.

According to the EO, AI systems development should be “free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas.”

Register now to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 20 and hear more about cutting-edge AI innovations from industry and government experts.

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DOD IG Evaluates Incurred Cost Audits by Non-Federal Auditors
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DOD IG Evaluates Incurred Cost Audits by Non-Federal Auditors

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, or DOD OIG, has issued a report that evaluated the compliance of non-federal auditors with government auditing standards when they conducted audits of DOD contractors’ incurred costs.

What Are the OIG Report’s Findings? 

DOD OIG said Thursday it evaluated 16 incurred cost audits between October 2018 and September 2022 and found noncompliance with government auditing standards for 69 percent of such audits.

The office identified 34 instances of noncompliance among the 11 audits, including failure to obtain sufficient evidence to support their reported compliance for eight audits and inability to use a sufficient sample methodology to back conclusions for four audits.

For 11 audits, OIG found that non-federal auditors did not inquire about audit-related legal or investigative proceedings with DOD contractor management.

“Government Auditing Standards are crucial because they ensure the integrity, accountability, and transparency of Government operations,” said DOD Inspector General Robert Storch. 

“By adhering to rigorous guidelines, auditors can identify inefficiencies, detect fraud, and recommend improvements, thereby enhancing the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of Government programs. The significant concerns identified by the OIG in this evaluation go to the core of the DoD’s responsibility to serve as a careful steward of a large volume of taxpayer funds,” added Storch.

OIG Recommendations

The report recommends that the director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, or DCAA, determine if the eight reports where the auditors did not obtain sufficient evidence should be revised or rescinded.

The inspector general’s office also recommends that the DCAA director, in coordination with the head of the Defense Logistics Agency, assess and make any revisions to performance work statements of all future contracts with auditors to ensure that DCAA contracting officer’s representatives have sufficient responsibility and authority to assess non-federal auditor work for compliance with standards.

According to the report, the DCAA chief should work with the DLA director in requiring auditors to address compliance with the standards in their quality control plans.

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SDA Issues Draft RFP for T3TLu Space Vehicle
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SDA Issues Draft RFP for T3TLu Space Vehicle

The Space Development Agency is seeking industry input for a draft request for proposal involving the Tranche 3 Transport Layer Upsilon, or T3TLυ, space vehicle variant of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Tranche 3 Transport Layer Upsilon Draft RFP

The agency said Thursday the draft solicitation requests feedback regarding potential builder-operator teams that will work with the SDA on the development and operation of the T3TLu. SDA plans to purchase around 40 T3TLu space vehicles, specifically four orbital planes of ten SVs each.

The contract will potentially be awarded to two vendors, depending on the available funds. Interested parties have until Feb. 10 to submit their responses to the draft RFP.

The PWSA T3 Transport will involveT3TLυ SVs, including optical communication terminals. These OCTs will support in-plane and cross-plane crosslinks, links to terrestrial OCTs and crosslinks to compatible SVs external to the transport layer.

The Tranche 3 programs will build upon the capabilities of Tranche 2, including enhanced defense and tracking capabilities and missile warning coverage, sensitivity and accuracy. They will also boost tactical data link coverage, resilience and capacity along with positioning, navigation and timing—a.k.a. PNT—resilience.

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USAF Developing Transformational Model for Decision Advantage
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USAF Developing Transformational Model for Decision Advantage

The U.S. Air Force is developing a transformational model, or TM, for decision advantage over adversaries and to support the continuous upgrade of its command and control systems.

The TM would enable U.S. warfighters to make decisions faster than the competition, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center said Thursday. Created by USAF’s Advanced Battle Management System Cross-Functional Team, or ABMS CFT, the model helps optimize the Department of the Air Force Battle Network, which aims to provide enhanced situational awareness, faster operational decisions and decisive direction to U.S. forces.

Modernizing C2 Systems and Decision-making

The TM intends to address the issues associated with modernizing C2 systems and decision-making, explained Col. Jonathan Zall, an ABMS CFT member. “The transformational model deconstructs command and control processes into their core elements, enabling the identification of tasks best suited for our machine teammates, and those that require human intervention,” he added.

Zall noted that the model seeks to provide a deeper understanding of decision advantage by using advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the TM, the Air Force hopes to improve its decision-making processes.

Helping Humans Make Informed Decisions

USAF conducted a series of experiments and saw encouraging results with the TM. During a September 2024 trial in Nevada, airmen showcased their ability to use the model to generate battle courses of action that automated human-machine teams’ decision quality and speed capabilities. According to Zall, the experiment demonstrated that the TM can help human operators make informed decisions.

Maj. Gen. Bob Claude, the ABMS CFT lead, said the TM‘s continued development and implementation will help the U.S. military achieve decision advantage, adding that such efforts will determine the outcome of future conflicts.

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