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DHS S&T Funds Kynamics to Develop Language Translation Tool
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DHS S&T Funds Kynamics to Develop Language Translation Tool

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has selected Kynamics to develop a portable language translation system with funds worth $192.5K.

The California-based awardee will deliver this tool under the Silicon Valley Innovation Program to help the U.S. Coast Guard communicate with non-English speakers when required by missions, DHS said Thursday. S&T issued the award through the Language Translator solicitation.

Coast Guard members may need to communicate with non-English speaking vessel passengers during rescue missions. The Kynamics team plans to further develop its TalkBox multilingual translator designed for high-battery efficiency and offline-able use. 

The Coast Guard seeks a tool that can automatically identify spoken languages even without internet connection. When linked to the web, the tool would automatically perform fixes and generate feedback.

“We’re excited to see how the Kynamics project unfolds as we move through this first proof-of-concept phase with USCG,” said Melissa Oh, SVIP managing director.

Parties interested in the Language Translator solicitation may still submit applications through Oct. 20, 2020 for the program's upcoming round, and through Feb. 20, 2021 for the next.

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18th Space Control Squadron Posts Space Debris Collision Forecasts Online; Lt. Col. Justin Sorice Quoted
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18th Space Control Squadron Posts Space Debris Collision Forecasts Online; Lt. Col. Justin Sorice Quoted

The 18th Space Control Squadron has started sharing their forecasts on space debris-on-debris collisions through the Space-Track website.

The squadron has increased the number of objects it screens daily by more than 350 percent, while it decreased the amount of monitored low to no-risk early conjunctions by over 30 percent as part of the Reduction of Conjunction Assessment Processing program, the U.S. Air Force said Thursday.

"The objectives of project ReCAP were to improve spaceflight safety by reducing the number of unnecessary conjunction reports, and screen more than 27,000 objects that could potentially collide and create more debris in space," said Lt. Col. Justin Sorice, commander at 18 SPCS.

USAF noted 18 SPCS employs the Space Based Space Surveillance satellite along with other sensors within the Space Surveillance Network to monitor various debris that circle the Earth.

The squadron also monitors nearly 3,200 active satellites and approximately 24,000 pieces of debris for any potential debris-on-active satellite conjunctions.

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Marine Corps Looks to Expand C2, Expeditionary Base Operations
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Marine Corps Looks to Expand C2, Expeditionary Base Operations

John Garner, program executive officer for land systems at the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), has said the service branch gears its current acquisition efforts toward expeditionary advance base operations (EABO) and distributed command and control.

Garner told attendees at the Modern Day Marine virtual event that the Marine Corps seeks to expand its main C2 system to cover small ashore units and amphibious ships in EABO procedures, USNI News reported Thursday.

According to Garner, the USMC intends to focus on combat mobility and integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) in line with the National Defense Strategy and  Commandant’s Planning Guidance.

The Marine Corps is working on a small Common Aviation Command and Control (CAC2) System and looking to commence full-rate production for an amphibious combat vehicle after completing initial assessments earlier this month, he added.

Garner noted that the Marine Corps is looking for radar capabilities that will “allow them to be fully integrated into the overall intelligence and sensor plan and picture” for rapid C2 execution. USMC is also planning to field additional next-generation radars in fiscal year 2021, he noted.

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Jennifer Edgin: Marine Corps Uses Blue Print to Guide Information Tech Pursuits
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Jennifer Edgin: Marine Corps Uses Blue Print to Guide Information Tech Pursuits

Jennifer Edgin, assistant deputy commandant for information at the U.S. Marine Corps, said the service is using a specific blueprint to guide the development of an information environment, C4ISRnet reported Thursday.

The Marine Corps’ 2019 information environment blueprint serves as a business model embodying the policies, design and services essential to USMC’s information capabilities.

“The future state of warfare requires the Marine Corps to think differently, encourage innovation and embrace new business models for change that focus on enhancing the access, capabilities and user experience throughout the information environment,” Edgin told C4ISRnet at the virtual Modern Day Marine event.

USMC issued the blueprint in March 2019 to provide guidance across the areas of cloud transition, digital transformation, information dominance, standardization and governance.

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Gen. John Murray on Further Dev’t, Testing of Army’s Integrated Tactical Network
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Gen. John Murray on Further Dev’t, Testing of Army’s Integrated Tactical Network

Gen. John Murray, commanding general of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has said the Army’s integrated tactical network (ITN) needs updated commercial technologies to operate at constrained bandwidth ranges.

The Army conducted an experiment called “Project Convergence” to test ITN’s capacity to ingest data through artificial intelligence, robotics and automated systems. The exercise began in August and lasted for several weeks at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, FCW reported Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, head of the AFC cross-functional team for next-generation combat vehicles, said that the primarily mobile network ran into challenges during the assessment due to its lack of capacity to handle network components in a ruggedized environment.

According to Murray, the network is the backbone of the Army’s main operations and the service needs to “spin in commercial capabilities to continue to enrich and expand the network we have.”

The Army plans to include weapons systems and testing approaches from the other military branches for the network’s next assessment scheduled for 2021. Last month, the Army announced plans to include a secure but unclassified (SBU) environment for the tactical network in the service’s Capability Set ‘21.

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Victoria Coleman Takes Oath as DARPA Director
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Victoria Coleman Takes Oath as DARPA Director

Victoria Coleman, formerly senior adviser for microelectronics technology policy to the director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) at the University of California, Berkeley, has formally assumed the role of director at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Coleman has succeeded Steven Walker, who vacated his post in 2019, DARPA said Thursday. Prior to her previous capacity, Coleman led startup company Atlas AI P.B.C as CEO and worked at the Wikimedia Foundation as chief technology officer.

She also held various roles at SRI International, Samsung, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Yahoo, Harman International and Technicolor. DARPA Deputy Director Peter Highnam served as acting director following Walker’s departure from the agency.

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Akima CEO Bill Monet Receives First Wash100 Award From Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson
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Akima CEO Bill Monet Receives First Wash100 Award From Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson

Bill Monet, CEO of Akima, earned his first Wash100 Award for his leadership and expertise to drive company growth and expand its portfolio by securing major contracts across the government contracting sector.

His experience has expanded over 30 years in the federal sector working with federal, state, local and commercial clients. Monet has managed a range of programs under Akima’s portfolio, including information technology, system integration, mission support, aviation, facilities management, and construction.

Most recently, Akima announced in May that its subsidiary, Akima Logistics Services, was awarded a spot on the ten-year, $6.1 billion Kits, Recovery, Augmentation, Components and Engines (KRACEn) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) to support the U.S. Navy.

Akima CEO Bill Monet Receives Wash100 Award
Akima CEO Bill Monet Receives Wash100 Award

Under the contract, Akima Logistics Services will provide maintenance services and support for single satellite sites, small aircraft quantities, personnel to augment government maintenance teams, and overhaul capabilities for aircraft components and subsystems.

In addition, The company also announced in October 2019 that it had received a potential eight-year, $152 million contract to provide facility support to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base.

The work is being performed at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., with specific performance at White Oak, Maryland and Moffett Field, California. Akima’s services will include command, control, and communication functions as well as test security, other security services, base supply, cargo movement, and vehicle maintenance.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Akima and Bill Monet on his 2020 Wash100 Award. Monet’s expertise and leadership have helped to establish Akima as an elite company in the GovCon sector.

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Steve Schulze Recognized by Meritorious Executive for Exceptional Federal Service
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Steve Schulze Recognized by Meritorious Executive for Exceptional Federal Service

Steve Schulze, president of Patrona Corporation, has been recognized for his notable leadership and service to the nation prior to his retirement from the federal government, named Meritorious Executive. The recognition is limited to only 5 percent of the Senior Executive Service.

“The President of the United States of America has conferred on Steven Schulze the rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service for sustained superior accomplishment in management of programs of the United States Government and for noteworthy achievement of quality and efficiency in the public service,” the citation stated.

Patrona Corporation stated that “Schulze is thankful for the recognition and has found his first year with Patrona equally, if not more challenging and rewarding as his executive experience with NAVSEA.”

Schulze joined Patrona Corporation as vice president of Navy Technical Support Services in Sept. 2019. In the role, he expanded, led, aligned and integrated the technical services portfolio Patrona Corporation delivers to the US Navy.  He was appointed as president in Feb. 2020.

Schulze has more than 30 years of experience in managing and executing engineering and technical services across a wide range of engineering disciplines supporting the life cycle engineering maintenance and modernization of ships, submarines and naval systems.

Prior to joining Patrona Corporation, Schulze served as NAVSEA’s deputy chief engineer and chief technology officer (CTO), where he was responsible for executing the Navy’s technical authority policy across all ships, submarines, vehicles and assigned systems.

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NavalX to Advance DON Workforce Innovation; Potomac Officers Club to Host 2020 Navy Forum
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NavalX to Advance DON Workforce Innovation; Potomac Officers Club to Host 2020 Navy Forum

NavalX serves as the Department of Navy (DON) workforce "super-connector." The agency is focused on scaling agility methods across the DON workforce, offering a culture of decentralized autonomy that has created an innovation landscape. NavalX has worked to connect isolated pockets of excellence to capture and scale the methodologies. 

The agency’s mission has increased awareness of cross-Department of Defense (DoD) and external successes, lessons learned and subject matter experts. NavalX was launched in Feb. 2019, as a direct-report initiative under the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition (ASN RDA). 

James “Hondo” Geurts, assistant secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN (RD&A)) with the U.S. Navy, will be featured as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Navy Forum on September 30th. View Potomac Officers Club’s Events Page to register for the  2020 Navy Forum!

“We help build partnerships and networks to enable greater collaboration on warfighters to accelerate adoption and delivery. NavalX focuses on two lines of effort: Workforce Agility & Innovation Capacity, and Tech Bridges,” the agency stated.

The agency promotes the rapid adoption of proven and enhanced agility methods that have high impact and broad applicability. NavalX will then share the methodologies through workshops and playbooks. 

The techbridge offers a place for innovators to collaborate at an off-base facility to foster greater creativity. It provides a collaborative ecosystem to build new partnerships and accelerate delivery of dual solutions, which supports economic development. 

In addition, NavalX provides a network of available collision spaces to provide a collaboration space while lowering requirements for entry. The agency has worked to bring different entities together to build networks and form relationships, while sharing ideas, tools and methods. 

Director of NavalX, CAPT Frank Futcher, will serve as a panelist during Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Navy Forum. As the Navy continues to evolve to meet the growing demands, challenges still remain. Join Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Navy Forum to hear notable industry and federal leaders discuss the initiatives, efficiencies and challenges the service branch faces as well as how to join together to improve the future of warfare.

To register for the 2020 Navy Forum, as well as view other upcoming events, visit Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page.

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NASA Publishes Economic Impact Report; Jim Bridenstine Quoted
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NASA Publishes Economic Impact Report; Jim Bridenstine Quoted

NASA has published the results of its agency wide economic impact report, showing that the agency has generated more than $64.3 billion in total economic output during fiscal year 2019, supported more than 312,000 jobs nationwide and generated an estimated $7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes throughout the nation.

“This study confirms, and puts numbers, to what we have long understood – that taxpayer investment in America’s space program yields tremendous retfurns that strengthen our nation on several fronts – a stronger economy, advances in science and technology, and improvements to humanity,” said NASA Administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, Jim Bridenstine.

NASA commissioned an economic impact study to further understand how the U.S. economy benefited in FY2019 from America’s lunar and Mars exploration efforts. The study found the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach generated more than $14 billion in total economic output in fiscal year 2019.

Additionally, NASA found that each state in the nation has economically benefited through NASA activities, with 43 states having an economic impact of more than $10 million. The agency’s Moon to Mars initiative, which includes the Artemis program, has supported more than 69,000 jobs, $14 billion in economic output, and $1.5 billion in tax revenue.

NASA has more than 700 active international agreements for various scientific research and technology development activities in FY2019. The International Space Station (ISS) has been a significant representative of international partnerships, representing 15 nations and five space agencies and has been operating for 20 years.

Scientific research and development has the largest single-sector impact, accounting for 16 percent of the overall economic impact of NASA’s Moon to Mars program.

“In this new era of human spaceflight, NASA is contributing to economies locally and nationally, fueling growth in industries that will define the future, and supporting tens of thousands of new jobs in America,” Bridenstine added.

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