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Bruce Jette on U.S. Army’s Efforts to Address Supply Chain Gaps Amid COVID-19
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Bruce Jette on U.S. Army’s Efforts to Address Supply Chain Gaps Amid COVID-19

Bruce Jette, the U.S. Army’s acquisition chief and a 2020 Wash100 awardee, has said the service branch is looking at ways to ensure the resiliency of the supply chain amid crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jette, who serves as assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, told National Defense Magazine in an interview published on Wednesday that the Army’s acquisition strategy includes enlisting alternative suppliers and advanced manufacturing concepts.

Jette added that he and Hon. Ellen Lord, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a fellow 2020 Wash100 Award winner, collaborated with local authorities as well as contractors to expedite payments, especially to small businesses.

According to Jette, the defense industrial base has experienced over 150 closures since March but the impacts of the pandemic were “not insurmountable.”

“Our top priority has been the health and safety of the workforce whether uniformed or non-uniformed, government or civilian,” he said. “Through the use of working from home we quickly implemented [Microsoft Office 365] Teams as part of how we do business.”

Jette added that the Army is continuing its support and “doing the primary bulk of the contracting” for the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine development campaign.

Bruce Jette on U.S. Army's Efforts to Address Supply Chain Gaps Amid COVID-19

If you missed Thursday’s event, check out Potomac Officers Club’s Event Archive to watch the 5th Annual 2020 Army Forum, featuring Bruce Jette as the keynote speaker, as well as all recent POC events of 2020. Click here to find all of POC’s recent events.

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BG Paul Stanton Becomes Deputy Commanding General of Operations for Army Cyber Command
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BG Paul Stanton Becomes Deputy Commanding General of Operations for Army Cyber Command

BG Paul Stanton has been appointed to serve as the deputy commanding general of operations for U.S. Army Cyber Command, the Department of Defense (DoD) reported on Thursday. In his new role with Army Cyber Command, Stanton will support the agency’s missions and intitatives under division’s chief, Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty.

Fogarty recently outlined the Army Cyber Command’s 10-year plan to focus on multi domain operations and information warfare, including maturing emerging and new units to support tactical commanders on the battlefield.

Stanton currently serves as the deputy director of operations, J-3 at U.S. Cyber Command. He was appointed to the position on October 15, 2018. Stanton is responsible for advising the director of operations and the commander regarding the global and dynamic employment of Cyber Mission Forces and the daily operations of DoD networks.

Prior to his position with the Cyber Command, Stanton commanded the U.S. Army Cyber Protection Brigade, where he was responsible to train, man, equip and employ the Army’s Cyber Protection Teams in the global defense of the nation’s, Army’s and Geographic Combatant Commander’s cyber priorities.

Stanton also helped the unit mature and onboard cloud computing systems such as the Big Data Platform, Unified Platform and planning tools such as Project IKE. BG Stanton was commissioned as a U.S. Army officer in the infantry upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the United States Military Academy in 1995.

In 2012, BG Stanton transitioned to support cyber operations, serving as the Army Cyber Command senior technical advisor. In this capacity, he worked to develop the concept for employing Big Data technologies in support of network operations and cyber defense.

Stanton has also served as the deputy director of the Capabilities Development Group for the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), where he led efforts associated with the Unified Platform and data analytics. Stanton transitioned to become a cyber officer (CY17) in 2015.

BG Paul Stanton Becomes Deputy Commanding General of Operations for Army Cyber Command

If you missed the event, check out Potomac Officers Club’s Event Archive to watch the 5th Annual 2020 Army Forum as well as all recent POC events of 2020. Click here to find all of POC’s recent events.

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AWS Launches io2 for Amazon EBS; Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, Paul Constantinides Quoted
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AWS Launches io2 for Amazon EBS; Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, Paul Constantinides Quoted

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of io2, the next generation Provisioned IOPS SSD volumes for Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), the company reported on Tuesday. 

“Customers rely on highly durable AWS block storage to keep their business-critical applications running at any scale,” said Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, VP, Block and Object Storage, AWS. “Today, we are excited to announce new high durability io2 volumes, that provide existing customers 100x higher volume durability than io1 at no additional cost.”

AWS’ io2 volume will provide higher volume durability when compared to io1 Amazon EBS volumes, which will reduce storage failures and make data more resilient. The enhancements will provide better application availability. 

“For new customers where five nines of storage durability is critical to migrate on-premises business critical applications to AWS, io2 brings together performance, durability, and agility all in a single EBS volume,” Bukovec added. 

With io2, customers can drive 10x higher input/output operations per second (IOPS) from provisioned storage to improve storage and reduce cost. AWS io2 will support performance-intensive, business critical applications, including ERP, CRM,and online transaction systems. 

AWS io2 will be able to run on databases such as SAP HANA, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, Apache Cassandra, MySQL and PostreSQL. 

Customers can create new io2 volumes or upgrade existing volumes to io2 volumes using Elastic Volumes, which customers use to modify the volume type without any downtime for applications running on their Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances.

“Our commitment to our core value of customer success includes ensuring Salesforce applications are available whenever our customers need them,” said Paul Constantinides, EVP of Engineering, at Salesforce. “Delivering an always-on experience requires highly reliable storage. With AWS and EBS new io2 volumes designed for five nines durability, we will continue to meet and exceed our customers' expectations.”

About Amazon Web Services

For 14 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 175 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 76 Availability Zones (AZs) within 24 geographic regions, with announced plans for nine more Availability Zones and three more AWS Regions in Indonesia, Japan, and Spain. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs.

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Unanet Partners with Mesa to Simplify Business Management; Reggie Headrick, Matt Pantana Quoted
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Unanet Partners with Mesa to Simplify Business Management; Reggie Headrick, Matt Pantana Quoted

Unanet A/E, the company’s project-based ERP software purpose-built for the architecture and engineering (A/E) sectors, partnered with Mesa Associates under a new agreement to integrate Unanet’s solution across their business, Unanet reported on Thursday.

“The Unanet team took the time to listen and understand our business, and then developed solutions that met our requirements, rather than trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution on us,” said Reggie Headrick, senior vice president of Mesa Associates. “The features Unanet A/E offers, coupled with their outstanding service and support teams, will give us an ERP system that we can rely on to be a single source of truth, accurate and up-to-date.”

Under the agreement, Mesa will be able to simplify its business management and provide enhanced service to its customers. Mesa will gain access to robust reporting and analytics with real-time, interactive insights across the organization through Unanet A/E.

Mesa will also leverage Unanet A/E’s mobile features including time, expense and approvals to gain efficiencies throughout their teams, enabling Mesa to perform on schedule and within budget. Unanet A/E will enable Mesa to transition from disparate systems to advance business operations.

“Mesa is a leader in its field and has delivered some of the best projects in the entire region, primarily due to its strong relationships and care it provides its customers,” said Matt Pantana, SVP of Product for Unanet A/E. “Unanet A/E’s mission to serve customers aligns with Mesa, and both of us are trusted advisors in our respected fields. We’re thrilled to have the honor of working with Mesa.”

About Unanet

Unanet is a leading provider of ERP solutions purpose-built for Government Contractors, A/E, and Professional Services. More than 2,000 project-driven organizations depend on Unanet to turn their information into actionable insights, drive better decision-making, and nurture business growth. For more information, visit www.unanet.com. Follow Unanet at @UnanetTech on Twitter and Unanet-Technologies on LinkedIn.

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Battelle Wins Task Order to Support Defense Supply Chain; Tom Bergman Quoted
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Battelle Wins Task Order to Support Defense Supply Chain; Tom Bergman Quoted

Battelle has been awarded a $16.6 million task order contract under the Microelectronics and Embedded Systems Assurance (MESA) IDIQ contract vehicle to mitigate risk within the national defense supply chain, the company reported on Thursday. Battelle will serve as a prime contractor and the task order will continue through 2022.

“We’re excited to continue our collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Sensors Directorate developing innovative trust and assurance solutions to enhance the security and reliability of DoD systems,” said Tom Bergman, cyber program manager at Battelle.

Battelle will leverage its expertise in cyber hardware trust and assurance to develop and validate quantifiable assurance tools and approaches to reduce the threat of counterfeit and untrustworthy integrated circuits and embedded systems within the military’s supply chain. 

Under the task order, Battelle will develop and validate techniques for quantifiable assurance of microelectronics devices and systems to accelerate technical activity for the customer, including new lines of effort supporting verification and validation tool development and demonstration.

The contract builds on Battelle’s experience in conducting basic and applied research on technologies designed to address the threat of counterfeit microelectronics and integrated circuits, as well as untrusted fabrication of critical microelectronics. 

All modern defense weapon systems are inherently reliant on microelectronic devices and embedded systems for their operation. Threats to the integrity of these components could result in significant harm to operations, people and systems.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. 

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries.

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STS Partners with Google to Enhance US Navy Modernization; Mike Daniels, Aaron Kilinski Quoted
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STS Partners with Google to Enhance US Navy Modernization; Mike Daniels, Aaron Kilinski Quoted

Google Cloud and Simple Technology Solutions (STS) will work with the U.S. Navy to modernize the maintenance and repairs inspection process for Navy vessels and facilities, STS reported on Thursday.

“The manual inspection of Navy ships and vessels is a time-intensive, costly process that can drive up costs and slow down deployment,” said Mike Daniels, vice president of Global Public Sector for Google Cloud. “We’re proud to work with the U.S. Navy and empower them with Google Cloud technology to transform corrosion inspections for greater efficiency and safety.”

The work was awarded to STS as a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project due to the technology innovation and potential for commercialization. Under the agreement, STS will leverage Google Cloud artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies on inspection drone-captured images to detect, prioritize and predict maintenance requirements.

“We selected Google Cloud AutoML because it allows our engineers to train and test high-quality models quickly. Google Cloud provides an unrivaled degree of specification to meet tough business objectives in compliance with FedRAMP High,” said Aaron Kilinski, chief technology officer for STS.

Under the project, STS will train Google Cloud AI and ML models on images to identify corrosion as part of the first phase with the Navy. Using imagery and Google AI/ML technologies, STS will reduce the labor and safety risk associated with maintenance inspections.

STS will utilize public domain and inspection drone images to build a high-quality AI/ML model using Google Cloud AutoML, which has enabled organizations to build custom vision models. The company will collaborate with the U.S. Navy corrosion subject matter experts to train data using Google Cloud’s AI Platform Data Labeling Service.

In addition, STS will iteratively train and validate the model using custom inspection drone flight data, which will be uploaded using Google Cloud Storage for processing. The models will continually improve and update themselves based on the newly ingested data.

“The initial goal for Phase I is to build a model that detects corrosion in drone images with a very high degree of accuracy. The ultimate goal, however, is to move from detection to prediction by expanding the subjects and sensors, and eventually integrating with Navy systems,” Kilinski added.

STS Partners with Google to Enhance US Navy Modernization; Mike Daniels, Aaron Kilinski Quoted

Potomac Officers Club will host its 2020 Navy Forum on September 30th. Click here to register for the event. James Geurts, Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, and Acquisition with the U.S. Navy and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient will serve as a keynote speaker during the event.

Geurts will discuss how the U.S. Navy has continually worked to decentralize, differentialize and digitize the service branch’s work as well as develop its talent in the field.

The Navy has also accelerated acquisition channels, modernized emerging technologies and increased research and development to become more effective in warfare. 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. Click here to register for the 2020 Navy Forum.

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CommScope’s Chris Collura: Federal Agencies Should Prioritize Network Modernization
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CommScope’s Chris Collura: Federal Agencies Should Prioritize Network Modernization

Chris Collura, vice president of Federal Sales at CommScope, wrote in a commentary published Wednesday that federal agencies seeking to advance information technology modernization should upgrade their network infrastructure supporting internet-connected devices.

He said the systems of wireless access points, multigigabit ethernet switches and routers and converged cables serve as the “backbone” of five next-gen technologies: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum, internet of things and cloud.

Collura said 5G networks could support artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual and augmented realty, IoT and other next-gen capabilities. “5G is expected to make its true roll-out later this year after radio spectrum and 5G-enabled devices become more available,” he said. 

He noted that agencies could leverage large datasets they maintain and store with faster internet speeds and increased bandwidth that Wi-Fi 6 could bring.

“There are no lack of options when it comes to IT budgets, but by prioritizing modernization, including these five technologies, federal agencies will be investing in solutions that can be used for years to come,” Collura wrote.

“That said, in order to take full advantage of these capabilities, agencies need to modernize their IT and network infrastructure. In doing so, government agencies will be in a better position to adjust to new and emerging requirements.”

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Don’t miss out on this must see event! Click here to register for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

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CBO: Nuclear Forces Expansion in Response to New START Pact’s Expiration Could Cost DoD Up to $439B
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CBO: Nuclear Forces Expansion in Response to New START Pact’s Expiration Could Cost DoD Up to $439B

A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report says the Department of Defense (DoD) could incur $410 billion to $439 billion in onetime costs if the U.S. government decides to expand its strategic nuclear forces to the START I treaty levels in response to the expiration of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.

CBO said in the report published on Tuesday that such a move could generate between $24 billion and $28 billion in additional annual costs to operate and sustain new delivery systems and warheads.

CBO’s estimates are based on its use of a more flexible approach, which seeks to procure “enough delivery systems to reach the desired total numbers of warheads while maintaining (as nearly as possible) the current number of warheads allocated to each missile and bomber.”

New START between the U.S. and Russia is set to expire in February 2021. The treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads each country may deploy to 1,550. Each country is allowed to field up to 800 bombers and missile launchers as delivery systems.

“If the New START treaty expired, the United States could choose to make no changes to its current plans for nuclear forces, in which case it would incur no additional costs,” CBO said in the report. “If the United States chose to increase its forces in response to the expiration of the treaty, modest expansions could be relatively inexpensive and could be done quickly.”

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Four Agencies Issue Cyber Alert on Bank Robbery Scheme Linked to North Korea’s BeagleBoyz Group
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Four Agencies Issue Cyber Alert on Bank Robbery Scheme Linked to North Korea’s BeagleBoyz Group

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and three other agencies have released a joint alert about the FASTCash bank robbery campaign carried out by a group of North Korean government-linked cyber threat actors called BeagleBoyz.

The group has initiated cyber-enabled ATM cash outs and fraudulent money transfers in several countries through its FASTCash scheme, CISA said Wednesday. CISA issued the alert with the FBI, Department of the Treasury and U.S. Cyber Command.

“North Korean cyber actors have demonstrated an imaginative knack for adjusting their tactics to exploit the financial sector as well as any other sector through illicit cyber operations,” said Bryan Ware, assistant director of cybersecurity at CISA.

“CISA and our interagency partners work closely with industry to provide actionable, specific and timely cyber threat information, like today’s alert. Our aim is to disrupt and defeat malicious cyber campaigns and help government and industry partners prioritize resources to highest risk to stay one-step ahead of adversaries,” Ware added. 

The alert said North Korea through the group BeagleBoyz has resumed its bank robbery scheme since February targeting financial institutions in several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

BeagleBoyz threat actors have used spearphishing, watering holes and other tools and techniques to compromise financial institutions and the joint alert listed some of the publicly available malicious files the group has used to conduct job application-themed phishing attacks.

The alert also provided information on how the cyber threat group executes its scheme, uses persistence mechanism and credentials and avoids detection.

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AFRL Issues RFI for Quantum R&D Strategy Dev’t Support
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AFRL Issues RFI for Quantum R&D Strategy Dev’t Support

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is looking for potential sources that can help the lab create a blueprint for quantum information science (QIS) research and development initiatives.

AFRL said in a notice posted Monday on the beta SAM website that the successful offeror will assist the lab in creating the Air Force’s QIS science and technology strategy focused on developing, demonstrating and fielding quantum systems.

According to the request for information, interested entities must have experience in technology development, production and testing efforts in the public and private sectors. Ideal offerors must also have a diverse background in engineering, physics, computer science and mathematics, the lab noted.

AFRL also said in the performance work statement that contract services include supporting the establishment of an investment plan for key research areas including computing, sensing communications and networking and positioning, navigation and timing.

The contractor will additionally help AFRL drive quantum research across the service branch and the Department of Defense in addition to supporting the lab’s engagement efforts with a “variety of customers” in the defense, intelligence and national security sectors.

Responses to the solicitation are due on Sept. 4.

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