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NASA Recognizes KBR for Work Under Small Business Programs; Byron Bright, Glenn Delgado Quoted
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NASA Recognizes KBR for Work Under Small Business Programs; Byron Bright, Glenn Delgado Quoted

KBR has received multiple NASA awards for its work with the agency's small business programs throughout 2019, including the Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year, Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year and the Center-level NASA Small Business Industry Awards, the company reported on Wednesday.

"KBR values its small business partners and recognizes our combined efforts will forge the future of space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research," said Byron Bright, President, KBR Government Solutions U.S. and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. 

KBR, nominated by Johnson Space Center (JSC), received the award for its mentorship of JES Tech, a woman-owned small business. As part of its three-year agreement, KBR will continue to provide JES Tech with guidance in occupational medicine and health, environmental laboratory services, quality management, job architecture and business development. 

The company has also supported spaceflight operations development, preparation and execution; mission systems support; and human spaceflight activities. KBR experts staff flight discipline consoles in the Mission Control Center and assist with a broad spectrum of operations for NASA's current human spaceflight program.

In Jan. 2020, KBR signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA Johnson Space Center to provide human spaceflight operation services to commercial companies, becoming the first company to use the agency's facilities and capabilities. 

NASA has granted KBR access to train private astronauts in various spaceflight tasks including operating onboard International Space Station systems, integrating into the existing ISS crew, performing routine operational tasks, maintaining health and performance and responding to emergencies.

The company will also provide medical operations and services prior to, during, and after spaceflights, as well as mission planning, training and execution. KBR will train astronauts for private space travel to the ISS.

KBR currently trains and provides medical support to NASA and ISS international partner astronauts and supports all planning and execution aspects of mission operations. The company will additionally provide specialized services to support the agency’s astronauts. 

"Pioneering space is a collaborative effort. KBR works with high-performing small businesses to reach for the stars and beyond," added Bright.

In addition, KBR received the Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year award at Ames Research Center (ARC) for its contract performance, participation in NASA-related outreach events, sound small business practices and use of small business contractors.

KBR received a potential $400 million contract from NASA to provide research and development services for ARC’s intelligent systems division in Jan. 2020. The cost-plus-fixed-fee hybrid contract includes technical assistance and resources in support of the division’s scientific research and application and technology development efforts in various research domains.

The company will also support the integration of information technology systems into NASA missions and other federal projects. Work on the contract began in March 2020. The contract has a phase-in period of 60 days, a base term of two years and three two-year options.

"This year's winners are dynamic individuals and companies that provide unparalleled support to the agency, and thankfully they are the tip of the iceberg," said NASA's associate administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs Glenn Delgado. "The small business community is overflowing with exceptional companies that are reaching new heights with creativity and innovation."

About KBR, Inc.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses: Government Solutions, Energy Solutions, Technology Solutions.

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Cybercom, National Guard Help States, Local Governments Address Cyber Threats Via ‘Cyber 9-Line’
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Cybercom, National Guard Help States, Local Governments Address Cyber Threats Via ‘Cyber 9-Line’

U.S. Cyber Command and the National Guard have developed a program designed to facilitate sharing of data and allow authorities to address a ransomware attack and other cyber threats posed by foreign adversaries.

The Cyber 9-Line program is a template of questions used by National Guard units to immediately share data on cyber threats with Cybercom’s Cyber National Mission Force, the command said Tuesday. CNMF will then act on the collected data and provide feedback to the participating units, which will then share the information to state and local governments to address the threat.

The Cyber 9-Line is the initial step in the information exchange program developed by the Joint Cyber Command and Control program office in late 2019. The second step marks the use of the command’s Big Data Platform, which provides access to malware reports and other previous threats and helps Cybercom counter foreign threats.

“This level of cooperation and feedback provides local, state and Department of Defense partners with a holistic view of threats occurring in the United States and abroad,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. William Hartman, Cybercom’s Election Security Group lead and CNMF commander. “Dealing with a significant cyber incident requires a whole-of-government defense; bidirectional lines on communication and data sharing enables the collective effort to defend elections.”

Cybercom said the Cyber 9-Line was used in late January when Dorchester County in Maryland reported a ransomware attack.

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Kevin Cox on CISA’s Federal CDM Dashboard, AWARE Algorithm
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Kevin Cox on CISA’s Federal CDM Dashboard, AWARE Algorithm

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is working to build up agencies’ trust in the underlying cyber risk data behind the new federal dashboard as part of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

“We have the overall process finalized, [we’re] working with agencies now to go through the criteria to make sure that data that they’re seeing down at the center level is being properly reported in the agency dashboard up through the federal dashboard,” Kevin Cox, CDM program manager with CISA, said Tuesday at a virtual Meritalk conference.

Cox said that CISA plans to facilitate data exchange between agency dashboards and the federal CDM dashboard by the second quarter of fiscal 2021 and finalize the migration process by the end of the fourth quarter of FY 2021.

He also offered updates on the Agency-wide Adaptive Risk Enumeration algorithm as part of the federal dashboard. AWARE assigns a score to agencies based on their performance when it comes to configuration management and efforts to address critical vulnerabilities.

He noted that 36 non-CFO Act agencies and 23 CFO Act agencies have begun reporting their data to the CDM dashboard but none of the AWARE scores are fully activated yet until CISA goes through the process for data quality management certification.

“We want to make sure that the agencies are comfortable with their data being reported up before it’s fully operationalized through AWARE,” Cox added.

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Gen. Charles Brown Confirmed as Air Force Chief of Staff
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Gen. Charles Brown Confirmed as Air Force Chief of Staff

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Gen. Charles Brown, commander of Pacific Air Forces, as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force in a 98-0 vote, the service reported Tuesday.

He will officially assume responsibilities and succeed the retiring Gen. David Goldfein, a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, at a swearing-in ceremony on Aug. 6.

Brown was nominated to serve as the 22nd Air Force chief of staff in March and appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May for his confirmation hearing.

“I am committed to the Air Force achieving irreversible momentum towards implementation of the National Defense Strategy and an integrated and more lethal joint force,” Brown said during the Senate panel hearing.

Brown is also air component commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. He previously served as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command and commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command. He is a command pilot who has recorded more than 2,900 flight hours.

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GAO: VA Must Ensure Proper Stakeholder Representation at EHR Workshops
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GAO: VA Must Ensure Proper Stakeholder Representation at EHR Workshops

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that while the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) effectively executed decision-making procedures for its electronic health record (EHR) system modernization efforts, it was unable to ensure complete involvement with stakeholders.

GAO said in a report released Friday that VA planned to initially implement modernized EHR systems at its facilities in Washington this year. The department also created 18 EHR councils comprised of VA healthcare professionals that conducted workshops from late 2018 to 2019.

According to the watchdog, two clinicians from the selected facilities reported that the department “did not always effectively communicate information to stakeholders” such as staff and clinicians, preventing the inclusion of relevant stakeholders in EHR workshops.

These workshops were meant to enable EHR councils to relay information such as how to properly configure the records system to support compatibility and clinical work matters.

GAO noted that the EHR councils were still conducting meetings as of March and that VA temporarily delayed EHR implementation to accommodate more pressing needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

VA is yet to indicate its plans for ensuring appropriate stakeholder representation in future EHR sessions, GAO said.

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DOE-USAF Partnership Tests Compatibility, Weapon Systems of Extended B61 Bomber
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DOE-USAF Partnership Tests Compatibility, Weapon Systems of Extended B61 Bomber

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), under the Department of Energy (DoE), partnered with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to test the weapon systems of a B61-12 modified for extended service life. Two flight tests for the B61-12 Life Extension Program took place in March 2020 at the Nevada-based Tonopah Test Range, the Department of Energy said Monday.

USAF and the NNSA demonstrated the aircraft's compatibility with the F-15E during the final weapon system demonstration. The modified B61-12 features a new Boeing-made tail kit assembly. The Air Force plans to replace aging B61 bombers with the new extended-life variant for part of the U.S. nuclear force.

“The success of these tests is a major milestone on the path to full rate production and the B61-12’s initial operation capability on the F-15E in the coming years,” said Brig. Gen. Ty Neuman, principal assistant deputy administrator for military application at the NNSA.

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Air Force Materiel Command to Digitally Modernize Life Cycle Process
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Air Force Materiel Command to Digitally Modernize Life Cycle Process

Air Force Materiel Command has begun to digitally update the system that facilitates the life cycle of technologies used by the service branch.

AFMC wants to establish an enterprise-wide digital ecosystem that provides life cycle data needed for system development, maintenance and testing, the U.S. Air Force said Monday. The effort aims to accelerate USAF's system life cycle including the transition of technologies to warfighters.

“Transitioning to a digital AFMC enterprise is a priority for our command and is foundational to our success in today’s adversarial environment,” said Gen. Arnold Bunch, AFMC commander.

Bunch said AFMC needs to use digital technologies for better interconnection across sustainment, procurement, research and testing in the service branch.

“We need to streamline the design, development, fabrication and testing to get platforms to our warfighters faster," Bunch added.

An example of supply chain digitization is the use of digital twins, virtual representations of a system. System developers may use digital twins to conduct virtual tests and avoid the costs imposed by fully physical testing.

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CISA Issues Warning on Anti-5G Public Activities
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CISA Issues Warning on Anti-5G Public Activities

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is urging the public to remain vigilant of “anti-5G activists” that seek to destroy 5G equipment that allegedly render the human immune system susceptible to COVID-19, FedScoop reported Monday.

CISA said in a confidential memo obtained by the publication that telecommunications providers must report suspicious activities such as drone flights within their properties and deploy appropriate security technologies to prevent intrusions.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component added that telecom companies need to protect 5G cell towers following recent attacks in the U.S. and UK fueled by COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

Anti-5G extremists previously manipulated several cell towers in Tenessee while more than 70 towers have been damaged in the U.K. since the pandemic's onset, according to the report.

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FedRAMP Launches Agency Liaison Program to Drive Gov’t Knowledge-Sharing
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FedRAMP Launches Agency Liaison Program to Drive Gov’t Knowledge-Sharing

The Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) office has established a new unit focused on training liaisons on relaying resources and information to their respective agencies, Federal News Network reported Monday.

Ryan Hoesing, customer success manager at FedRAMP's program management office (PMO), told the publication in an email that the Agency Liaison Program will use a “train the trainer” approach to driving collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the federal government.

He noted that the new PMO resulted from an “ideation challenge” launched by FedRAMP last summer and is working with over 30 agency partners to date.

“The Agency Liaison Program also establishes a formal feedback mechanism to enable continuous process improvement as the program rolls out new initiatives,” he added.

Ashley Mahan, FedRAMP director, also told Federal News Network in an email that the PMO will continue the focus on automating authorization procedures and promoting education throughout the FedRAMP community.

FedRAMP previously released guides for agencies as well as small businesses and startups on the authorization process, she added.

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New Data Released Analyzing the Implications of COVID-19 on Global Supply Chain; Alex Gershenson, Tom Reynolds Quoted
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New Data Released Analyzing the Implications of COVID-19 on Global Supply Chain; Alex Gershenson, Tom Reynolds Quoted

According to data reported in the SupplyShift platform, suppliers’ perspectives concerning the effect of COVID-19 on the supply chain are trending in a positive direction. Of the companies surveyed since March, 43 percent reported that they were running at 81-100 percent of capacity, the report stated on Tuesday. 

In addition, 14 percent of respondents have reported that they were operating at more than 100 percent of capacity. Employee availability remained relatively high throughout the period, with 68 percent of respondents reporting employee availability of 90 percent or higher. 

For companies that did report lowered capacity, the three main reasons cited were government-mandated shutdown, reduced demand and supply chain disruptions from their own suppliers. Over half expect the main impacts of disruption to continue decreasing over time. The report noted that as the public and private sectors begin to understand the implications of COVID-19 on the supply chain, companies will shift their focus toward operational recovery.

"As we navigate the business challenges of COVID-19, the conversation has transitioned from risk mitigation to recovery," observed Alex Gershenson, CEO of SupplyShift. "Our collaboration with Moody's Analytics and Verisk Maplecroft brings powerful enhancements to our solution. We hope these tools will continue to aid the business community as they work to secure their supply chains."

Tom Reynolds, a global supply chain practice consultant, has also commented on the effects of COVID-19 on the global supply chain. He noted that increased globalization and the prevalence of e-commerce have led businesses to count on customers spread all around the world, unlike the previous norm of a more localized and homogenous group of end consumers. 

The participation has made supply chains vastly more complex, and supply chain officers point out the need to develop capabilities to handle that complexity seamlessly even during times of distress. 

“There’s an increased demand within companies to make their supply chains more flexible and dynamic,” said Reynolds. “This is challenging for supply chain leaders, as sourcing from multiple places would bring in a lot more complexities on the inbound side.” 

Potomac Officers Club will host its Supply Chain Resilience and COVID-19 Virtual Event on June 11th. Click here to register for the event.

John Polowczyk, Vice director for Logistics, J4 with the Joint Chiefs of Staff will speak at the virtual event. He will address the unprecedented global demand surge in personal protective equipment to supply-side challenges amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Polowczyk will be joined by Dave Kless, executive director of Operations at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and Stuart Jones, director of Supply Chain Management at LMI to further discuss the implications inherent with the global pandemic. 

Register here to join Potomac Officers Club for  its Supply Chain Resilience and COVID-19 Virtual Event on June 11th to learn about the speakers’ perspectives on the state of public-private collaboration and how coordination at the strategic and tactical levels can strengthen supply chain response to future challenges.

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