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Rep. Mac Thornberry Introduces DoD Acquisition Reform Expansion Bill
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Rep. Mac Thornberry Introduces DoD Acquisition Reform Expansion Bill
Mac Thornberry
Mac Thornberry

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, on Thursday introduced a bill aimed at expanding acquisition reform efforts in the Department of Defense.

The legislation aims to strengthen accountability and agility in the defense acquisition system and Thornberry wants the measure to serve as a discussion draft in order to seek feedback ahead of the markup for the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Nobody’s smart enough to know all the implications of moving things around in the system. So put it out there, let people have their shot at it, make adjustments as appropriate,” Thornberry told reporters Thursday.

According to a fact sheet, the proposal covers six aspects and the first focuses on requiring DoD to carry out two assessments of the requirements process against efficiency, technical feasibility and other metrics.

Thornberry also proposed to codify reforms to ensure that the “night court” process, departmentwide reviews and other efforts will continue; restrict certain defense funding until the Pentagon implements congressionally mandated reforms; require quarterly briefings to identify vulnerabilities or gaps in defense industrial base; streamline Title 10 with a focus on the reorganization of acquisition statutes.

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Army National Guard Rolls Out New Pay and Personnel Action Tracking System
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Army National Guard Rolls Out New Pay and Personnel Action Tracking System

Army National Guard Rolls Out New Pay and Personnel Action Tracking System

The Army National Guard has completed the launch of a personnel system designed to help soldiers track their salary, benefits and other personnel actions through their mobile phones, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

More than 330K members of the Army National Guard can now use the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, which can store human resources data and talent management information in digital format. The IPPS-A program is expected to support over 1M warfighters in the Guard, Reserve and active force upon its completion in December 2021.

The Army has more than 200 pay and personnel systems and the IPPS-A implementation will allow the service to remove 40 HR systems.

“In the legacy environment, the soldier would have to do an HR action on a piece of paper,” said Col. Gregory Johnson, director of the IPPS-A functional management division. “Now the soldier can turn in a personnel action request off of his personal mobile phone and then they will have complete transparency of understanding where that action is.”

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CMMC Accreditation Body to Host ‘National Conversation’ Webinars
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CMMC Accreditation Body to Host ‘National Conversation’ Webinars

CMMC Accreditation Body to Host 'National Conversation' Webinars

The accreditation body for the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program will hold a series of webinars starting April 6 to discuss details about third-party assessment organizations and other topics about CMMC, Nextgov reported Thursday.

“As this work continues, we are listening for, and depend upon, your feedback. We encourage you to participate in the National Conversations and our newly-formed Working Groups to help us shape the CMMC ecosystem,” the CMMC-AB wrote in its email to stakeholders.

CMMC-AB expects the certification and training framework document and other deliverables to be ready by April 17 and the outline of exam for auditors by April 30.

Working groups should have evaluated a provisional definition for the CMMC assessment method and provided feedback on the methodology by the end of April.

The body has set an April 15 deadline for applications to the working group that will be in charge of the development of exam questions for auditors. Those exam questions are expected to be ready by May 27.

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CDC Opens Applications for Chief Data Officer
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CDC Opens Applications for Chief Data Officer

CDC Opens Applications for Chief Data Officer

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking for a chief data officer to lead the Department of Health and Human Services component’s information technology modernization and public health data initiatives.

CDC said in a job posting that the selected candidate will be based in Atlanta and work to coordinate efforts between the agency and the health and data science communities.

The CDO will also be responsible for establishing a data governance strategy and promoting the ethical use of health data for innovation and operational improvement, according to the notice.

Other responsibilities include providing advisory services to the CDC chief information officer as well as other senior leaders on matters such as public health policy and technological trends.

The job posting states that interested candidates must hold a degree in the medical field, allied sciences of health sciences. The position also entails occasional travel and telework operations as necessary.

CDC will accept applications through April 28.

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Army Tackles Project on Autonomous Threat Recognition Vehicles
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Army Tackles Project on Autonomous Threat Recognition Vehicles

Army Tackles Project on Autonomous Threat Recognition Vehicles

The U.S. Army has commenced efforts to develop air and ground vehicles that detect threats via artificial intelligence, Inside Defense reported Wednesday.

The service branch’s AI Task Force aims to develop a system of vehicles designed to autonomously gather threat data under the Aided Threat Recognition from Mobile Cooperative and Autonomous Sensors effort.

The project also seeks to drive down the reconnaissance work of deployed soldiers.

Brig. Gen. Matt Easley, the task force’s director, said his team is exploring various data collection applications of autonomous systems on the battlefield.

“The key research problem that we’re looking at is how to get those autonomous systems to work to create a [common] operating picture,” Easley said in an interview with Inside Defense.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the Army to move a initial network test under the effort from this month to June, with a demonstration scheduled for September.

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Kelvin Droegemeier to Lead National Science Foundation as Acting Director
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Kelvin Droegemeier to Lead National Science Foundation as Acting Director
Kelvin Droegemeier
Kelvin Droegemeier

Kelvin Droegemeier, who leads the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, has joined the National Science Foundation to serve as director on an acting basis.

He will oversee NSF’s daily activities and spearhead research efforts to address the world’s challenges, the foundation said Wednesday.

Droegemeier brings 12 years of experience as a member of the National Science Board that informs NSF’s governance. The meteorologist manages coordination across federal science and technology programs as OSTP’s director.

“I am honored to serve in this acting capacity for NSF and it is a homecoming of sorts as a former member of the National Science Board and longtime recipient of grants from NSF,” he said.

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NASA Eyes Changes to Human Spaceflight Unit, Commercial Services Contracts
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NASA Eyes Changes to Human Spaceflight Unit, Commercial Services Contracts

NASA Eyes Changes to Human Spaceflight Unit, Commercial Services Contracts

NASA is looking to restructure its Human Exploration and Operations directorate which could lead to changes in the Artemis mission to the moon slated for 2024, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.

Craig Kundrot, director of NASA’s space life and physical sciences research and applications division, said at a prior online industry event that the proposed reorganization follows the appointment of Doug Loverro as the HEO directorate’s associate administrator.

In July 2019, NASA Administrator and a previous Wash100 Award recipient Jim Bridenstine announced plans to make changes to HEO’s leadership team in an effort to meet Artemis’ 2024 deadline.

The HEO mission directorate oversees Artemis as well as other programs supporting the International Space Station. The Artemis effort encompasses a range of other programs including the Orion crew vehicle, Space Launch System and commercial crew efforts.

NASA expects to announce the HEO restructuring as well as changes to lunar lander contracts in the coming weeks.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

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David Goldfein: USAF Takes Action to Continue Operations Amid COVID-19
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David Goldfein: USAF Takes Action to Continue Operations Amid COVID-19
David Goldfein
David Goldfein

Gen. David L. Goldfein, U.S. Air Force chief of staff and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said the service branch has been working to improve the protection of airmen against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Speaking virtually with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, he said USAF has made practice adjustments to address the pandemic’s effects on readiness and ensure the required work continues, the service branch said Wednesday.

USAF’s missile activities have undergone changes for continued operation. The service branch has also implemented disinfection efforts, cancellation of exercises and travel, temperature checks and strict observance of social distancing guidelines.

Goldfein predicts that the pandemic will continue to pose problems in the long term and has advised commanders to maintain readiness. He also emphasized USAF’s responsibility to maintain the readiness of ground-based missiles and bomber aircraft that compose two-thirds of the U.S. nuclear triad.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

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Katie Arrington: DoD Taps NIST to Develop Standards for CMMC Assessors
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Katie Arrington: DoD Taps NIST to Develop Standards for CMMC Assessors
Katie Arrington
Katie Arrington

The Department of Defense (DoD) has assigned the National Institute of Standards and Technology to help create requirements for independent assessors under the department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

The CMMC accreditation board will remain as the main entity for overseeing training and certification for third-party evaluators, according to the report. Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for defense acquisition and sustainment and 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said the CMMC board will also have the authority to make modifications to the credentialing process.

She noted that NIST will work to prevent conflicts in the certification process in line with the board’s “very stringent ethical rules”. DoD plans to implement CMMC standards in requests for information ahead of integration into contract bids in October, said Arrington.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

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Unisys Recognized for Managed Workplace Services; Eric Hutto, Mickey Davis Quoted
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Unisys Recognized for Managed Workplace Services; Eric Hutto, Mickey Davis Quoted

Unisys Recognized for Managed Workplace Services; Eric Hutto, Mickey Davis Quoted

Unisys Corporation has been named to Gartner’s Leaders quadrant of its 2020 Magic Quadrant for Managed Workplace Services, North America for the second consecutive year, the company announced on Thursday.

“In order to be successful working remotely, businesses need to provide personalization, seamless processes and mobile enablement. We think Gartner’s recognition of Unisys as a Leader in managed workplace services for the second year in a row underscores our ability to deliver a secure digital workplace experience that fosters productivity and collaboration, regardless of where a person is based,” Eric Hutto, president and chief operating officer, Unisys.

Unisys secured the recognition achieving “a subset of the IT outsourcing market that includes traditional end-user outsourcing as well as new digital workplace services to provide cloud-first, automated and integrated support to end users.”

As the number of people working remotely has increased, Unisys has adapted to the challenge to provide better approaches to enterprise work and replicate common consumer experiences.  The Unisys suite of Digital Workplace Services has enabled clients to transform their business.

The solution has enhanced business processes, services and productivity using cloud-based, mobile-centric solutions that facilitate greater innovation and productivity while reducing IT costs. The Unisys InteliServe platform is powered by automation and artificial intelligence (AI), transforming the traditional workplace into an intelligent platform that delivers a frictionless user experience and superior field services.

“By integrating new technologies such as AI, robotic process automation, advanced analytics and machine learning, we are able to truly change the user experiences within traditional services such as service desk or field services… we are able to enhance the entire user journey by extending the capabilities across business unit applications and processes such as HR, compliance, and/or finance.” said Mickey Davis, global vice president, Digital Workplace Services, Unisys.

About Unisys 

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing.

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