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DoD Requests to Allow Non-Disclosure of Classified Programs’ Budget Data
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DoD Requests to Allow Non-Disclosure of Classified Programs’ Budget Data

DoD Requests to Allow Non-Disclosure of Classified Programs' Budget Data

The Department of Defense is seeking legislative approval to allow some of its programs and budgetary allocations stated in the five-year Future Years Defense Program to remain classified, Defense News reported Saturday.

Chris Sherwood, a spokesman for the DoD, said in a statement that the department has not complied with the request due to concerns that “providing that level of detail for the outyears might put critical information at risk and breach classification standards.” The fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act currently requires the DoD to submit an unclassified FYDP report, he noted.

Sherwood’s comments come after the Federation of American Scientists’ Steven Aftergood released a report detailing the DoD’s plans on the legislative proposal.

Aftergood noted that the proposal would make it difficult for Congress and the public to “refocus and reconstruct the defense budget.”

“The DoD is exploring all possible paths forward, including requesting relief from the new requirement, as well as trying to determine how much information can safely be public in addition to all the budget information already made available,” he added.

According to Sherwood, the legislative proposal would not change the Pentagon’s procedures related to budgetary disclosure.

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Soraya Correa Unveils DHS Procurement Team for COVID-19 Response Efforts
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Soraya Correa Unveils DHS Procurement Team for COVID-19 Response Efforts
Soraya Correa
Soraya Correa

Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer of the Department of Homeland Security, is standing up an acquisition team that will handle coronavirus-related sourcing and industry engagement activities across DHS components.

Correa wrote in a statement dated April 2 that the COVID-19 Procurement and Acquisition Innovation Response Team will manage coordination across the DHS and Federal Emergency Management Agency in efforts to streamline all procurement-related operations for disease response.

According to Correa, interested entities must continue directing inquiries and capability offerings to DHS’ industry liaison as the PAIR team is being established.

“The COVID-19 PAIR team is ensuring that DHS is maximizing procurement flexibilities and innovative approaches to meet the requirements for COVID-19 response,” she said. “We thank you in advance for working with DHS to bring your best ideas and solutions forward to address DHS needs and capability gaps.”

Soraya Correa Unveils DHS Procurement Team for COVID-19 Response Efforts

Correa will serve as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Procurement Forum on Tuesday, June 9th. Register here to save your spot for the forum. During her keynote address, she will discuss the short term and long term strategies, acquisition, workforce initiatives, tech modernization and collaboration between government and industry.

Julie Dunne of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will also serve as a keynote speaker for the event. Register here to join Potomac Officers Club for its 2020 Procurement Forum on June 9th.

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Parsons Releases COVID-19 Update, Delivering New Abilities to Adapt During Pandemic; Chuck Harrington Quoted
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Parsons Releases COVID-19 Update, Delivering New Abilities to Adapt During Pandemic; Chuck Harrington Quoted

Parsons Releases COVID-19 Update, Delivering New Abilities to Adapt During Pandemic; Chuck Harrington Quoted

Parsons has released new capabilities the company will deliver to its customers and community to assist during the coronavirus outbreak, Parsons announced on Monday.

“I am proud of our employee’s response to supporting their communities, and furthermore want to share the capabilities and products that are being deployed across our enterprise to empower our customers during this unprecedented coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Chuck Harrington, Parsons chairman and CEO and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

Parsons’ team in Huntsville, Alabama initiated an effort internally to 3D print face shields, which are being used to augment personal protective equipment for our teams performing mission essential services.

The company’s team in Abu Dhabi will continue to work closely with the local government, Abu Dhabi Municipality, to sanitize public areas and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, Parsons has announced alternate care facilities, where the company will rapidly convert conference centers, arenas, hotels and other areas into healthcare facilities to treat patients.

Parsons will also create a mobile and transportable COVID-19 structure, where the company will design and deploy safe testing infrastructure, modular energy and secure communications solutions to support rapidly deployed medical environments.

The company also released smart technology to support airports, military bases and ports of entry to provide contactless passenger check-in and screening, biometrics and modified baggage handling and virus detection to detect and eliminate dangerous viruses.

Parsons has also introduced cyber protection and expanded its cyber defense solutions to support critical infrastructure sectors, including healthcare, elections, transportation, energy, emergency services and water in addition to its situational awareness and analysis to ensure visibility of real-time conditions.

“As COVID-19 continues disrupting lives and businesses around the world, we are reminded that the true measure of humankind is not our response in times of normalcy, but how we rise to the challenge in times of adversity. While the global situation remains fluid, we remain agile and steadfast in supporting our customer’s missions,” concluded Harrington.

About Parsons

Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the global defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Please visit parsons.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we’re making an impact.

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CACI Names Susan Gordon to Board of Directors; JP London Quoted
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CACI Names Susan Gordon to Board of Directors; JP London Quoted

CACI Names Susan Gordon to Board of Directors; JP London Quoted

CACI International has appointed Susan Gordon, two-time Wash100 Award recipient, to its Board of Directors effective immediately, the company announced on Monday.

CACI executive chairman and chairman of the board Dr. J.P. London said, “Sue Gordon brings us incredible expertise and experience with an exemplary history of leadership in the Intelligence Community. Her selection continues our history of appointing highly qualified and exceptionally credentialed professionals to our Board.”

Gordon has served in senior leadership positions across numerous intelligence organizations and disciplines. She will bring over  30 years of leadership experience across a broad spectrum of complex issues to the board in the development of innovative technology solutions and transformative outcomes for the Intelligence Community (IC).

With her extensive experience in the IC, Gordon will further the expertise and technology CACI provides to the IC, particularly in the areas of cyber, space, and artificial intelligence to counter threats to the United States’ national security.

Gordon was sworn in as the fifth principal deputy director of National Intelligence in 2017. In the role, she was a key advisor to the President and National Security Council and provided leadership to the IC. She also focused on advancing intelligence integration across the IC, expanding outreach and partnerships and driving innovation across the IC.

In addition, she served as the deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from 2015 to 2017, where she provided leadership to the agency and managed the National System of Geospatial Intelligence.

Prior to her assignment with the NGA, Gordon served for 27 years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), serving in a variety of senior leadership positions in operations, analysis, science and technology and support. In 1998, Gordon led the effort that culminated in the formation of In-Q-Tel.

“We are confident that she will add valuable insight into our IC customers’ missions and CACI’s key growth areas. We welcome Ms. Gordon to CACI and look forward to her contributions to the Company’s growth and the delivery of long-term shareholder value,” added London.

About CACI   

CACI’s 22,000 talented employees are vigilant in providing the unique expertise and distinctive technology that address our customers’ greatest enterprise and mission challenges. Our culture of good character, innovation, and excellence drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune World’s Most Admired Company. As a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index, we consistently deliver strong shareholder value.

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Quantum Modifies Revenue Guidance for Fiscal Q4; Jamie Lerner, Mike Dodson Quoted
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Quantum Modifies Revenue Guidance for Fiscal Q4; Jamie Lerner, Mike Dodson Quoted

Quantum Modifies Revenue Guidance for Fiscal Q4; Jamie Lerner, Mike Dodson Quoted

Quantum Corporation has released an update to investors regarding expected revenue levels for the fourth quarter, loan agreement amendments and the status of its supply chain, the company announced on Monday.

“We remain confident we have a business model that can weather the delays and disruption of a challenging pandemic. We also believe this crisis will be a driver for significant innovation and we continue to work closely with our customers on what this means for their work environments in the months and years ahead,” said Jamie Lerner, Quantum’s chairman and CEO.

Quantum has reported the company now expects revenues of approximately $87 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020. The new level of revenue reflects the impact of the uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and is within 8 percent of the midpoint of the previously provided guidance range of $90 to $100 million.

Based on Quantum’s preliminary results for the fourth fiscal quarter combined with the uncertainties in estimating future business levels, management proactively entered into discussions with its lenders to ensure the current credit facilities enabled the flexibility to provide financial support during this challenging period and beyond.

The company and the term loan lenders have agreed to amend the term loan agreement. Included in this amendment was a reduction in the cash interest payment to 7.5 percent from 12 percent for the fourth fiscal quarter, with the remaining portion being paid-in-kind, and a deferral of the loan amortization payment until next quarter resulting in an immediate cash savings of approximately $2.3 million.

Quantum and its lenders intend to work to further amend the credit agreements by May 15, 2020 to provide a framework that will support the company beyond the current period.

“While customer order delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic impacted our ability to reach our previously issued guidance, the Quantum team executed well and navigated unprecedented conditions at the end of the quarter while proactively working with our lenders to ensure our credit facilities remained aligned to the current dynamic business environment,” commented Mike Dodson, Quantum’s chief financial officer.

The reduced capacity within and across freight lanes has caused late deliveries from re-routes and mis-shipments, as well as increased expedite and other charges to deliver and receive products. Quantum has experienced minimal impact on product availability, although future capacity constraints across the network due to lost capacity from factory down time, closures, as well as reduced staff and demand signal fluctuations are expected to impact product availability in the months and possibly quarters to come.

“We continue to diligently navigate the rapidly changing economic landscape and remain well equipped to execute our long-term strategic plan. Quantum equipment is relied on in disaster and crisis situations, and our solutions are core to many of our customers’ business continuity,” added Lerner

About Quantum

Quantum technology and services help customers capture, create and share digital content – and preserve and protect it for decades. With solutions built for every stage of the data lifecycle, Quantum’s platforms provide the fastest performance for high-resolution video, images, and industrial IoT. That’s why the world’s leading entertainment companies, sports franchises, researchers, government agencies, enterprises, and cloud providers are making the world happier, safer, and smarter on Quantum.

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Serco Secures $57M Contract from U.S. Space Force to Modernize GEODSS System; Dave Dacquino Quoted
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Serco Secures $57M Contract from U.S. Space Force to Modernize GEODSS System; Dave Dacquino Quoted

Serco Secures $57M Contract from U.S. Space Force to Modernize GEODSS System; Dave Dacquino Quoted

Serco has secured a six-year, $57 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to manage, operate and maintain the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) system, the company announced on Monday.  The contract has an eight-month base period and six one-year option years.

“This win builds on Serco’s presence in the space domain, in particular our UK & Europe division with its contracts in earth observation support services and spacecraft and satellite management,” said Dave Dacquino, Serco’s chairman and CEO.

Secro will provide modification services to the GEODDS system that supports the U.S. Strategic Command and theater war fighters’ requirements through the detection and surveillance of deep space satellites using one-meter telescopes that are equipped with highly sensitive digital camera technology.

The GEODSS system also detects, tracks, identifies and reports on all deep-space man-made objects in the Earth’s orbit.  The system requires both new objects that are discovered and objects already in the catalogue require regular observations in order to keep the orbit information accurate.

In addition, Serco’s operators will perform space observation, including operating the telescopes, maintaining and supporting the systems and logging and reporting the findings to support the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC), the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron (SPCS).

Serco will provide Space Object Identification tasks for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).  Serco will also supply operation and maintenance (O&M), and exercise and testing, and mission systems maintenance including repairs, logistics management, civil engineering, and support depot modifications.

Work will be performed at all three geographically-separated GEODSS locations in Socorro, New Mexico; Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT); and Maui, Hawaii. “This is an exciting new win for Serco in supporting the U.S. Space Force and their GEODSS systems as it goes through upgrades and expansions,”  added Dacquino.

About Serco Inc. 

Serco Inc. is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services. We advise, design, integrate, and deliver solutions that transform how clients achieve their missions. Our customer-first approach, robust portfolio of services, and global experience enable us to respond with solutions that achieve outcomes with value.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Serco Inc. has approximately 8,000 employees and annual revenue of $1.2 billion. Serco Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc, a $4 billion international business that helps transform government and public services around the world.

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President Trump Picks CBP Adviser Jason Abend for DoD IG Post
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President Trump Picks CBP Adviser Jason Abend for DoD IG Post

President Trump Picks CBP Adviser Jason Abend for DoD IG Post

Jason Abend, senior policy adviser at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, will be nominated by President Trump as inspector general at the Department of Defense.

Abend previously served as a special agent in the IG offices of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the  Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as held a similar role at U.S. Secret Service, the White House said Friday.

He led the investigation of mortgage- and public housing-related fraud cases during his time at HUD and worked at the FBI as intelligence research specialist.

The American University graduate also established and led the Public Safety Media Group — which offered  consulting, advertising and training services to the government sector.

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Former Federal Prosecutor Peter Thomson to be Nominated CIA Inspector General
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Former Federal Prosecutor Peter Thomson to be Nominated CIA Inspector General
Peter Thomson
Peter Thomson

President Trump has indicated his intent to nominate Peter Thomson, who previously spent 23 years at the Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor, to be inspector general at the CIA.

Thomson serves as an attorney at Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann and co-chair of the law firm’s white collar criminal defense and information security practices, the White House said Friday.

He participated in more than 50 criminal case trials within federal and state courts and gained professional experience in the areas of appellate and civil litigation, corporate compliance and government investigation.

The lawyer also taught at Tulane University Law School, where he earned both his bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees.

Thomson started his career in 1983 as at Coleman, Dutrey and Thomson and had a short stint as special assistant at the National Security Agency.

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Jacobs Secures $29M Contract from USPTO to Provide Cyber Support Services; Caesar Nieves Quoted
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Jacobs Secures $29M Contract from USPTO to Provide Cyber Support Services; Caesar Nieves Quoted

Jacobs Secures $29M Contract from USPTO to Provide Cyber Support Services; Caesar Nieves Quoted

Jacobs was awarded a three-year, $29 million by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to provide agency-wide cybersecurity support services for its 18,000-person workforce, the company announced on Monday.

“Jacobs will leverage our team experience and tools to support all systems and system boundaries within USPTO’s enterprise IT environment, while identifying opportunities for improving the security posture of the agency’s mission-critical systems and applications,” said Critical Mission Solutions Senior Vice President of Cyber Caesar Nieves.

The contract will cover all systems within the agency’s enterprise IT environment with a focus on managing and improving the organizational performance of cybersecurity at USPTO. Jacobs will provide risk management framework, technical and administrative support, continuous monitoring, vulnerability assessment, threat analytics and security engineering for USPTO’s workforce.

Additional efforts include recommending industry best practices and identifying process improvement opportunities and innovations with cybersecurity tools, techniques and procedures. The USPTO serves as the issuing authority for all U.S. intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. The office has fostered innovation, competitiveness and job growth across the nation.

The contract award follows the appointment of Caesar Nieves, a government market veteran with two decades of business and technical leadership experience, as senior vice president of Jacobs’ cyber business in Feb. 2020.

He aims to help expand Jacobs’ cyber business and market footprint in his new position. Nieves previously held leadership positions at Booz Allen Hamilton, Dell, Unisys and Engility. Earlier in his career, he worked as an analyst at AT&T’s government unit and Alion Science and Technology.

“Caesar’s strong leadership experience directly supports our growth and continued development and deployment of innovative solutions across an ever-expanding client base,” said Dawne Hickton, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Jacobs’ critical mission solutions business and a 2020 Wash100 winner.

About Jacobs

At Jacobs, we’re challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.

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Trump Administration Moves to Transform ODNI Management
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Trump Administration Moves to Transform ODNI Management
Trump Administration Moves to Transform ODNI Management

Daniel Hoffman, a three-decade government service veteran and former senior executive at the CIA, said he believes the Trump administration is trying to streamline the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, The Washington Times reported Sunday.

He told the publication in an interview that ODNI has duplicated some tasks being done at other intelligence agencies over time and could free up more positions both at the office and its National Counterterrorism Center.

The report said President Donald Trump appointed Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, as acting director of national intelligence in February.

Grenell then brought in Kash Patel, a former National Security Council official who helped Republicans discredit the probe into Russia's election interference, to be his senior adviser.

The new acting DNI also named career intelligence official Lora Shiao to lead NCTC on an interim basis last month and tapped Claire Linkins to succeed Shiao as the center's executive director.

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