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Mark Esper Issues Memo on Funding Shift in DoD’s Construction Budget
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Mark Esper Issues Memo on Funding Shift in DoD’s Construction Budget
Mark Esper
Mark Esper

The Department of Defense plans to shift $545.5 million in military construction funds to facilitate the execution of projects scheduled for awards this year and ensure the availability of adequate funding for the Trump administration’s border wall project, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Defense Secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient Mark Esper asked Elaine McCusker, DoD’s acting comptroller, to carry out the funding shift through a memo issued Monday.

According to the report, the order would allow the department to restart 22 construction projects in the U.S. that were deferred to free up funds for the border wall. The funding reshuffle would also affect $274 million worth of projects in Europe that seek to deter Russian aggression, including infrastructure for munitions storage and military aircraft as part of the European Deterrence Initiative.

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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Gregory Slavonic Performs Duties of Navy Undersecretary
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Gregory Slavonic Performs Duties of Navy Undersecretary
Gregory Slavonic
Gregory Slavonic

Gregory Slavonic, assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs, is carrying out the responsibilities and duties of the service’s undersecretary in addition to his current role, USNI News reported Tuesday.

The undersecretary role is a Senate-confirmed post vacated by Thomas Modly, who also served as acting secretary of the Navy, after he stepped down in early April.

Slavonic is a retired Navy Reserve rear admiral who assumed the role of ASN for manpower in June 2018. He previously served as chief of staff for Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and held senior leadership positions in the communications sector as well as in print and broadcasting organizations.

His Navy career included time as director of public affairs program and special assistant to chief of information as well as service in combat deployments.

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House Armed Services Committee Leaders Vow to Pass FY 2021 NDAA
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House Armed Services Committee Leaders Vow to Pass FY 2021 NDAA

House Armed Services Committee Leaders Vow to Pass FY 2021 NDAA

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the House panel’s ranking member, on Tuesday pledged to pass this year the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill reported Tuesday.

The two lawmakers said they think the COVID-19 pandemic will affect how the House panel marks up the defense policy bill and are now in discussions with the leadership of both parties to address the issue.

“At the same time, we remain committed to the principles that have guided the bill in the past — regular order through the committee, transparency and bipartisanship,” Smith and Thornberry said in a joint statement.

The two House committee leaders said they hoped to have a bill ready for consideration by Friday, May 1, so the panel can mark up the measure as soon as the lower chamber reconvenes.

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NSA Issues Guidance for Deploying Commercial Telework Tools
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NSA Issues Guidance for Deploying Commercial Telework Tools

NSA Issues Guidance for Deploying Commercial Telework Tools

The National Security Agency has released a guidance for government and military organizations seeking to implement commercial telework technologies amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

NSA said the document serves as a guide for best practices developed with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that government workers continue secure operations despite having limited access to government-furnished equipment.

According to NSA’s guidance, organizations must ensure that collaborative tools have features such as end-to-end encryption, multifactor authentication and legitimate privacy policies.

The agency noted that the guide does not cover government devices “designed specifically for secure communications” and that organizations should first consider the use of such services before implementing commercial tools.

In addition, the document is “not meant to be exhaustive or based on formal testing” and serves as NSA’s response to the federal government’s demands for telework operations through personal devices. Recommendations are subject to change as collaborative technologies and cyber threats evolve, the document states.

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NNSA Taps University of Illinois at Chicago to Manage Center of Excellence
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NNSA Taps University of Illinois at Chicago to Manage Center of Excellence

NNSA Taps University of Illinois at Chicago to Manage Center of Excellence

The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $8M in funds from the National Nuclear Security Administration through the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances program to manage a Center of Excellence that will focus on the properties of materials under austere conditions.

UIC will oversee the Chicago/Department of Energy Alliance Center for four years under the SSAA program, DOE said Monday.

The facility will establish interactions between academic groups and NNSA laboratory scientists and train graduate students in stewardship science. The center will also perform high pressure-temperature studies on the properties of materials.

“This work will expand the boundaries of knowledge in materials and high-pressure science, while also developing the next generation of scientists to support the stockpile stewardship mission,” said Mark Anderson, assistant deputy administrator for research, development, test and evaluation at NNSA’s Office of Defense Programs.

The SSAA initiative seeks to recruit engineers and scientists for the Nuclear Security Enterprise in a move to support NNSA’s stockpile stewardship efforts.

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NAVWAR Builds Naval 5G Implementation Team
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NAVWAR Builds Naval 5G Implementation Team

NAVWAR Builds Naval 5G Implementation Team

Naval Information Warfare Systems Command has gathered individuals for a team to help the Department of the Navy implement 5G connectivity across operations, DVIDS Hub reported Monday.

NAVWAR formed the 5G integrated product team in late 2019 for DON’s support of a 5G initiative by the Department of Defense.

The 5G IPT will manage assets including 5G devices to better monitor supply chain-related activities.

“To ensure our warfighters have the upper hand in every conflict, we must work with our partners across industry to leverage new and existing technology, providing the warfighter with modernized, mobile and integrated capabilities like 5G,” said Pat Sullivan, executive director at NAVWAR.

Dan Green, who leads NAVWAR’s 5G IPT, said 5G technology could boost the speed, scalability and transparency of warehouse activities.

The command is now working to establish the processes, security policy and workforce needed for the 5G implementation.

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DoD Hosts COVID-19 Webinars for Small Businesses
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DoD Hosts COVID-19 Webinars for Small Businesses

DoD Hosts COVID-19 Webinars for Small Businesses

The Department of Defense conducted a couple of small business online seminars this month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

DoD said Monday its Office of Small Business Programs hosted defense webinars on COVID-19 relief efforts and the pandemic’s effects on industrial cybersecurity.

“This webinar series has been instrumental in helping identify COVID-19 impacts and solutions in the small business community, especially those in the defense industrial base,” said Amy Murray, OSBP director.

The series’ next webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, will tackle issues on foreign investments made by adversaries and ways to address adversarial capital.

DoD’s David Stapleton and Andrew Pahutski, who lead trusted capital and global markets and investments, respectively, will appear in the upcoming webinar.

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DoD Eyes Nuclear Microreactors for Long-Term Humanitarian, Relief Missions
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DoD Eyes Nuclear Microreactors for Long-Term Humanitarian, Relief Missions
DoD Eyes Nuclear Microreactors for Long-Term Humanitarian, Relief Missions

The Department of Defense has selected BWX Technologies, X-energy and Westinghouse Government Services to submit concepts for a mobile nuclear reactor as part of a prototyping program called “Project Pele”, National Defense Magazine reported Monday.

The DoD will downselect one of the firms to further develop and demonstrate a nuclear reactor concept following a two-year design and maturation phase as part of the Strategic Capabilities Office project.

In a prior press release, the department noted that a nuclear microreactor would allow units to generate clean power supply, provide long-term support to critical infrastructure and conduct extended operations such as humanitarian and emergency response missions around the world.

“If I can get a small nuclear reactor that’s safe in the size of a 40-foot container — which is what we’re looking at right now — and deliver it somewhere, it will fuel a city,” noted Maj. Gen. Sue Davidson, director for logistics, engineering and security cooperation at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, during a National Defense Industrial Association event in Honolulu.

The DoD uses over 30 terawatt-hours of power annually and 10 million gallons of fuel per day, according to National Defense’s report.

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Navy Receives Final Block II Super Hornet Aircraft Variant
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Navy Receives Final Block II Super Hornet Aircraft Variant

Navy Receives Final Block II Super Hornet Aircraft Variant

Boeing has handed over to the U.S. Navy the final Block II unit of an F/A-18 Super Hornet multimission aircraft.

The Navy said Friday its 322nd F/A-18E aircraft will be assigned under Strike Fighter Squadron 34 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.

The service branch has received 286 two-seater F/A-18F units and 322 one-seater F/A-18E systems under the Block II Super Hornet program. Block II variants feature open mission systems architecture and are built to perform reconnaissance, aerial refueling, air support, air defense suppression, air superiority and precision strike operations.

Boeing secured a $4B contract in 2019 to manufacture and deliver 78 Super Hornet systems with Block III configuration between fiscal years 2019 and 2021. The company is expected to deliver test jets to the Navy in the spring.

Block III variants will operate for 10K hours and house updated network infrastructure, cockpit and reduced radar cross-section.

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Trump Creates COVID-19 Response Oversight Group
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Trump Creates COVID-19 Response Oversight Group

Trump Creates COVID-19 Response Oversight Group

The Trump administration has established a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to oversee the provision of government funds for COVID-19 relief efforts in line with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

According to PRAC’s website, the group of 20 inspectors general will operate as part of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to ensure transparency in the allocation of funds for CARES Act efforts and other related federal programs.

The committee will include an additional member once a Special IG for Pandemic Recovery has been confirmed.

“The PRAC, working closely with all Federal [IGs], seeks to ensure that funds intended to support individuals, workers, healthcare professionals, businesses, and others affected by the pandemic are used efficiently, effectively, and in accordance with the law,” said Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice IG and acting PRAC chair.

The CARES Act earmarks $2.4 trillion for individual economic relief as well as loans for impacted businesses and support for medical institutions.

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