The Defense Logistics Agency's energy arm has partnered with George Mason University to open career opportunities across internship and employment programs.

A memorandum of understanding between the two parties would allow GMU students to pursue careers at DLA Energy and learn about the agency's energy-related programs, DLA said Thursday. DLA Energy will disseminate employment information from an on-campus location at GMU to attract and capture qualified applicants.

“As Head of the Contracting Activity, one of my most important responsibilities is to ensure DLA energy builds a strong and capable acquisition workforce that can continue to provide unparalleled support to the Warfighter,” said Gabby Earhardt, director of DLA Energy supplier operations and a GMU alumna.

The agency provides entry-level training to participants of the DLA Pathways to Career Excellence program across technical, administrative and professional career areas. The PaCE program currently supports the careers of 28 interns.

The Government Accountability Office has recommended the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a data analysis strategy for information collected on drone test sites and publicly share such data while protecting individual operators.

GAO said Thursday that the FAA did not fully leverage test site data, which can help improve the integration of unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace and support the development of operational standards. FAA must also take steps to publicly disclose how data collated from the sites will support the agency’s UAS integration efforts, according to the watchdog.

“By sharing more information publicly, FAA could demonstrate to such stakeholders how the agency is fostering and using research to inform and advance integration,” GAO noted. “Further, with more information, more stakeholders may opt to use a test site to conduct their own research, thus potentially increasing data available to FAA to inform its integration decisions.”

FAA's seven UAS test sites have facilitated over 15,000 research-related UAS flights since 2015.

Defense Secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper released a memo detailing his 2020 priorities, including reforming the operations of military departments to better address National Defense Strategy goals, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

Esper has tasked Lisa Hershman, chief management officer of the DoD, to reform the business procedures of defense-wide organizations and oversee their resource allocation efforts. Hershman’s office will also help develop methods for managing DW allocation activities, as well as a unified fiscal 2022 to 2026 program and budget plan for such organizations.

In addition, the defense secretary will assess each combatant command and task the secretaries of military departments to “execute aggressive reform plans” to help free up resources and cut costs ahead of the FY2022 budget request.

“In short, I expect leaders across the department to approach reform as an opportunity to support the strategy, rather than as a tax that can be avoided,” Esper said. “To achieve full, irreversible implementation of the NDS, we must accomplish a mindset shift where leaders think critically about the optimal application of every dollar in their respective budgets to advance the strategy.”