James Gfrerer, chief information officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, has said the VA Office of Information and Technology has embarked on multiple digital projects with the internt to transform service delivery.

Gfrerer wrote in a commentary posted Thursday on FCW that digital transformation involves the integration of technology, processes and personnel.

He noted that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie prioritizes modernization of the VA’s electronic health records system, implementation of Mission Act and redesign of the department website.

The department also works with companies to produce digital tools for military veterans to access care services as part of the Lighthouse API program, Gfrerer added.

“What distinguishes our digital transformation is our purpose, our “why.” It drives me and everyone in OIT as we work together toward the same goal: improving the lives of veterans.”

The U.S. Air Force has released a strategy outlining measures on how to leverage artificial intelligence in order to carry out missions in the 21st century, the Air Force website reported Thursday.

The AI Annex seeks to align the service branch’s efforts with the Department of Defense’s AI strategy and the National Defense Strategy as implemented by the Joint AI Center.

The document states the five focus areas of the Air Force’s AI strategy. These are addressing technological barriers to entry; recognizing data as a strategic asset; democratizing access to AI platforms; recruiting and cultivating the workforce; and increasing transparency and collaboration with government, academic, industry and international partners.

“The Air Force is charged to provide the nation with Air and Space Superiority, Global Strike, Rapid Global Mobility, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Command Control,” Wash100 winner and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, and Matthew Donovan, acting secretary of the Air Force, wrote in the document. “Al is a capability that will underpin our ability to compete, deter and win across all five of these diverse missions.”

The Office of Management and Budget has updated the Trusted Internet Connections policy in an effort to help agencies facilitate their migration to the cloud, Fifth Domain reported Thursday.

A memo issued Thursday says the updated TIC guidance will no longer require agencies to flow internet traffic through a physical TIC access point in order to provide them more flexibility in ensuring their cybersecurity posture as they move to the cloud.

“[The memo] still requires agencies to meet all the strict security requirements that have always been a priority and are even more of a priority now,” Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer and a 2019 Wash100 winner, said Thursday at the Dell Technologies Forum. “But it includes new pathways to take advantage of modern technology, the capabilities of software, that wasn’t even imagined when that original policy was written.”

The memo requires the Department of Homeland Security to issue guidance on the development and management of pilot programs and approve use cases to “promote flexibility while maintaining a focus on security outcomes.” 

The document states the four use cases approved by OMB: cloud, agency branch office, remote users and traditional TIC or the default use case.

The White House issued a draft of the updated TIC policy in December.

Army Research Laboratory has awarded a three-year, $25M grant to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for further development of a repair method that combines cold spray and 3D printing. WPI said Tuesday that it will develop new metal alloys for cold spray to provide a more efficent repair method for the battlefield.

Cold sprays work to accelerate metal particles or powders that form solid layers of coating when subjected to supersonic speeds. The institute will use a variety of tools to identify the powders’ properties in chemistry and structure.

Researchers will use a synchronous laser diffraction and dynamic image particle analyzer to study the powder’s morphologies. Other tools include nanoindenters for nano-scale measurements, a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy unit. The Army would use the resulting cold spray 3D printing approach for vehicle repairs.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has released details on its participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s earthquake readiness exercise. DHS S&T said Tuesday that it sent teams across multiple locations to help state and local entities adopt new new technologies under FEMA’s 2019 Shaken Fury exercise.

The exercise simulated response efforts in preparation for potential 7.7 magnitude earthquakes. Shaken Fury activities ran from May 29th to June 7th. DHS is seeking to address readiness for potential earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone that covers areas in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

“Our role in Shaken Fury was to bring in science and technology capabilities to enhance not only resilience, but also to foster a stronger culture of innovation within the first responder space,” said Colin Murray, senior exchange officer from Canada to DHS S&T.