GAO: DoD Must Document Progress on Business Reform Initiatives
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GAO: DoD Must Document Progress on Business Reform Initiatives


Jeff Brody

The Government Accountability Office discovered that while the Department of Defense met scheduling and cost estimate requirements for reforming its business operations, the preliminary status of its initiatives will make future feasibility assessments difficult. GAO said in a report published Tuesday that it evaluated DoD’s April 2019 plan which includes eight initiatives for reforming its logistics, human resources, contracting and real estate management operations.

According to the watchdog, DoD has provided limited documentation of its progress on implementing the reforms, including cost savings. The department has also failed to properly identify sources of funding for the reform initiatives.

DoD stated in its strategy that implementing these initiatives would cost at least $116M through fiscal year 2021.

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DoD Works to Raise Insider Threat Awareness to Safeguard National Security
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DoD Works to Raise Insider Threat Awareness to Safeguard National Security


Jeff Brody

The Department of Defense is collaborating with intelligence and law enforcement agencies to educate government employees on how to detect and mitigate insider threats that pose national security risks. The Pentagon said Tuesday that the National Counterintelligence and Security Center designated September as the National Insider Threat Awareness Month to highlight the importance of detecting and deterring unauthorized access to national security information.

DoD said that proactive disclosure of insider threats could prevent loss of classified information and minimize damage to national security.

“We challenge all Americans to help protect, preserve and strengthen our public and private organizations by learning to recognize and report potential risk indicators,” said Garry Reid, director of defense intelligence at DoD.

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Robert Rainhart Becomes COO of HawkEye 360; John Serafini Quoted
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Robert Rainhart Becomes COO of HawkEye 360; John Serafini Quoted


Robert Rainhart Becomes COO of HawkEye 360; John Serafini Quoted
Robert Rainhart

Robert Rainhart has been promoted to be HawkEye 360’s new chief operating officer, HawkEye 360 reported on Wednesday.

Rainhart will oversee technology development, product creation, and corporate operations. The next priority is growing the constellation to improve on-orbit capacity and revisit rates while delivering higher levels of service to customers.

“Rob’s steady hand has successfully guided our engineering effort from the earliest days,” said John Serafini, CEO of HawkEye 360. “Through this expanded role, he’ll bring these proven leadership skills to other facets of the company as we grow the organization to better support customer demand.”

Rainhart brings more than 20 years of experience in engineering complex systems and leading teams developing software, firmware and hardware to the role. Before the promotion, Rainhart served as executive vice president of Engineering, where he led the development of the first satellites and products from visionary concept to live capabilities.

“I’m excited to scale this company while maintaining the creativity and ingenuity that fueled our rapid progress,” Rainhart said. “This team is passionate and invested in this company. Together, we’ll complete transitioning to commercial operations and make a positive difference through our RF analytics.”

About HawkEye 360

HawkEye 360 is a Radio Frequency (RF) data analytics company. We operate a first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to identify, process, and geolocate a broad set of RF signals. We extract value from this unique data through proprietary algorithms, fusing it with other sources to create powerful analytical products that solve hard challenges for our global customers. Our products include maritime domain awareness and spectrum mapping and monitoring; our customers include a wide range of commercial, government and international entities.

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White House Memo Unveils R&D Budget Priorities for FY 2021
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White House Memo Unveils R&D Budget Priorities for FY 2021


Jeff Brody

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to focus on five research-and-development priorities as they draft their proposed budgets for fiscal year 2021.

According to the White House memo released Friday, the five R&D priorities are security, U.S. leadership in industries of the future, energy and environmental leadership, health and bioeconomic innovation, and space exploration and commercialization.

To achieve leadership in industries of the future, the Trump administration calls on departments and agencies to boost investments in artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced communications networks and autonomy as well as advanced manufacturing.

The document also describes five crosscutting actions federal agencies should implement to maintain the country’s leadership in science and technology and one is to develop and leverage a diverse, highly skilled U.S. workforce.

The other four actions are creating and supporting research environments that reflect American values, backing transformative research of high risk and potentially high reward, leveraging the power of data; and building, strengthening and expanding strategic multisector partnerships.

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USAF Awards Raytheon $36M Contract to Develop Airbourne High-Frequency Radio; Barbara Borgonovi Quoted
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USAF Awards Raytheon $36M Contract to Develop Airbourne High-Frequency Radio; Barbara Borgonovi Quoted

Jeff Brody

Raytheon announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Air Force has awarded a $36 million contract under a Project Agreement through an Other Transaction Agreement with Consortium Management Group to develop and qualify a high-frequency radio for beyond line-of-sight, long distance communications for aircrews.

“High-frequency radios provide the military with secure communications in an increasingly complex and congested threat environment,” said Barbara Borgonovi, vice president of Integrated Communication Systems. “Raytheon’s partnership with FlexRadio combines commercial innovation with advanced military hardening techniques to rapidly deliver a next-generation operational capability that supports strategic and tactical missions.”

The Raytheon-FlexRadio team is one of two recipients for this development program. After the 31-month period of performance, one team will be named to move on to production.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries.

 

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Kaiser Mead Custodial Work Trust Selects Jacobs to Create Wetland/Electro-Coagulation Treatment Facility; Jan Walstrom Quoted
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Kaiser Mead Custodial Work Trust Selects Jacobs to Create Wetland/Electro-Coagulation Treatment Facility; Jan Walstrom Quoted


Jeff Brody

Jacobs announced on Wednesday that the company has been selected to design, build, operate and optimize a Wetland/Electro-Coagulation Treatment Facility by the Kaiser Mead Custodial Work Trust to clean up groundwater cyanide, fluoride and nitrate pollution at the Kaiser Aluminum (Mead Works) Superfund site in Mead, Washington.

“Our Spokane-based team combines their knowledge of local hydrogeology with national technical expertise in extraction, wetlands and water chemistry,” said Jacobs Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities Global Environmental Solutions Senior Vice President and General Manager Jan Walstrom. “We will also be utilizing local Jacobs operations and maintenance resources located at the Spokane Regional Water Reclamation Facility, less than 10 miles away, to provide low cost, safe and responsive operation of the treatment facility.”

Jacobs’ technical solution integrates an extraction well system for maximizing contaminant capture; subsurface biological treatment wetlands to deliver consistent four-season removal of cyanide and nitrates; an electro-coagulation system for removal of fluoride and residual cyanide/nitrates; sludge disposal management for hazardous and nonhazardous waste and an effluent discharge infiltration basin to reduce the potential mobilization of secondary groundwater plume contamination.

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Thomas Kennedy, Anthony O’Brien of Raytheon to Speak at the Morgan Stanley 7th Annual Laguna Conference
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Thomas Kennedy, Anthony O’Brien of Raytheon to Speak at the Morgan Stanley 7th Annual Laguna Conference


Jeff Brody

Raytheon announced on Tuesday that Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon’s chairman and CEO, and Anthony F. O’Brien, the company’s CFO, will speak during the Morgan Stanley 7th Annual Laguna Conference on Sept. 12. 

Their presentation is scheduled to start at 10:35 a.m. EDT, and their remarks will be audiocast live (listen-only mode) through the Raytheon website. A replay will be available through the Raytheon website approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live audiocast and will remain available for seven days following the conference.

About Raytheon 

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries.

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Maximus Announces Partnership with Craven Community College; Laura Rosenak Quoted
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Maximus Announces Partnership with Craven Community College; Laura Rosenak Quoted


Jeff Brody

Maximus announced on Tuesday that the company has formed a partnership with Craven Community College in North Carolina to help parents in the county to prepare from employment through education. 

“Parents can quickly go into debt when they are unemployed and unable to make their child support payments,” said Laura Rosenak, senior vice president of Maximus. “This partnership helps them escape the cycle of non-payment and penalties that can lead to poverty. With education and guidance from Craven Community College’s Job Readiness Boot Camp, parents can become financially independent, productive members of their communities. MAXIMUS is proud to be a part of such an important solution.”

Maximus operates the Craven County Child Support Enforcement Services office on behalf of the county, working with parents and legal guardians to ensure children receive both the financial and emotional support they need. 

Under the partnership, parents will be referred to Craven Community College’s Job Readiness Boot Camp to support employment, promotional capabilities and other skills enhancements. Dedicated staff will work one-on-one and in groups to develop the skills and confidence these parents need to secure employment that can support them and their families.

About Maximus

Since 1975, Maximus has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People, enabling citizens around the globe to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across a variety of health and human services programs. 

Maximus delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. 

With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, Maximus is a proud partner to government agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

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Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope Passes NASA Preliminary Design Review
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Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope Passes NASA Preliminary Design Review


Jeff Brody

NASA has reviewed the design of an optical instrument L3Harris Technologies will build for the space agency’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope. WFIRST met a set of requirements, such as performance qualification, during the preliminary design review and is prepared to move into the next phase of the program, NASA said Wednesday.

L3Harris, the merged company of Harris and L3 Technologies, secured a potential $195.9M contract in late 2018 to manufacture the Optical Telescope Assembly to help the agency detect extrasolar planetary systems and study the phenomenon of dark energy.

WFIRST will be equipped with a 2.4-meter primary mirror intended to collect and transmit light to a pair of scientific instruments. The Wide Field Instrument will help astronomers map dark matter, while the Coronagraph Instrument will work to capture exoplanet images.

The agency noted it will use existing hardware for the mission, which is scheduled to launch in the mid-2020s.

NSA-Supported Cyber Policy Course Released at Towson University
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NSA-Supported Cyber Policy Course Released at Towson University


Jeff Brody

Towson University is now offering an online course designed to educate individuals on cybersecurity policy, Cyberscoop reported Tuesday. The National Security Agency worked with others to form the course that covers cyber risk and cybersecurity law on domestic and international levels.

Those interested may access the course via Towson’s CLARK Center curriculum management platform. Anne McKenna, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, organized the cyber policy course.

“What we’re trying to do … is create a framework for people who are trying to be introduced to cyber law, to offensive, defensive cyber operations and for them to learn the fundamentals, the framework,” said James Houck, director of Penn State’s Center for Security Research and Education.

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