David Norquist, the White House’s nominee for deputy defense secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the Department of Defense has a plan in place on how to fill vacant leadership positions, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

“Should I be confirmed, with Secretary Esper, putting the team in place as quickly and as early as possible so that you have them for the duration is absolutely essential,” Norquist told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing Wednesday.

“There’s a list of the positions and there’s a list of the candidates and where they are in the process of either getting the background investigation, the clearance, the vetting. So that is underway. There are routine meetings to ensure that keeps moving,” he added.

He testified before the Senate panel a day after the upper chamber confirmed Mark Esper, 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, as DoD secretary. According to the report, some of the vacancies are in the department’s personnel and readiness office and policy organization. The administration has not yet announced a nominee for the inspector general position at the Pentagon.

Margaret Weichert, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, issued a memo on Wednesday implementing the Delegated Examining Certification Program for human resources practitioners seeking work with the federal government. 

The new program requires HR practitioners to undergo a certification assessment and removes the mandatory requirement for OPM Delegated Examining Training. The program will also offer an updated training course which includes scenario-based activities as well as a capstone exercise.

According to the memo, OPM has decentralized its responsibilities for overseeing competitive civil service examinations and is continuing to “implement strategies to close the skills gaps” of federal HR specialists. Practitioners with a Delegated Examining Certification that will expire in April through August of this year must take a recertification assessment until Sept. 30.

The General Services Administration is continuing efforts to unify 24 schedules into one contract vehicle to support its goal of simplifying procurement procedures for agencies and offerors, FCW reported Wednesday. Alan Thomas, commissioner of the GSA Federal Acquisition Service, told attendees at an AFFIRM event that the FAS plans to complete transition activities and address “special cases” by the end of the year.

Last month, GSA issued a request for information on potential features of the consolidated schedule. The move comes as FAS continues its implementation of the $50B Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract vehicle, under which agencies must release solicitations by September.

The USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) guided-missile destroyer is scheduled to be commissioned into naval service on July 27 at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Huntington Ingalls Industries-manufactured vessel is named after the 59th U.S. Navy secretary and will be the 67th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer owned by the military service, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

DoD added that the ship features the Flight IIA design and works to deliver increased firepower, faster reaction time and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities. Richard Spencer, secretary of the Navy and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the guided-missile destroyer is capable of enhancing the U.S. military’s capabilities for land, air, undersea, strike and ballistic missile defense.

HII officially transferred the responsibility of the ship to the Navy with the signing of the DD 250 delivery document in February.

Gen. Stephen Wilson, the U.S. Air Force’s vice chief of staff said the service intends to conduct the B-21 Raider bomber aircraft’s maiden flight by December 2021, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

The Northrop Grumman-developed stealth aircraft is designed to carry nuclear and conventional weapon systems. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said at a Mitchell Institute event that the program is focusing on software integration work.

The current phase follows the aircraft’s recent critical design review that took place in early 2019. USAF plans to purchase a minimum of 100 new stealth bombers, the report noted.

The Department of Energy will award $37M in grants supporting research projects to grow the quantum information science area. DOE said Wednesday that it seeks to facilitate the creation of quantum information platforms and utilize capacities that may further initiatives in chemical and material sciences.

Some of the projects include studies on chemical composition via quantum computing and an attempt to synthesize chemical and material systems. The agency noted that quantum information science will help develop new capacities in networking, computing and sensor technologies.

“It’s critical that we remain in the forefront of information science and technology, and this new research will help ensure continued U.S. leadership in the information economy in the years ahead,” said Paul Dabbar, undersecretary for science at DOE.

Michael Kratsios said during a confirmation hearing that he would focus on the “industries of the future” if confirmed as U.S. chief technology officer and Office of Science and Technology Policy director, Fedscoop reported Wednesday. Kratsios, currently the deputy assistant to the president and deputy CTO as well as a 2019 Wash100 Award winner, stated that he wants to continue to progress the Trump administration’s efforts in 5G communications, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

“From the start, I united OSTP around a clear mission: ensure continued American leadership in emerging technologies,” Kratsios said.

He also intends to pursue include workforce development and the promotion of U.S. manufacturing and industry innovation. Kratsios spent nine years in private sector financial leadership roles before being appointed to his current capacity in 2017.