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DISA Officials Discuss What Small Businesses Must Do to Win Contracts
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DISA Officials Discuss What Small Businesses Must Do to Win Contracts

Networking alone is not enough for a small business to secure a government contract, according to officials from the Defense Information Systems Agency. In a LinkedIn post published Friday, DISA provided guidance on what small businesses can do to secure their first government contract.

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Submit a Proposal

Carlen Capenos, small business director at DISA, recounted conversations she has had with small business owners. She said vendors attend events, collect business cards and even respond to agency notices but never submit a proposal. 

“I ask them about feedback on recent proposals, and the response is often, ‘Oh, we haven’t gotten there yet,’” she shared. 

The official emphasized that small businesses would not win a contract if they do not propose and even unsuccessful submissions offer valuable insights can can eventually land them a contract. 

Ask Questions

Christopher A. Gray, chief of the Contracting Office at DISA’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization – National Capital Region, advised small businesses to deeply understand the contracting process and requirements. 

“There’s not a single acquisition service requirement that comes out from DISA that doesn’t afford the opportunity to ask questions,” he pointed out. 

He also cautioned against overreaching, emphasizing the need to deliver on promised results. 

Gray explained that “a lot of small businesses try to extend themselves too far.” He warned, “it’s your reputation at stake.”

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Space Force Awards Contracts for CASR Pilot Program
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Space Force Awards Contracts for CASR Pilot Program

The U.S. Space Force has awarded contracts with a cumulative value of $1.1 million to four space monitoring companies to test the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

The selected contractors will provide space domain awareness data for the CASR program, which was launched on March 1.

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What Is CASR?

The CASR program is designed to utilize commercial space companies for military missions during wartime. Similar to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which will require commercial airlines to aid in military logistics operations, CASR will task space companies to provide satellite-based capabilities such as satellite communications, satellite tracking and ground imagery when necessary.

The pilot program is intended to test the processes and ensure the framework’s soundness. The selected companies “are providing a peacetime level amount of capability.”

Challenges With CASR

According to Col. Richard Kniseley, senior materiel leader of the commercial space office, Space Force is “still working through some issues or obstacles or challenges with industry” despite the program’s early launch. These issues include clauses enabling the U.S. government to force commercial satellite companies involved with the program to withhold service to other customers. Another challenge that needs to be addressed is clauses that prioritize services to military users.

Kniseley also mentioned the lack of funds as a challenge for the program. With little funding, Space Force only contracted four companies. However, the service awarded each with three-month contracts instead of one month.

Space Force plans to award CASR contracts to other mission areas including satcom, timing and navigation, positioning, and tactical surveillance, reconnaissance and tracking, or TacSRT.

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Air Force Seeks Input on Planned Upgrade of Global Satcom System
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Air Force Seeks Input on Planned Upgrade of Global Satcom System

The Department of the Air Force is conducting market research on the expected costs and required efforts to modify the Wideband Global Satellite Communications Joint Hub, or WGS JH, which will be used at commercial geosynchronous Earth orbit gateways.

Requirement for Joint Hub Variant Capabilities

The Air Force wants information from companies capable of providing joint hub variant, or JHV, capabilities and mission management system software upgrades for the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service, or PTES, the ground segment of a U.S. Space Force system that provides an anti-jam satcom capability, according to a notice posted Friday on SAM.gov.

The potential contractors are also expected to integrate, install, test and deploy a protected tactical waveform teleport capability at locations where the Department of Defense and its commercial partners operate to support the Protected Tactical Satcom-Global mission.

In addition, the vendors must demonstrate capabilities that comply with strict cybersecurity and information assurance requirements. To be considered for the project, interested businesses will be required to submit estimates of costs and timelines to build the JHV capabilities.

Submissions to Inform Government Procurement

The capability statements from interested parties and other information collected by the research effort will help the government determine its procurement approach for the requirement. Submissions will be accepted until April 21.

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Tabitha Craig Named CISO at Congressional Budget Office
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Tabitha Craig Named CISO at Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, has named cybersecurity professional Tabitha Craig as its new chief information security officer, or CISO. In a LinkedIn post posted Tuesday, Craig said the appointment made her the first African-American CISO at the CBO.

Expressing excitement over her new post, she said, “I am excited for what lies ahead and I am committed to continuing to foster innovation, collaboration and excellence in this vital field. Together, we can make an impact not just within our organization but across the industry!”

Craig’s Career Highlights

Prior to her appointment at the CBO, Craig worked for more than four years at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, starting as an operational security division team leader and later becoming OCISO division director.

She also served as lead cybersecurity watch officer for three years at the Department of Defense’s IT Operation Center, overseeing the delivery of security and compliance services and as JFHQ operations and training manager at the DOD for almost 11 years.

Craig also had brief stints at the World Bank as an information assistant, at the Commerce Department as a cybersecurity information assurance specialist and at the State Department as a lead cybersecurity information assurance and information system security officer instructor.

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Venice Goodwine to Retire as Air Force CIO
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Venice Goodwine to Retire as Air Force CIO

Venice Goodwine, a two-time Wash100 Award winner, has shared on LinkedIn Thursday that she is set to retire as chief information officer of the Department of the Air Force in mid-May.

Three Decades of Federal Service

The Air Force veteran spent all 31 years of her career in federal service. As CIO, Goodwine spearheaded the utilization of artificial intelligence to enhance the service. She authorized the creation of an innovation zone within the Air Force’s Office 365 platform, which allowed service members to explore and test AI technologies.

Goodwine also prioritized the creation of an infrastructure enabling the Air Force and Space Force to run AI and other advanced technologies. She oversaw the migration of classified and unclassified networks into cloud environments.

Before she was appointed CIO in August 2023, Goodwine served as DAF’s director of enterprise IT for almost three years. She was also chief information security officer at the Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021.

Goodwine was with the Marine Corps for nearly eight years holding positions including senior program manager and customer support branch manager. She was on active duty for the Air Force for a decade before serving in the reserves for 26 years.

Deputy CIO Jennifer Orozsco will serve as acting CIO until a new lead technology executive is appointed.

“This concludes a rewarding journey through military service, private industry and government leadership,” said Goodwine. “It’s been an honor to support our mission, lead technology initiatives and work alongside the exceptional personnel of our Air and Space Forces,” she added.

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EO Directs Consolidation of Federal Procurement Within GSA
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EO Directs Consolidation of Federal Procurement Within GSA

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to consolidate federal procurement of goods and services within the General Services Administration to remove waste and duplication and enable agencies to focus on their mission of delivering services to citizens.

Within 90 days, the EO directs the GSA administrator to submit to the director of the Office of Management a comprehensive plan for consolidating the procurement of common goods and services across the government.

Designating GSA as Executive Agent for GWACs

Within 30 days, the head of OMB should designate the GSA administrator as the executive agent for all governmentwide acquisition contracts, or GWACs, for IT.

The head of GSA should rationalize governmentwide indefinite delivery IT contracts for agencies on an ongoing basis to eliminate contract duplication and address other inefficiencies.

Centralized Approach to Procurement

In a fact sheet published Thursday, the White House said the administration believes that adopting a centralized approach to procurement could help ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and result in major savings.

The White House cited some savings examples and noted that a 10 percent cut in spending by consolidating procurement could result in about $50 billion in savings per year.

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Pete Hegseth Directs DOD to Eliminate $580M in Wasteful Spending
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Pete Hegseth Directs DOD to Eliminate $580M in Wasteful Spending

Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, signed a memorandum on Thursday to terminate more than $580 million in contracts, programs and grants as part of DOD’s ongoing effort to eliminate wasteful spending.

Canceling Software Development Program

According to the memo, one of the programs being eliminated is a software development initiative for the Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System, which sought to streamline a major part of DOD’s legacy HR IT stack.

The memo states that the program is six years behind schedule and more than $280 million, or 780 percent, over budget.

With the program’s termination, Hegseth has directed the DOD performance improvement officer to work with the director of the Defense Human Resources Activity, the department’s chief information officer, military departments and HR service providers to develop over the next two months a new plan for streamlining the HR management system.

Other Proposed Cuts

The defense secretary’s document also calls for the termination of over $360 million in additional grants that are not aligned with DOD priorities and $30 million in contracts with external consulting firms for analysis products.

DOD News reported that Hegseth said in prerecorded remarks that the proposed terminations bring the department’s total amount of canceled wasteful spending to about $800 million since his announcement of future cuts in late February.

The defense official noted that the savings achieved through the elimination of wasteful spending would help ensure that warfighters have what they need.

“[The warfighters are] working hard, we’re working hard with them, we appreciate the work that they’re doing, and we have a lot more coming,” Hegseth said.

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Rep. Cory Mills Introduces DOGE Act
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Rep. Cory Mills Introduces DOGE Act

Representative Cory Mills, R-Fla., joined by Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has introduced H.R. 2006, more commonly known as the Department of Government Efficiency Act.

Codifying Trump’s Executive Order

Mills said Wednesday the legislation intends to formalize President Donald Trump’s executive order that establishes DOGE. By codifying DOGE, the president will be able to prioritize modernizing government-wide software to enhance efficiency, the congressmen assert.

The EO seeks to rename the United States Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service. It also establishes the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, which is tasked with promoting efficiency goals for the first 18 months. It is scheduled to be terminated by July 4 of next year.

The legislation requires federal agencies to form dedicated teams to work with DOGE in implementing initiatives aimed at maximizing government efficiency.

DOGE Act Co-Sponsors

The Republican-led DOGE Act garnered support from several co-sponsors. Aside from Bean and Donalds, cosigners include Barry Moore, R-Ala., Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Mary Miller, R-Ill.

“According to the agency themselves, DOGE has already achieved over $115 billion in savings, which amounts to more than $700 in savings per taxpayer. They are rooting out waste and fraud, including the cancellation of 104 DEI contracts, saving the government more than $1 billion,” said Mills.

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Navy Designates Flank Speed, Hyperion as Enterprise IT Services
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Navy Designates Flank Speed, Hyperion as Enterprise IT Services

The Department of the Navy has designated Flank Speed and Hyperion, the Navy and the Marine Corps’ respective Microsoft 365 cloud environments, as enterprise IT services for messaging and collaboration.

Flank Speed and Hyperion provide a centralized approach to modern IT services, ensuring secure and efficient operations across the Navy, the Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services said Tuesday. The federated environments work to deliver collaboration, productivity and zero trust capabilities to around 700,000 users worldwide.

Secure IT Infrastructure for Sailors and Marines

The designation unifies the Navy and the Marine Corps under a single IT service framework for increased efficiency and collaboration, according to PEO Digital Acting Executive Director Jeffrey Proudfoot. “This recognition underscores our commitment to delivering seamless, secure and mission-ready IT infrastructure for sailors, marines and civilians alike,” he added.

The cloud-enabled platforms allow personnel to carry out warfighting missions anywhere and anytime, “from shore to ship, in flight and at the tactical edge,” Proudfoot explained.

Standardizing Collaboration Across Navy Operations

Flank Speed provides sailors with remote access, productivity tools and cybersecurity features. It also allows users to manage licensing, entitlements and service requests. Meanwhile, Hyperion gives each Marine access to five terabytes of OneDrive storage for enhanced data management capabilities.

Governed by the Department of Defense’s zero trust principles, Flank Speed and Hyperion prioritize security and accessibility. They employ multi-factor authentication, software-defined perimeter and secure conditional access controls to enable users to work remotely while maintaining compliance with strict cybersecurity policies.

The Navy enterprise IT designation positions Flank Speed and Hyperion as an enterprise technology for productivity and messaging services to standardize collaboration across the department.

POC - 2025 Digital Transformation Summit

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GAO Urges Guidance Reforms on DOD Contracts for Employee-Owned Businesses
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GAO Urges Guidance Reforms on DOD Contracts for Employee-Owned Businesses

The Government Accountability Office has urged a new guidance update on the Department of Defense’s pilot program on non-competitive contract awards to companies formed as “employee stock ownership plans,” or ESOPs, being implemented by the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

Data Gaps in Program Implementation

DOD’s initial guidance for the program, which was launched in 2022, did not generate enough information for contracting officers to check companies’ ESOP eligibility, resulting in an award to an unqualified contractor, GAO said in its report released Thursday.

The congressional budget watchdog noted that DOD updated the pilot’s guidance in December 2024, but it still lacks the mechanism for gathering other data to further empower contracting officers on effective program implementation.

Clearer Goal-Setting and Other Recommendations

To improve ESOPs operation, GAO issued five other recommendations on top of its proposed additional guidance for contracting officials. The additional measures that the office suggested include the establishment of clear, purposive and measurable program objectives, along with a data collection and assessment system for ESOPs.

GAO further recommended that the program’s assessment cover scalability to inform decisions on expanding the pilot currently with eight contractors. The office’s sixth recommendation calls for opening two-way communications with ESOPs’ internal and external stakeholders about the pilot program’s design and operation. DOD has concurred with its recommendations, GAO said.

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