The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the Department of Defense’s efforts to implement GAO’s recommendations made between fiscal years 2014 and 2017.

DoD implemented 67 percent of GAO’s recommendations as of November 2018 compared with the governmentwide implementation rate of 77 percent, according to the report published Tuesday.

The congressional watchdog made a total of 1,122 recommendations to the Pentagon during the past four fiscal years and found that 68 of them are high priority and linked to contract management, acquisitions and readiness.

DoD had implemented 18 of the 68 high-priority recommendations, while 47 or approximately 71 percent remained open, according to the report.

 

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at the Department of Defense, and Brig. Gen. Dennis Crall, principal deputy cyber adviser to the DoD secretary; have said the new authorities to establish information technology and cybersecurity standards under the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act are coming into force, Federal News Network reported Tuesday. 

“The authorities that you all gave me starting this year around being able to set architectural standards are quite significant, and we are now starting to use those new authorities,” said Deasy, a 2019 Wash100 winner, during his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in January.

Crall touted before the Senate panel the advantages of setting up a cross functional team to staff the office of the principal cyber adviser as part of the implementation of NDAA.

“It’s only as good as it’s paid attention to, but the cross functional team that’s involved under the PCA is well-resourced in the sense that we’ve got the right people,” Crall said. “The second piece is we can approach problems in ways that don’t have some of the biases. We don’t have any stake in the legacy systems that we hold onto, it really is about the mission,” he added.

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Dana Deasy will be featured as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s upcoming Artificial Intelligence Summit on February 13th at the Hilton-McLean in McLean, Va. At the event, public and private sector leaders will discuss government AI programs and priorities, as well as what new initiatives lie on the horizon. Dawn Meyerriecks of the CIA and Dean Souleles of the ODNI will also be featured as keynote speakers and a full panel of leaders will be in attendance, including fellow 2019 Wash100 winner Anthony Robbins. 

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You can still register for the 2019 Artificial Intelligence Summit right here. 

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at the Department of Defense, announced on Monday the launch of a new strategy that aims to migrate storage and computing operations to the cloud.

The DoD Cloud Strategy “addresses what we’re trying to do, … the problems we’re trying to solve and the objectives [we want to meet],” Deasy said in a statement published Monday.

Deasy, a 2019 Wash100 winner, discussed how the new initiative will help advance the adoption of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud platform, ensure cybersecurity and implement digital modernization efforts, including the development of artificial intelligence-based applications.

“By having an enterprise cloud, it’s what we put on top of it — in this case, artificial intelligence — [so] it’s almost a fundamental imperative to have a cloud in place to do great things with AI,” he said.

The DOD Cloud Strategy sets seven strategic objectives, such as enabling AI and data transparency; extending tactical support for the warfighter at the edge; proactively addressing cyber challenges; and driving information technology reform at the Pentagon.

Dana Deasy will be featured as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s upcoming Artificial Intelligence Summit on February 13th at the Hilton-McLean in McLean, Va. At the event, public and private sector leaders will discuss government AI programs and priorities, as well as what new initiatives lie on the horizon. Dawn Meyerriecks of the CIA and Dean Souleles of the ODNI will also be featured as keynote speakers and a full panel of leaders will be in attendance, including fellow 2019 Wash100 winner Anthony Robbins.

You can still register for the 2019 Artificial Intelligence Summit right here.

U.S. Army Europe is exploring a new electronic warfare tool designed to assist troops conduct command and control of direct connect, non-networked sensors in the field. The new Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool was deployed by the Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare and Sensors to help USAREUR meet its EW needs, according to a report by the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. 

EWPMT allows troops to manage EW capabilities, integrate battlefield information and management systems into mission command systems. The Army is using an early version of the tool, called Raven Claw or USAREUR ONS Phase I. The service intends to enable units equipped with the technology to conduct spectrum situational awareness, EW planning, dismounted and vehicle-based direction finding and electronic attack.

Raytheon’s space and airborne systems business serves as the lead contractor working on the EWPMT. Previously, DOT&E sought feedback from troops into the initial employment and capabilities of USAREUR ONS Phase I systems. The director recommended the Army conduct a vulnerability and penetration assessment and adversarial assessment of the EW tool, integrate USAREUR ONS Phase I into military vehicles and refine doctrine to support its tactical employment.

The U.S. Navy has named the latest Independence-variant littoral combat ship after a city in Texas. Austal USA will construct the future 419-foot-long ship in Mobile, Ala., the service branch said Monday. The ship, also known as LCS 36, will feature a 104-foot-long beam and designed to run at speeds of over 40 knots.

 “The citizens of Kingsville have been steadfast partners to the Navy and Marine Corps team and their enduring support of our future strike fighter pilots have helped make the city of Kingsville the gateway for naval aviators,” said Richard Spencer, secretary of the Navy.

The Navy has purchased a total of 35 LCS units, with 11 in progress and seven awaiting for construction to start.