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Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic, Presents Tina Dolph, President and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, Her First Wash100 Award
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Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic, Presents Tina Dolph, President and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, Her First Wash100 Award


Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic, Presents Tina Dolph, President and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, Her First Wash100 Award

Jim Garrettson, founder and CEO of Executive Mosaic, presented Tina Dolph, the president and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, with her first Wash100 Award on Thursday.

Executive Mosaic recognizes Dolph for her 20 years of leadership experience in government and efforts modernizing energy for multiple military facilities. We are honored to present the most coveted award in government contracting to Tina Dolph of Siemens Government Technologies.

Dolph became the president and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies in Oct. 2018. She served in a variety of leadership roles for CRDF Global, FCi Federal and ASRC Federal between 2014 and Oct. 2018. In 2012, Dolph joined PAE and served as the president of Global Stability & Development and the EVP of Company Operations during her four year tenure. Prior to PAE, she started her career with Lockheed Martin in 1992 and served the company for over 18 years.

In addition, Dolph has been the Boost Club President for Battlefield High School Choirs since 2014 and has volunteered with the Middleburg Humane Foundation since 2015. Dolph earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Le Moyne College in 1991 and her MBA in Business Administration and Management from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1997.

The Wash100 award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the most influential executives in the GovCon industry, as selected by the Executive Mosaic organization in combination with online nominations from the GovCon community. Representing the best of the private and public sector, the winners demonstrate superior leadership, innovation, reliability, achievement and vision.

Visit the Wash100 website to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2019 Wash100 Award. On the website, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2019.

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F-35 Carrier Variant Granted Initial Operational Capability
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F-35 Carrier Variant Granted Initial Operational Capability


F-35 Carrier Variant Granted Initial Operational Capability

The U.S. Navy announced the initial operational capability of the Lightning II aircraft’s carrier variant, the F-35C, has met requirements including safety certification and a complete set of support tools.

The milestone follows a set of qualification tests that the Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron 147 pursued aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, officials said Thursday.

F-35C fleet squadrons are stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore where sailors and marines train at tailored facilities to pilot and maintain the aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps intends to transfer four F-35C squadrons to carrier air wings as the Navy plans other transition efforts regarding the aircraft.

“We will continue to learn and improve ways to maintain and sustain F-35C as we prepare for first deployment,” said Capt. Max McCoy, commodore of the Navy’s Joint Strike Fighter Wing.

Air Force Eyes Next Month’s Release of B-52 Engine Replacement RFP
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Air Force Eyes Next Month’s Release of B-52 Engine Replacement RFP


Air Force Eyes Next Month's Release of B-52 Engine Replacement RFP

The U.S. Air Force plans to issue a request for proposals in March for a planned contract to replace the engines of the aging B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, National Defense Magazine reported Thursday.

Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, announced the RFP for the B-52 re-engining program at the recent Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla.

The Air Force aims to keep the B-52 operational through the 2050s by procuring 650 new engine systems that will replace the TF33 engines currently in use. Roper noted that officials may use other transaction authority agreements to develop prototypes.

The Air Force expects to award a contract by fiscal year 2020. Pratt & Whitney, the manufacturer of the TF33, is expected to compete, along with Rolls Royce, which plans to offer its F130 system, and General Electric, which said last year it might offer either its CF34-10 or Passport engines.

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Ed Burrows: GSA Eyes Adoption of Robotic Process Automation in Rules-Based Processes
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Ed Burrows: GSA Eyes Adoption of Robotic Process Automation in Rules-Based Processes


Ed Burrows: GSA Eyes Adoption of Robotic Process Automation in Rules-Based Processes

Ed Burrows, robotic process automation program manager at the General Services Administration, has said GSA intends to increase the use of RPA within the agency with plans to merge the technology’s benefits with artificial intelligence, FedScoop reported Thursday.

Burrows said Thursday at the Association of Government Accountants’ National Leadership Training conference that GSA implemented 12 RPA bots in the past year and plans to increase that number by twofold by the end of September.

He noted the agency is looking to use bots in repetitive, rules-based processes and tasks such as data entry.

He also mentioned the potential adoption of a shared-services model for RPA.

“I think there’s a potential there,” Burrows said. “The idea being that you could help agencies so they all don’t have to figure it out on their own, but I think there’s a step before that that we still need to take and we’re ready to take.”
 

ODNI, OPM Seek to Accelerate Security Clearance Process With New Framework; Bill Evanina Quoted
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ODNI, OPM Seek to Accelerate Security Clearance Process With New Framework; Bill Evanina Quoted


ODNI, OPM Seek to Accelerate Security Clearance Process With New Framework; Bill Evanina Quoted

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management plan to implement policy changes under a new framework to speed up the vetting and security clearance procedures for federal personnel, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

One of the changes ODNI and OPM will implement is reducing the number of tiers of background investigations from five to three: trusted/low-risk, secret and top secret.

Bill Evanina, director of ODNI’s National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said agencies will also change how it will establish trust with prospective employees to provide contractors and personnel more flexibility to facilitate transitions within the government.

Those include the replacement of periodic investigations with continuous vetting; use of electronic video interviews and other tools to screen a federal contractor or employee; and creation of a “trusted information provider program.”

The changes are part of a framework that officials from OPM, ODNI and other members of the Performance Accountability Council approved in March 2018 as part of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative.

Evanina said he is scheduled on March 8 to inform agency leaders of the framework, which is being reviewed by the White House.
 

DoD Submits Space Force Proposal to Congress
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DoD Submits Space Force Proposal to Congress


DoD Submits Space Force Proposal to Congress

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan submitted the department’s strategy for establishing Space Force as a standalone military branch to Congress, Space News reported Thursday.

The legislative proposal was emailed to the House and Senate  Appropriations defense subcommittees and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said Tuesday at a hearing with STRATCOM and the U.S. Northern Command that Space Force would be responsible for organizing, training and equipping operators to support the combatant commands including the U.S. Space Command. Hyten added that the nation’s space access is facing threats from adversaries, and a space-focused combatant command would assist with national defense missions.

Defense officials said the Space Command will be complete in the next 60 to 90 days. 

Reps. Khanna, Lawrence Sponsor Resolution for AI Ethics
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Reps. Khanna, Lawrence Sponsor Resolution for AI Ethics


Reps. Khanna, Lawrence Sponsor Resolution for AI Ethics

Two members of Congress, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., introduced a resolution calling for ethical standards to guide the field of artificial intelligence.

H.RES. 153 supports cooperation among industry, government, academia and civil institutions in the field, promoting transparency of AI systems and processes, protecting private and personal information, boosting career opportunities in the sector and maintaining the safety of its platforms, Khanna said Thursday.

The resolution also supports expanding the accessibility of AI-related technological services and interdisciplinary AI research.

“To realize the full potential of AI, we must ensure that government, industry, academia and organizations dedicated to protecting privacy, civil rights and liberties work together to develop AI in an ethical and transparent manner,” Lawrence said.

Information technology firms including Facebook and IBM endorse the resolution, and Reps. Darren Soto, D-Fla., Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., Haley Stevens, D-Mich., Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Grace Meng, D-N.Y., Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Charlie Christ, D-Fla., serving as cosponsors.

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DOE Commences Nuclear Testing Program
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DOE Commences Nuclear Testing Program


DOE Commences Nuclear Testing Program

The Department of Energy unveiled an initiative that will boost U.S. nuclear reactor technology developmental efforts.

Officials said Thursday the department plans to conduct advanced technology and material tests and update nuclear infrastructure to obtain neutron testing capacities through the Versatile Test Reactor project.

The program will potentially boost neutron damage rates to help reactor developers and scientists perform tests on nuclear fuels. It is intended to support the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act of 2017, a law that supports construction and operations of the test reactor by December 2025.

“This cutting edge advanced reactor will give American companies the ability they currently lack to conduct advanced technology and fuels tests without having to go to our competitors in Russia and China,” said Rick Perry, the secretary of energy.

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NASA, Canada Form Space Exploration Partnership
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NASA, Canada Form Space Exploration Partnership


NASA, Canada Form Space Exploration Partnership

NASA formed a partnership with the Canadian government to support a moon to Mars exploration effort. Canada is the agency’s first international partner of a planned Mars expedition.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, said in a statement published Friday that the partnership will allow the agency to widen international partnership efforts for the Gateway lunar outpost. The Gateway is a lunar orbital spacecraft designed to function as a base for human and robotic space missions. NASA plans to use the spacecraft as part of its planned Mars expedition.

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White House Seeks Industry Expertise to Advance AI Sector
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White House Seeks Industry Expertise to Advance AI Sector


White House Seeks Industry Expertise to Advance AI Sector

Top White House technology officials called on federal agencies to work with industry to implement the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence strategy, NextGov reported Thursday.

President Trump signed the American AI Initiative in February to accelerate government efforts to build new AI tools. However, White House officials said most agencies lack the experts who could determine the most promising research or update policies to promote responsible innovation.

Lynne Parker, assistant director for artificial intelligence in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the White House intends to work with the industry. She said tech experts from the private sector could help provide a better understanding of regulatory reforms to advance AI technologies.

“I think there are unique models for how do work together to try to share that expertise,” Parker said.

Will Carter, deputy director of the tech policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said collaboration between businesses and government could boost the U.S. presence on the global AI market.

“I think the fact that we can get our industries involved is a huge comparative advantage for us,” he said.

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