Gen. John Murray, head of Army Futures Command, has said he believes the service should consider extending the tours of program managers and other personnel involved in acquisition programs, Defense News reported Thursday.

“I think timelines for how long we keep people associated with programs has got to change,” Murray said Wednesday at Defense News Conference.

He said such a move would demand a cultural change within the Army.

“We’ve got to change the culture [to where] it’s OK to do that because what you get in the Army is what you reward,” noted Murray, who was confirmed by the Senate in August.

“And the way we reward people is through promotion boards and advancement, and you get that in the Army by commanding organizations, not by being associated with a program for an extended period of time.”

Murray cited the need to embrace the short-term risk by shifting funds from incremental upgrades to next-generation systems and other potential breakthroughs that aim to deliver new capabilities to warfighters, Breaking Defense reported.

“We have to be able to accept risk at certain points in the life of a program …. up front,” he said.

“Fail early and fail cheaply is something we have to inculcate in people.”
 

Officials from the Defense Department discussed innovation and the 2018 National Defense Strategy at the recent Defense News Conference in Washington, D.C., DoD News reported Thursday.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord were among those in attendance.

Topics of discussion included efforts to bolster lethality, increase global partners and reform the DoD’s approach to supplying warfighters with new technologies. The conference also highlighted ongoing technological competition with Russia and China.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has affirmed the service’s support for President Donald Trump’s plans to establish a “space force” and insisted that discussions are necessary to create the proposed organization, Space News reported Wednesday.

Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 awardee, told audience at a Defense News-hosted conference she expects the Air Force to submit a proposal with Trump’s fiscal 2020 spending blueprint that would include his Department of Space proposal.

“If we are going to do this we should do it right,” she added.

She noted that such a department must have its own acquisition process similar to that of the Air Force.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, also said during the Defense News event that Congress aims to ensure that the Space Force is implemented “properly.”

Trump unveiled the proposal after he signed the Space Policy Directive-3, which directs federal agencies and industry to jointly introduce a new space traffic management framework.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, a 2018 Wash100 winner, said in June formation of a space-focused military branch would require  planning and legislative efforts.

The Department of Energy has invested $80M in 42 projects that will support studies on advanced vehicle technologies for the U.S. transportation system.

The department said Wednesday investing in modern transportation systems will help provide low-cost mobility options, boost domestic energy security and U.S. economic growth and reduce dependence on imported critical materials.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry commented that providing an affordable transportation system for American consumers and businesses keeps the U.S. economy moving.

The projects are divided into five research areas, one of which will have a budget of $31.9M and focus on developing rechargeable systems for electric vehicles.

The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center contributed $1.8M in the effort and will participate in the development of cobalt charging technologies.

The DOE also invested $26.8M to fill information gaps in mobility services, $10.1M to drive innovations in engine power and fuel efficiency and $8.4M to develop predictive models for corrosion in multi-material joints for lightweight vehicles and materials.

Lastly, $3.4M will be used to increase the energy efficiency of off-road vehicles used in construction, agriculture and mining applications.

Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Defense Department, has announced a Pentagon supply chains report will be released next week, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

Lord said the assessment will detail gaps in the defense supply chain and America’s dependence on imported goods.

The report will also evaluate the ability of the manufacturing and defense industrial base to respond to supply disruptions, as well as determine the cause of deficiencies in the U.S. supply chain.

Lord added that the unclassified document will guide the U.S. government in promoting locally-made defense items.

The effort is part of a directive that President Donald Trump signed in 2017 requiring the DoD to review the ability of U.S. manufacturers to support the defense industrial base.

Other agencies, such as the Departments of Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce, contributed to the supply chain assessment.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen recently highlighted the risks cyberattacks pose to the U.S. and described some of the initiatives the Department of Homeland Security has launched to address them.

Secretary Nielsen said during a Sept. 5 speech at George Washington University that there is “a worldwide outbreak of cyberattacks and cyber vulnerabilities,” describing cyberspace as “the most active battlefield” whose coverage “extends into every single American home.”

Nielsen, a 2018 Wash100 awardee, said the DHS is monitoring both cyber criminals as well as adversarial states, most notably Russia and North Korea, whose deployment of malware last year resulted in “untold billions in damage.”

The DHS secretary went on to discuss some of the initiatives her agency has launched in response to these threats, including a cyber strategy focused on systemic risk and resilience, efforts to secure supply chains, and inter-agency partnerships to hold cyber attackers responsible.

“We will respond. And we will respond decisively,” Nielsen declared.

Secretary Nielsen also discussed the need for lawmakers to convert the National Protection and Programs Directorate, the DHS’ cybersecurity division, into an independent agency.

“I ask Congress to pass legislation immediately, and absolutely before the year ends,” Nielsen said.

Eric Chewning, deputy assistant secretary for industrial policy at the Defense Department, has said that DoD must collaborate with U.S. allies to establish a “safe space” for cooperation across the worldwide industrial base for military technology platforms and services, Defense News reported Thursday.

“As China articulates a civil-military fusion doctrine where they are intentionally blurring the lines between their developments on the military side, we need to work with our allies to create a safe space where we can work collaboratively to do that,” Chewning told audience at a Defense News-hosted conference held Wednesday.

The report noted DoD’s acquisition and sustainment organization has bilateral ties with 35 countries on industrial partnerships.

Chewning urged the department to expand the reach of national technological and industrial pilot programs with partner nations by including Australia and the U.K., and opening up cooperative opportunities for countries outside of the core group such as Israel.

He made the remarks as the Pentagon works to complete a long-awaited report on the status of the country’s defense supply chain.

Raanan Horowitz, CEO of Elbit Systems’ U.S. arm, told Defense News the use of modern technology such as blockchain can help protect supply chain operations.

The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that would assign chief data officers to the Department of Homeland Security, as a way of promoting digital transparency.

Rep. John Carter’s, R-Texas, Department of Homeland Security Chief Data Officer Authorization Act would appoint a chief data officer for each of the department’s 22 components, the congressman’s office said Wednesday.

The officers would gather and publicly report on DHS statistics, analytics and policies.

“This bipartisan legislation will help give the public an unbiased look into how their government is working for them, and ensure that DHS stays up to par with transparency expectations,” said Carter.