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Ken Rogers: State Dept. Eyes Cloud Optimization Approach
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Ken Rogers: State Dept. Eyes Cloud Optimization Approach


Ken Rogers: State Dept. Eyes Cloud Optimization ApproachKen Rogers, deputy chief information officer for business management and planning at the State Department, has said that his agency intends to use enterprise license agreements as part of an effort to optimize its approach to cloud technology, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Next year, the State Department will begin consolidating its various cloud services contracts using enterprise licensing with the goal of “having an elastic cloud environment that can scale rather than setting up duplicative infrastructure environments,” Rogers said during an interview on Federal News Radio’s “Ask the CIO”.

Rogers noted that this optimized approach allows the department to move its clients “to that software-as-a-service layer where they can have a lighter lift,” reduce the time they spend on modernizing applications, “create efficiencies… remove some of the friction” and potentially bring about significant savings.

“This is a real opportunity to do real modernization,” Rogers said.

After the cloud services are consolidated, the State Department will proceed with system optimization efforts in order to achieve its target savings, Rogers added.

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Intell Community Looks at Potential Benefits of AI, Automation to Analysts; Neil Wiley Quoted
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Intell Community Looks at Potential Benefits of AI, Automation to Analysts; Neil Wiley Quoted


Intell Community Looks at Potential Benefits of AI, Automation to Analysts; Neil Wiley QuotedU.S. intelligence community leaders have said they believe artificial intelligence and automation could help intelligence analysts process a larger pool of data to explore a scenario and address a problem, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Neil Wiley, director for analysis at the Defense Intelligence Agency, said he believes having access to large volumes of data through automation would lead to new possibilities from an ethical and analytical perspective.

Wiley also cited the need for the intelligence community to look at ethical considerations when it comes to machine-derived assessments.

“Just because a machine generated it, does not get us off the hook for the ethical standards required of an intelligence problem,” he added.
 

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Edward Horowitz Named FirstNet Board Chair; Outgoing CEO Mike Poth to Join Private Sector
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Edward Horowitz Named FirstNet Board Chair; Outgoing CEO Mike Poth to Join Private Sector


Edward Horowitz Named FirstNet Board Chair; Outgoing CEO Mike Poth to Join Private SectorEdward Horowitz, founder and chairman of venture capital firm Edslink, has been appointed to serve a two-year term as chairman of the First Responder Network Authority board.

FirstNet CEO Mike Poth will step down from his role by the end of this month after three years at the helm and will join the private sector, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Wednesday.

Horowitz also serves on the boards of telecommunications and media companies OmniSpace, PT Link Net and GlobeComm Systems.

His industry career has also included service as chairman at Citigroup‘s e-Citi business and a senior vice president at Viacom.

The FirstNet board plans to coordinate with the Commerce Department to appoint an interim CEO until a permanent replacement is hired.

Last year, the authority entered into a 25-year, $6.5B public-private partnership with telecom company AT&T to establish a nationwide public safety broadband network for first responders.

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State Dept. Vet Tina Kaidanow Appointed DoD International Cooperation Head
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State Dept. Vet Tina Kaidanow Appointed DoD International Cooperation Head


State Dept. Vet Tina Kaidanow Appointed DoD International Cooperation HeadTina Kaidanow, acting assistant secretary for political-military affairs at the State Department, has been appointed to succeed Keith Webster as the Defense Department‘s director of international cooperation, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

Kaidanow is a vocal supporter of government measures designed to increase sales of U.S.-made military technology platforms to the country’s allies and partners.

“We need to think about those areas where we can really enable sales overseas.  We need to think about how might they sell things that are a little bit harder to sell,” she said when the White House unveiled its arms export reform plans in April, according to the report.

In her current role, she serves as a liaison between DOS and DoD and oversees the State Department’s global security partnership efforts.

Her more than two decades of diplomatic service has also included work at U.S. embassies in Kabul, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gen. John Murray: Army Should Extend Tenure for Procurement Personnel
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Gen. John Murray: Army Should Extend Tenure for Procurement Personnel


Gen. John Murray: Army Should Extend Tenure for Procurement PersonnelGen. 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.”
 

DoD Officials Highlight Global Challenges at Defense News Conference
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DoD Officials Highlight Global Challenges at Defense News Conference


DoD Officials Highlight Global Challenges at Defense News ConferenceOfficials 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.

Heather Wilson: Air Force Backs White House’s Space Force Proposal
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Heather Wilson: Air Force Backs White House’s Space Force Proposal


Heather Wilson: Air Force Backs White House's Space Force Proposal

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.

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Intell Community Seeks to Address Future Challenges With AI; Dawn Meyerriecks, Dan Coats Quoted
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Intell Community Seeks to Address Future Challenges With AI; Dawn Meyerriecks, Dan Coats Quoted


Intell Community Seeks to Address Future Challenges With AI; Dawn Meyerriecks, Dan Coats QuotedU.S. intelligence community leaders have said adopting artificial intelligence is not meant to replace analysts but to help them focus more on the big picture than on data processing activities, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

“I think the opportunity that we see, in terms of the application, is that [AI] can be a very powerful sidecar to our scarcest resources, which is really good analysts,” said Dawn Meyerriecks, director of science and technology at CIA.

“We don’t look at this as it’s going to suddenly make analytic talent obsolete. It takes our best people and it cues up for them the things that are going to fundamentally impact their judgments,” Meyerriecks added.

National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said IC agencies should be more creative to prepare for future challenges, such as the rising demand for economic intelligence and the need to gather and analyze large volumes of various data.

“As you discuss the various tasks of our intelligence craft, from technology to acquisition to our workforce, I ask that you do so with an eye toward these topics,” he said Tuesday at the Intelligence & National Security Summit.
 

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Sen. Mitch McConnell Commends Sen. Jim Inhofe’s Appointment as Armed Services Committee Chairman
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Sen. Mitch McConnell Commends Sen. Jim Inhofe’s Appointment as Armed Services Committee Chairman


Sen. Mitch McConnell Commends Sen. Jim Inhofe’s Appointment as Armed Services Committee ChairmanSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has welcomed the appointment of Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Inhofe “rose to the occasion and helped lead the committee in passing crucial legislation that honored the example of his predecessor and the volunteers who defend our nation,” McConnell said in a statement published Wednesday.

“He possesses rich experience on the committee, including decades of work on behalf of American servicemembers, as well as his own military service.”

Inhofe succeeds Sen. McCain, who passed away on Aug. 25 at the age of 81 due to brain cancer.

Inhofe is a U.S. Army veteran and a pilot who currently serves as a senior member of SASC and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

He is also a member of the upper chamber’s committees on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

 

DOE Invests $80M in Transportation R&D
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DOE Invests $80M in Transportation R&D


DOE Invests $80M in Transportation R&DThe 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.

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