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Army Seeks Night-Vision Tech Improvements
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Army Seeks Night-Vision Tech Improvements


Army Seeks Night-Vision Tech Improvements

The Department of Defense has placed priority on the development of close-combat lethality, with night-vision technology as a key element, National Defense Magazine reported Friday.

The U.S. Army seeks new technology that would boost soldiers’ field of view and depth perception in close combat scenarios, and allow for quick, easy use, the report noted.

Billy Fabian, senior research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said that weight becomes an issue as troops carry more equipment including night-vision goggles.

He said that a new wave of night-vision technology would address this problem.

The Army’s Georgia-based soldier lethality cross-functional team is working to develop new night vision technology, with Col. Travis Thompson serving as the corresponding chief of staff.

“With an increase in situational awareness, you may not have to call in on the radio to identify where friendly units are,” he said.

Meanwhile, L3 Technologies is working to make and deliver a new night-vision binocular to the Army under a $391M contract awarded in June 2018.

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National Security Vet Charles Kupperman Named Deputy National Security Advisor
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National Security Vet Charles Kupperman Named Deputy National Security Advisor


National Security Vet Charles Kupperman Named Deputy National Security AdvisorCharles Kupperman, a former executive at Lockheed Martin and Boeing, has been appointed to serve as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor.

He holds over 40 years of national security experience, having held various executive and advisory positions during the Reagan administration, the White House said Friday.

His contributions under Ronald Reagan’s leadership supported NASA and the president’s general advisory committee on arms control and disarmament.

Kupperman served as business development vice president during his time with Boeing, and as Washington space operations VP with Lockheed.

“Charlie Kupperman has been an advisor to me for more than thirty years, including during my tenure as national security adviser to President Trump,” said John Bolton, national security adviser.

FBI Facing Backlog, Funding Cuts Amid Longest US Gov’t Shutdown in History
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FBI Facing Backlog, Funding Cuts Amid Longest US Gov’t Shutdown in History


FBI Facing Backlog, Funding Cuts Amid Longest US Gov't Shutdown in HistoryThe government shutdown affecting federal workers, the longest in history, includes the FBI’s nearly 5K personnel, Nextgov reported Friday.

The shutdown has resulted in workers in the FBI and other federal agencies being furloughed and working without pay in addition to bearing the consequences of steep budget cuts.

Tom O’Connor, a special agent and president of the FBI’s Agents Association, said the agency’s forensic analysis lab in Quantico, Va., has been facing backlog while funding to support operations such as anti-drug trafficking and undercover missions are being limited.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, employees at its recently created Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have also been furloughed.

Other employees carrying out their duties without pay include those from the Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration and air traffic controllers.

Some federal workers have filed lawsuits that argue violations in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Army to Roll Out Air Defense That Integrates C2, Sensors, Missiles
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Army to Roll Out Air Defense That Integrates C2, Sensors, Missiles


Army to Roll Out Air Defense That Integrates C2, Sensors, Missiles

The U.S. Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology has said that the service will soon deploy an air defense system that can address increasingly complex airborne threats, Military .com reported Friday.

Bruce Jette said during a Defense Writers Group meeting on Jan. 10 that, by “next December,” the service expects to roll out the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, which Northrop Grumman developed.

Jette explained that the system will make it possible to integrate command-and-control mechanisms, sensors and different types of missiles, allowing warfighters to respond to various types of airborne threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles, artillery and combat aircraft.

The Army official added that, down the road, the service intends to augment air defense with artificial intelligence.

Jette noted that AI would enable warfighters to respond to threats at greater speed.

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Trump Nominates Mark Greenblatt as DOI Inspector General
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Trump Nominates Mark Greenblatt as DOI Inspector General


Trump Nominates Mark Greenblatt as DOI Inspector General

President Trump has nominated Mark Greenblatt, currently the Department of Commerce’s assistant inspector general, to serve as inspector general for the Department of the Interior, the White House said Friday.

Greenblatt has spent over 15 years serving across various legal oversight roles for the DOC, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General and the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 

Earlier in his career, Greenblatt worked as a litigator in New York and also as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Anita Brody. Previously, he served as vice chair of the Montgomery County Ethics Commission and was a senior manager in government fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

Democratic Senators Introduce Legislation to Compensate Employees During Shutdown
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Democratic Senators Introduce Legislation to Compensate Employees During Shutdown


Democratic Senators Introduce Legislation to Compensate Employees During ShutdownThe House has passed the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act that will provide back pay for furloughed employees and enable workers to take previously scheduled leaves without consequence, Government Executive reported Friday.

The bill, introduced by Maryland’s Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, was created to guarantee back pay for furloughed federal workers in future shutdowns.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., introduced a similar legislation called the 2019 Low-Wage Federal Contractor Employee Back Pay Act which will provide compensation to retail, custodial, food and security personnel working during the shutdown.

Thirty-three Democratic senators sent a letter to Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, requesting him to mandate agencies to coordinate with contractors to ensure that the firms’ workers receive back pay when the partial government shutdown ends.

President Donald Trump has previously stated that federal workers will have to “make an adjustment” and take actions such as asking their landlords for payment relief.

USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities
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USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities


USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities

The U.S. Air Force Network Integration Center aims to complete cloud migration of USAF enterprise services soon, following the first phase’s conclusion in November. AFNIC intends to move all USAF enterprise services within continental the U.S. to Microsoft Office 365, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.

The first phase, that concluded on Nov. 8, 2018, involved the transition of 555K accounts to the cloud. Military components including the 24th Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Defense Information Sytems Agency worked with Dell and Microsoft to address newly discovered vulnerabilities.

“We didn’t create these issues, but it was our responsibility to work with experts across the Air Force to correct them before moving ahead,” said Dennis Polansky, lead program manager at AFNIC.

The integration center also expects to implement SharePoint Online and OneDrive in the foreseeable future, and is working to extend the same cloud services to USAF commands outside the country. AFNIC, AFLCMC and industry partners are developing a roadmap to guide future collaborative activities.

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USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities
Published on
USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities


USAF Completes First Phase of Cloud Migration; Plans Future Activities

The U.S. Air Force Network Integration Center aims to complete cloud migration of USAF enterprise services soon, following the first phase’s conclusion in November. AFNIC intends to move all USAF enterprise services within continental the U.S. to Microsoft Office 365, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.

The first phase, that concluded on Nov. 8, 2018, involved the transition of 555K accounts to the cloud. Military components including the 24th Air Force, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Defense Information Sytems Agency worked with Dell and Microsoft to address newly discovered vulnerabilities.

“We didn’t create these issues, but it was our responsibility to work with experts across the Air Force to correct them before moving ahead,” said Dennis Polansky, lead program manager at AFNIC.

The integration center also expects to implement SharePoint Online and OneDrive in the foreseeable future, and is working to extend the same cloud services to USAF commands outside the country. AFNIC, AFLCMC and industry partners are developing a roadmap to guide future collaborative activities.

USAF Launches New Formal Innovation Office
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USAF Launches New Formal Innovation Office


USAF Launches New Formal Innovation Office

The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center opened a new office in November to facilitate and support the service branch’s innovation efforts. The AFIMSC innovation office consists of a new branch dedicated to innovation and analysis efforts, with Marc Vandeveer serving as chief innovation officer, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.

“This innovation office is dedicated to tying together the vast innovation ecosystem with our Airmen at our installations as a whole,” Vandeveer said. “We will strive to take an idea from conception, through collaborative innovation, and most importantly, through implementation.”

The office, now a full-time federal component, will work on efforts in partnership with other innovation groups including the Defense Innovation Unit, the Air Force Institute of Technology and the Air Force Innovation Hub Network. AFIMSC invested $150K in a partnership with AFWERX’s Austin, Texas-based hub to develop unmanned aerial vehicles.

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DoD Inspector General Issues Summary of Unclassified, Classified Reports on Cybersecurity
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DoD Inspector General Issues Summary of Unclassified, Classified Reports on Cybersecurity


DoD Inspector General Issues Summary of Unclassified, Classified Reports on CybersecurityThe Department of Defense’s office of inspector general has released a summary of 20 unclassified and four classified reports related to cybersecurity and found that the Pentagon continues to encounter challenges in managing cyber vulnerabilities to its network.

The Government Accountability Office and the Pentagon’s oversight community issued those reports from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, according to OIG’s report published Wednesday.

According to the summary, the unclassified documents highlighted improvements in security continuous monitoring; identity management and access control; data protection procedures; and asset management.

Of the 159 recommendations in the unclassified reports, the inspector general found that the department has moved to address 19 of those suggestions by initiating measures to build up its cybersecurity posture.

The OIG noted in the summary that the highest number of identified cyber weaknesses were linked to governance, which enables organizations to manage security risks through implementation of policies and processes.

“Without proper governance, the DoD cannot ensure that it effectively identifies and manages cybersecurity risk as it continues to face a growing variety of cyber threats from adversaries, such as offensive cyberspace operations used to disrupt, degrade, or destroy targeted information systems,” according to the summary.

The summary also showed that there were 266 open recommendations related to cybersecurity as of Sept. 30, 2018.
 

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