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Emily Murphy: GSA Kicks Off Pilot Program to Manage Small Business Innovation Research Phase III Contracts
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Emily Murphy: GSA Kicks Off Pilot Program to Manage Small Business Innovation Research Phase III Contracts


Emily Murphy: GSA Kicks Off Pilot Program to Manage Small Business Innovation Research Phase III Contracts
Emily Murphy

The General Services Administration has introduced a pilot program to award and oversee phase III contracts under the Small Business Innovation Research initiative.

GSA said Thursday the office of assisted acquisition services will manage the SBIR contracts under the pilot program that is slated for completion in September 2019.

The SBIR Phase III contracts aim to help local small businesses transition into the commercialization stage after conducting research and development work through the program’s first two phases.

GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, said the SBIR pilot seeks to provide small businesses an opportunity to bring novel platforms to the federal marketplace, build up the industrial base and support job creation.

The AAS office’s federal systems integration and management and Great Lakes Region teams will lead the pilot.

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House OKs $716B ‘Compromise’ Defense Budget for FY 2019
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House OKs $716B ‘Compromise’ Defense Budget for FY 2019


House OKs $716B 'Compromise' Defense Budget for FY 2019The House on Thursday voted 359-54 to pass the negotiated deal on a defense spending bill that would authorize $639 billion in base budget and $69 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal 2019, Defense News reported Thursday.

The compromise fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act would support the addition of 15,600 service personnel across military branches and a 2.6 percent pay increase for troops.

The measure includes the procurement of 77 F-35 fighter jets, cancellation of the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System recapitalization program and allocation of $40.8 billion in funds to address military aviation crisis and $23.5 billion to update and repair military infrastructure.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senate Armed Services Committee member, said he expects the upper chamber to approve the bill next Tuesday, July 31.

Breaking Defense reported the reconciled defense bill would authorize approximately $3.2 billion to support development work on new Columbia-class submarines and $250 million in additional funds for the submarine industrial base.

The report said the fiscal 2019 NDAA compromise also includes two additional Virginia-class submarines, a third aircraft carrier and two more littoral combat ships.

Vice Adm. Raquel Bono: Military Health System to Use Feedback for EHR Tech Improvement
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Vice Adm. Raquel Bono: Military Health System to Use Feedback for EHR Tech Improvement


Vice Adm. Raquel Bono: Military Health System to Use Feedback for EHR Tech Improvement
Raquel Bono

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency, has said the Military Health System will use feedback from users to adjust technical features of the Defense Department‘s new electronic health records platform, DoD News reported Thursday.

Bono, a two-time Wash100 awardee, added she expects military patients, lawmakers, consultants and members of the press to also provide input on how to improve MHS Genesis.

“It’s how we plan to get better,” she told reporters.

The team of Leidos, Cerner and Accenture won a multibillion dollar contract in July 2015 to build and deploy commercial EHR technology across MHS.

MHS Genesis is already live at four Washington locations, namely the U.S. Air Force’s 92nd Medical Group at Fairchild AF Base, Madigan Army Medical Center, Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor and Naval Hospital Bremerton.

The system is designed to help healthcare providers process medical records for approximately 9.4 million MHS beneficiaries, DHA said.

DISA Unveils Management Process for New Service, Capability Requirements
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DISA Unveils Management Process for New Service, Capability Requirements


DISA Unveils Management Process for New Service, Capability RequirementsThe Defense Information Systems Agency has recently released an information kit on how it evaluates and identifies service and capability requirements when dealing with possible partner contractors.

The Requirements and Analysis Office, which was developed for DISA in 2015, commences with the requirements management process by doing the following: business case analysis, technical exploration and validation, market research, return on investment calculations and portfolio governance, DISA said Wednesday.

“We guide you through the requirements decision-making process, from the initial requirements submission to the senior leadership decision to move forward on the requirement,” said Peter Cox, RAO’s requirement tools lead.

RAO has three branches that facilitate the operations for the requirements management process: the Requirements Analysis Branch, which identifies agency and Defense Department information technology capability shortcomings and redundancies; the Cost Analysis Branch, which identifies lifecycle cost estimates and budgets for business case analysis requirements; and the Requirements Process and Governance Branch, which streamlines and develops DISA’s requirements and governance processes.

RAO first develops a business case analysis to review specific aspects of a product request. Then it discerns how the program management offices can meet the requirements.

If the program management offices can accomplish the request, the BCA is submitted to the Services Portfolio Council for approval. After the request is approved, it will then be forwarded to the DISA executive deputy director for final approval.

Marines to Equip New Tactical Vehicles With Harvested Parts
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Marines to Equip New Tactical Vehicles With Harvested Parts


Marines to Equip New Tactical Vehicles With Harvested PartsThe U.S. Marine Corps’ Systems Command and Program Executive Officer Land Systems will launch a harvesting plan in 2019 to upgrade one of the service’s new tactical vehicles while saving costs.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday the two commands will initially equip two variants of Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle with the Gunner Protection Kit, which will be removed from existing High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles.

The harvesting strategy will help the Marine Corps possibly save over $100 million.

Kevin Marion, a logistics management specialist for MCSC, stated that the effort will leverage a proof of principle conducted last spring to develop an installation guide for the JLTV harvesting effort.

The proof of principle involved removing a Marine Corps Transparent Armor Gun Shield from a HMMWV and harvesting it on a JLTV.

The JLTV will replace the HMMWV fleets of the Marine Corps and Army to address concerns in payload, performance and protection capabilities.

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CompTIA Unveils Blockchain Tech Guide for US Policymakers
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CompTIA Unveils Blockchain Tech Guide for US Policymakers


CompTIA Unveils Blockchain Tech Guide for US PolicymakersDavid Logsdon, senior director of public advocacy at the Computing Technology Industry Association, recently unveiled on Capitol Hill the organization’s guide on blockchain technology, StateScoop reported Wednesday.

The guide, entitled “Harnessing the Blockchain Revolution,” offers a framework meant to help policymakers “understand the promise, the uses and the questions that blockchain currently presents.”

To stimulate blockchain innovation, the document also recommended that Congress establish a “regulatory sandbox”–a controlled environment where blockchain research could be carried out with limited risk to developers and adopters.

In addition, the guide proposed that lawmakers convene a working group comprised of stakeholders from various sectors, whose responsibility will be to examine the different dimensions of the blockchain ecosystem, including security, regulation and standards.

In a statement, Logsdon said he and his organization hoped the guide would “demystify blockchain technology” and help public officials determine “whether blockchain might be the solution they are looking for to support essential government and public sector functions in an efficient, secure and transparent way.”

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Congress Eyes DoD-Hosted National Cyber Response Exercise Under Defense Budget Bill
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Congress Eyes DoD-Hosted National Cyber Response Exercise Under Defense Budget Bill


Congress Eyes DoD-Hosted National Cyber Response Exercise Under Defense Budget BillThe Senate and the House Armed Services Committee are proposing an annual defense policy bill that would task the Defense Department to host a national cyber defense exercise, Fifth Domain reported Wednesday.

The high-level exercise would leverage department-level leadership to support the cyber needs of civil authorities, policy testing, cyber-incident coordination, operational planning and Joint Staff activities.

The exercise would include participation of the U.S. Cyber Command, Northern Command and other DoD components.

The Pentagon would coordinate the event with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and stakeholders from both public and private sectors, the report noted.

GAO Identifies ‘Critical’ Measures to Protect National Cyber Systems
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GAO Identifies ‘Critical’ Measures to Protect National Cyber Systems


GAO Identifies 'Critical' Measures to Protect National Cyber SystemsThe Government Accountability Office has urged the federal government to implement a set of “critical” actions to address cyber threats to information technology systems that support critical infrastructure.

GAO said Wednesday said these measures include establishing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, updating governmentwide data security programs and increasing federal role in infrastructure protection efforts.

The government audit agency found that the U.S. government has not yet implemented 1,000 out of the 3,000 recommendations the watchdog has provided since 2010.

Federal information systems will continue to remain vulnerable to sophisticated virtual attacks unless authorities move to address cybersecurity shortcomings, GAO noted.

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Air Force’s New Office to Help Address Fleet Sustainment Challenges; Heather Wilson Comments
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Air Force’s New Office to Help Address Fleet Sustainment Challenges; Heather Wilson Comments


Air Force's New Office to Help Address Fleet Sustainment Challenges; Heather Wilson Comments
Heather Wilson

The U.S. Air Force has established a new office that will aim to help sustain the military service’s legacy fleet and lower maintenance costs.

USAF said Wednesday its Rapid Sustainment Office will undergo a two-year test period before consideration for permanency.

“We will no longer pay premiums for things we can manufacture on our own,” said SecAF Heather Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

She added that the branch will use agile manufacturing and reform legacy sustainment processes to achieve the office’s goals for cost reduction and faster development.

The RSO will invest in methods and approaches encompassing predictive maintenance, additive manufacturing, cold spray repair, robotics, automation, corrosion detection, nondestructive inspection and composite repair.

Suzette Kent: Federal Government Aims to Complete IT Modernization Tasks by Year’s End
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Suzette Kent: Federal Government Aims to Complete IT Modernization Tasks by Year’s End


Suzette Kent: Federal Government Aims to Complete IT Modernization Tasks by Year's End
Suzette Kent

U.S. Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent has told House lawmakers that the government has completed 37 of the 52 tasks outlined in the Federal Information Technology Modernization Report, MeriTalk reported Wednesday.

She said at a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday the remaining tasks are scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

The Office of Management and Budget collaborated with the American Technology Council and the Department of Homeland Security to produce the report, as mandated by a May 2017 executive order.

Kent noted the tasks encompass federal government high-value asset security, network consolidation, commercial cloud services adoption and identity management strategies.

She added that Congress can help accelerate modernization activities across the government by authorizing funds through funding vehicles such as the Technology Modernization Fund.

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