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Civilian/News
Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector General
by Joanna Crews
Published on June 11, 2018
Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector General

Andrew Katsaros Named FTC Acting Inspector GeneralAndrew Katsaros, a government audit veteran and a certified public accountant, has joined the Federal Trade Commission as acting inspector general.

He succeeds Roslyn Mazer, who stepped down as FTC IG after more than three years in the job, the commission said Friday.

Katsaros previously served as assistant IG at the Commerce Department‘s Office of Audit and Evaluation and assistant director for audit and review at the Justice Department‘s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

His federal career also includes service in the Defense Department‘s Office of Inspector General and at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

DoD/News
USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments
by Joanna Crews
Published on June 8, 2018
USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments


USAF Shifts Cyber Function to Air Combat Command; Heather Wilson Comments
Heather Wilson

The U.S. Air Force has transferred cyber responsibilities from the Air Force Space Command to the Air Combat Command as part of a mission realignment initiative.

ACC will now serve as the military branch’s lead command responsible for helping Air Forces manage cyber missions and operations, USAF said Thursday.

AFSPC will concentrate on efforts to help the military branch maintain space superiority and integrate space technology into multidomain operations.

“This move will drive faster decisions as we fight by realigning the cyber operations and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions under the same command,” said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

Wilson added the National Defense Strategy calls for the U.S. military to invest in data collection and exploitation programs and the realignment will help the service branch address that objective.

Both ACC and AFSPC have coordinated over the past 21 months to realign the two commands’ functions and present ready forces.

Civilian/News
Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause Ban
by Joanna Crews
Published on June 8, 2018
Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause Ban


Report: Commerce Department, ZTE Agree to $1.4B Settlement to Pause BanThe Commerce Department plans to allow ZTE to resume business with the U.S., through the payment of an additional $1 billion fine and $400 million in escrow for future infractions under revisions to a 2017 settlement agreement, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The amendment includes the replacement of the company’s whole board of directors and senior executives and a dormant 10-year denial order that can be activated for offenses within the company’s 10-year probationary period, the DOC said Thursday.

In April, the DOC imposed a seven-year ban on ZTE  for failing to comply with the 2017 agreement, which called for the dismissal of four senior employees and penalties to 35 others after the company illegally shipped products with U.S.-made components to Iran and North Korea.

Sources told Reuters that the DOC considered including in the 2017 agreement the $361 million the company has paid, which would allow the U.S. to collect up to $1.7 billion in penalties.

The new agreement also covers compliance monitoring by U.S. representatives, without prior coordination with the Chinese government, in order to verify how the company ships U.S.-built parts.

Among ZTE’s U.S-based suppliers are Acacia Communications, Broadcom, Intel, Oclaro and Qualcomm, a senior official at ZTE told the news agency.

DoD/News
USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine Operators
by Nichols Martin
Published on June 8, 2018
USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine Operators


USMC, USAF to Conduct MQ-9 Qualification Training for Marine OperatorsThe Marine Corps and the Air Force will partner to train the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron to be qualified operators of the General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reaper, USNI News reported Thursday.

The effort intends to establish a UAV operations base in preparation for the 2020s when Marines will begin deploying UAV units from ships.

USMC is beginning to develop MUX, a future Marine Air-Ground Task Force UAV that would be deployed from amphibious ships and expeditionary sites.

The MUX will be sized similarly to the Reaper and used for missions involving command and control, electronic warfare and early warning, as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Civilian/News
Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal
by Jane Edwards
Published on June 8, 2018
Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal


Suzette Kent: Automation, Data Analysts Could Help Federal Govt Meet Data Cross-Agency Priority Goal
Suzette Kent

Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer, has said federal agencies need automation tools to quickly process large amounts of data and meet the data cross-agency priority goal of the President’s Management Agenda, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

“But using technology, and with the right discipline around data, we can process that in seconds. But it has to be structured, and we have to understand it,” Kent said Wednesday at a Data Coalition event in Washington, D.C.

Kent noted that the data CAP goal establishes benchmarks to build up cyber standards and will drive agencies to implement a security framework that is focused on data protection while ensuring data transparency and privacy.

The CAP goal also calls for agencies to hire more data analysts in addition to cyber professionals.

“We have to evolve roles for data scientists, data labelers, model builders, deep learning development, inquiry designers,” Kent said.

“As we move down this path that’s wholly data-driven, we need different types of capabilities in our workforce,” she added.

DoD/News
NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments
by Joanna Crews
Published on June 8, 2018
NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments


NATO Plans to Establish Joint Force Commands in Virginia, Germany; Jens Stoltenberg Comments
Jens Stoltenberg

NATO will move to create two joint force commands after defense ministers from the international alliance’s member states gave their approval, DoD News reported Thursday.

The alliance intends to establish a new command in Norfolk, Va., to support maritime security efforts in the Atlantic region and form another command in Ulm, Germany.

“These headquarters will be essential for Alliance reinforcements across the Atlantic and across Europe,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Thursday.

He said defense ministers have also agreed on a framework to integrate cybersecurity into the alliance’s missions.

NATO allies have worked to increase defense spending over the past four years and the majority of member countries have pledged to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on military programs through 2024, according to Stoltenberg.

Announcements/News
Energy Department Launches Three-Part Competition to Boost Local Solar Industry
by Monica Jackson
Published on June 8, 2018
Energy Department Launches Three-Part Competition to Boost Local Solar Industry


Energy Department Launches Three-Part Competition to Boost Local Solar IndustryThe Energy Department has initiated a three-part competition that seeks to boost the production of solar systems in the U.S.

DOE said Thursday participants of the American-Made Solar Prize contest will be required to provide systems that can address critical challenges related to American solar innovation, develop a proof of concept and assess a prototype with a chosen partner.

The department will award $50,000 to selected participants that will present ideas addressing a critical need in the U.S solar industry, $200,000 for advanced proofs of concept and $500,000 for the development and assessment of prototypes.

“The Administration is fully committed to strengthening America’s manufacturing competitiveness,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Perry added the Solar Prize will leverage research resources, entrepreneurial support systems and competitive American innovation to develop solar innovations for private investment.

DOE will accept applications through Oct. 5, 2018.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will jointly facilitate the competition with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

News/Space
Senate Committee Proposes Additional $110M to Accelerate Blackjack LEO Satellite Program
by Monica Jackson
Published on June 8, 2018
Senate Committee Proposes Additional $110M to Accelerate Blackjack LEO Satellite Program


Senate Committee Proposes Additional $110M to Accelerate Blackjack LEO Satellite Program

The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed adding $110 million to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act in a push to accelerate a satellite development program under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, SpaceNews reported Thursday.

The Blackjack program aims to develop a constellation of small military satellites in low-earth orbit, which, according to a report by the SASC, “would have profound implications for the resiliency and survivability of critical space missions.”

The same SASC report instructs DARPA, the U.S. Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency to determine if the Blackjack satellite network can meet the MDA’s requirement for a space-based ballistic missile detection system.

The Pentagon originally requested $15 million for Blackjack but the recommended additional funding raises the program’s total allocation to $125 million.

Government Technology/News
Marine Corps to Employ New SATCOM System for On-The-Move Communications
by Nichols Martin
Published on June 7, 2018
Marine Corps to Employ New SATCOM System for On-The-Move Communications


Marine Corps to Employ New SATCOM System for On-The-Move CommunicationsThe U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command seeks to use a new narrowband satellite communication system that builds on commercial cellphone technology to provide increased mobile communication access for marines.

USMC said Tuesday it will be the first service branch to widely employ the Mobile User Objective System, which works to operate with AN/PRC-117G radios used by marines for the past six years.

The system is mainly intended to provide on-the-move communications access for warfighters. It consists of space-based and ground-based components and a software-controlled radio terminal geared to operate on the MUOS-unique waveform.

The radios will receive new antenna kits for three different operational configurations and firmware updates to accommodate the MUOS waveform.

The three additional antenna kits will include a directional antenna with emphasis on data performance at halt; a dismounted antenna designed to provide voice and data access for moving users; and a vehicular kit that augments the radios to accommodate MUOS.

MUOS will enter its initial fielding stage in the final quarter of 2018 and is expected to achieve operational status in early 2019.

Legislation/News
House Panel Unveils $674.6B Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal 2019
by Jane Edwards
Published on June 7, 2018
House Panel Unveils $674.6B Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal 2019


House Panel Unveils $674.6B Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal 2019The House Appropriations Committee has introduced a bill that would authorize $606.5 billion in base discretionary funds for the Defense Department and $68.1 billion in overseas contingency operations funds for fiscal year 2019.

The committee said Wednesday the FY 2019 defense policy bill reflects a $17.1 billion increase from the enacted FY 2018 discretionary funding.

The proposed measure would allocate a total budget of $145.7 billion to procure new weapons systems and other equipment to support military readiness efforts.

The proposed equipment procurement budget includes $22.7 billion in funds for the acquisition of 12 ships for the U.S. Navy; $9.4 billion for 93 F-35 fighter jets; $2.3 billion for 15 KC-46 tanker planes; $1.9 billion for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft; $1.7 billion for five space launch services; and $1.5 billion to support upgrade work on 85 Abrams tanks.

The committee’s proposed legislation also includes the following appropriations:

  • $144 billion for military personnel and salary
  • $245.9 billion for operation and maintenance
  • $92.4 billion for research and development
  • $34.4 billion for military family and defense health programs

The defense subcommittee is scheduled to consider the bill Thursday.

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