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GSA, OPM Reduce Contract Access Fee for Human Capital & Training Solutions Program
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GSA, OPM Reduce Contract Access Fee for Human Capital & Training Solutions Program


GSA, OPM Reduce Contract Access Fee for Human Capital & Training Solutions ProgramThe General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management have reduced the contract access fee of the Human Capital and Training Solutions initiative by at least 60 percent.

GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said in a statement published Wednesday the move to lower CAF from 2 percent to 0.75 percent aims to make the HCaTS program more competitive and deliver additional value to client agencies through the administration’s government reform efforts.

Federal agencies can acquire customized human capital strategy support, organizational performance improvement and training and development services through the HCaTS program.

HCaTS is part of GSA’s category management initiative and has been considered a “best-in-class” platform since fiscal 2017.

“The HCaTS contracts were envisioned to support agencies in meeting complex people management challenges, including agency restructuring and reshaping,” said OPM Director Jeff Pon.

Pon added that the reduced CAF aims to eliminate a cost barrier for the HCaTS contracts that work to help agencies gain access to GSA’s acquisition expertise, OPM’s human capital experience and industry partners.

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NOAA to Implement ‘Tiered’ Approach for Commercial Sensing Data Protection Review
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NOAA to Implement ‘Tiered’ Approach for Commercial Sensing Data Protection Review


NOAA to Implement 'Tiered' Approach for Commercial Sensing Data Protection ReviewThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will adopt a three-tier approach to assess data protection plans from commercial entities seeking license to operate remote sensing satellite systems, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.

A NOAA advisory panel composed of government, academic and industry professionals recommended the tiered approach that the agency intends to begin using this fall.

Tahara Dawkins, director of commercial remote sensing regulatory affairs at NOAA, told SpaceNews in an email the first category will cover systems that do not risk the loss of sensitive data and only pose a minimal impact of space vehicle control loss.

She added the second category will focus on sensor-equipped systems that generate distributable data considered as superior to foreign sources.

The third category will cover systems that store very sensitive data that may pose national security and foreign policy risks if disseminated improperly, according to Dawkins.

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Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves Talks MDA’s Space-Based Sensor Layer Concept for Missile Defense at Symposium
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Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves Talks MDA’s Space-Based Sensor Layer Concept for Missile Defense at Symposium


Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves Talks MDA’s Space-Based Sensor Layer Concept for Missile Defense at Symposium
Samuel Greaves

Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency, has described MDA’s concept of a possible space-based sensor layer intended for missile defense efforts at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Greaves said MDA looks to use the U.S. Air Force’s Overhead Persistent Infrared OPIR Global Scanning system for its spaced-based missile defense sensor platform to help detect space activities and provide alerts.

A sensor layer would have a regional capability to detect and track hypersonic threats and other “dimmer” targets; a sensor that would cover a missile threat’s midcourse phase and provide fire-control capabilities; and another sensor that would track an intercept against a missile target, he said at the event.

Greaves, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, added that MDA plans to consider the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Blackjack initiative and its potential use in the development of the sensor layer.

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Small Rockets, New Launch Companies to Help Preserve US Space Resiliency
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Small Rockets, New Launch Companies to Help Preserve US Space Resiliency


Small Rockets, New Launch Companies to Help Preserve US Space ResiliencyA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency official recently said that small launch vehicles like Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus or Rocket Lab’s Electron could contribute to the survivability of U.S. military assets in space, Space News reported Tuesday.

Todd Master, a program adviser at the Tactical Technology Office within DARPA, said during last month’s Small Payload Rideshare Symposium that the growing availability of small rockets and dedicated launches could allow the military to bring about “a massive proliferation of satellites in low Earth orbit.”

Master described this as a resilience strategy that he and his agency “are very interested in.”

Meanwhile, Steve Nixon, vice president for strategic development at aerospace firm Stratolaunch, said that his company and others like it could help strengthen U.S. launch infrastructure.

Nixon pointed out that the country has only two main launch sites: Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Should these facilities be rendered inoperable, launch companies could offer government agencies alternative means to access space, he said.

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DoD Selects Five University-Industry Teams for Pilot Innovation Research Program
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DoD Selects Five University-Industry Teams for Pilot Innovation Research Program


DoD Selects Five University-Industry Teams for Pilot Innovation Research ProgramMultiple contractors have partnered with universities to support a Defense Department pilot program that will focus on accelerating research into military technology platforms.

DoD said Tuesday it chose five industry-academic teams to participate in the Defense Enterprise Science Initiative, which aims to address technological gaps and complement the Pentagon’s other basic research programs that include the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative and the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program.

Selected teams will receive up to $1.5 million to facilitate a two-year research on the end-use applications of technologies such as power beaming, highly maneuverable autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles, soft active composite materials, metamaterial-based antennas and alternate categories that do not belong to any particular domain.

The designated leaders for the five teams are:

  • Boeing, Arizona State University and Syracuse University
  • Stanford University and Skydio
  • Northwestern University and TERA-print
  • Duke University, University of Washington and Northrop Grumman
  • Stanford University, University of California - Merced and Visor Corp.

The Pentagon’s Basic Research Office will sponsor the collaborative effort while research offices of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army will jointly administer the initiative.

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Charles Phalen: DoD Likely to Absorb OPM’s National Background Investigations Bureau
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Charles Phalen: DoD Likely to Absorb OPM’s National Background Investigations Bureau

 

Charles Phalen: DoD Likely to Absorb OPM’s National Background Investigations Bureau
Charles Phalen

Charles Phalen, director of the National Background Investigations Bureau, has said the Defense Department is more likely to integrate NBIB into its operations than splitting the workload of the bureau that operates under the Office of Personnel Management, FCW reported Tuesday.

“The truth is that split would’ve been debilitating, distracting and frankly pretty counterproductive,” Phalen said Tuesday at a Nextgov-hosted event on insider threats.

“I think in the long run, this is a much better solution and will keep us able, as an intact organization, to focus on the most important stuff that we’re doing as the initial trust determinations that are made by individuals working for and in the government and the ability to keep track of those individuals,” he added.

Phalen noted that DoD and NBIB have initiated efforts to improve the bureau’s information technology system to support government vetting and investigation processes.

 

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James Mattis: DoD Backs Formation of Space-Focused Combatant Command
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James Mattis: DoD Backs Formation of Space-Focused Combatant Command


James Mattis: DoD Backs Formation of Space-Focused Combatant Command
James Mattis

James Mattis, secretary of the Defense Department, has said DoD is supportive of a plan to form a new combatant command focused on space, Defense News reported Tuesday.

“We need to address space as a developing warfighting domain and a combatant command is certainly one thing that we can we can establish,” he told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon.

Mattis, a two-time Wash100 recipient, said DoD is “in complete alignment” with President Donald Trump’s concern about the need to protect space assets and is now in the process of creating the new organization.

President Donald Trump announced plans in June for the establishment of a new “space force” in an effort to maintain the country’s dominance in space.

Mattis noted that DoD will support the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement authorities to safeguard the midterm elections against possible interference from Russia and other threat actors, according to a report by DoD News.

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Army to Update Enterprise Cloud Strategy; Thomas Sasala Comments
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Army to Update Enterprise Cloud Strategy; Thomas Sasala Comments


Army to Update Enterprise Cloud Strategy; Thomas Sasala Comments
Thomas Sasala

The U.S. Army is working to update its enterprise cloud strategy to keep up with technology trends and innovations in the private sector, C4ISRNET reported Wednesday.

Thomas Sasala, director of the Army’s Architecture Integration Center and chief data officer for the Chief Information Officer/G-6 office, said the military service aims to adopt a hybrid cloud environment to address various requirements.

Sasala added the branch will use money saved for cloud and shared computers to expand IT operations and help operators and administrators return to their original work instead of patching other responsibilities.

The Army seeks to retain its legacy cloud computing environment as it has unreleased services it currently does not want to get rid of.

Some industry officials have recommended the branch to adopt an enterprise computing environment that will work to simplify application hosting and delivery of IT resources, as well as hosts mission systems and offerings accessible to enterprise and forward-deployed users.

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Carol Harris, Nick Marinos to Assume FITARA, Census Responsibilities at GAO
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Carol Harris, Nick Marinos to Assume FITARA, Census Responsibilities at GAO


Carol Harris, Nick Marinos to Assume FITARA, Census Responsibilities at GAO
Carol Harris

Dave Powner, the departing director of information technology issues at the Government Accountability Office, will hand over his Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act-related responsibilities to Carol Harris, director for IT acquisition management issues at GAO, Meritalk reported Tuesday.

Nick Marinos, GAO’s director of cybersecurity and information management, will assume Powner’s responsibilities over Census efforts.

Carol Harris, Nick Marinos to Assume FITARA, Census Responsibilities at GAO
Nick Marinos

Powner is set to leave GAO for Mitre in late August to serve as director of strategic engagement and partnerships at the nonprofit research corporation.

Harris is a 16-year GAO veteran who has spearheaded IT systems assessments at several agencies such as the departments of Defense, Commerce and Homeland Security.

Marinos is a certified data privacy professional and has led audit teams that carry out information management, privacy and cybersecurity reviews at federal agencies since he joined the congressional watchdog in 2002.

Ronald Vitiello to be Nominated ICE Director
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Ronald Vitiello to be Nominated ICE Director

 

Ronald Vitiello to be Nominated ICE Director
Ronald Vitiello

President Trump intends to nominate Ronald Vitiello, current deputy director and acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to lead the agency on a full-time basis.

The White House said Monday the more than 30-year law enforcement veteran previously served as acting deputy commissioner at the Customs and Border Protection.

Vitiello started his public-sector career as a border patrol agent based in Laredo, Texas, and later worked at the operations division of the Department of Homeland Security‘s former border and transportation security directorate.

He also served as chief patrol agent in Swanton, Vt. and Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

“Since assuming the role of deputy director in late June, [Vitiello] has made clear his commitment to support the men and women of ICE, and ensure they are well-positioned to meet the demands of their incredibly challenging jobs,” said DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

 

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