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Trump to Nominate Alex Azar as HHS Secretary
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Trump to Nominate Alex Azar as HHS Secretary


Trump to Nominate Alex Azar as HHS Secretary
Alex Azar

President Donald Trump will nominate Alex Azar, chairman and founder of consulting firm Seraphim Strategies, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Azar previously served as president of Lilly USA, an affiliate of biopharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company, where he oversaw the U.S. biomedicines business unit, the White House said Monday.

The HHS secretary nominee worked at the department during the administration of George W. Bush as deputy secretary and as general counsel.

Azar also served as a partner at Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wiley Rein and as a law clerk under Antonin Gregory, former associate justice of the Supreme Court.

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Air Force Helps Small Companies Refine Tech Platforms Via Annual Exercise
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Air Force Helps Small Companies Refine Tech Platforms Via Annual Exercise


Air Force Helps Small Companies Refine Tech Platforms Via Annual ExerciseThe Air Force Research Laboratory has conducted an annual exercise that aims to help small businesses further develop their technology platforms through tech demonstrations and combat simulations.

The service branch sponsors the Operation Tech Warrior exercise through the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program, the Air Force said Monday.

Operation Tech Warrior is part of the year-round Tech Warrior Enterprise organized by Wright State University’s National Center for Medical Readiness in Ohio.

Operation Tech Warrior seeks to help AFRL scientists perform observations and allow small companies to collect feedback from scientists to conduct technology integration.

“We encourage companies through the Tech Warrior Enterprise to fail early and fail often because that exposes what needs to be fixed and is the best way to quickly mature products and technology,” said David Shahady, director of the Air Force SBIR/STTR Program.

The Tech Warrior Enterprise also features the Tech Warrior CONNECT and Tech Warrior OPS programs.

Tech Warrior CONNECT allows potential users to carry out offsite assessments of technology platforms, while the Tech Warrior OPS provides small businesses an opportunity to gather feedback from product users.

The military branch will hold a webinar on the Tech Warrior Enterprise Dec. 6.

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Report Highlights Natl Governments’ Role in Smart City Devt
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Report Highlights Natl Governments’ Role in Smart City Devt


Report Highlights Natl Governments' Role in Smart City DevtA new report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Center for Data Innovation has outlined several ways national governments can help address challenges related to smart city development projects.

ITIF said Oct. 30 the management of smart city projects should fall on city governments, but national government support is crucial to the long-term success of such programs.

Key issues facing smart city efforts include technology adoption risks; lack of national funding for smart infrastructure; the need for interconnected smart cities; inadequate information sharing between smart city developers; and the need to distribute smart city technologies equitably, the report stated.

To address the challenges, national governments should support shared projects in the areas of research and development as well as technology demonstration, ITIF noted.

The report also urged national governments to allocate a portion of infrastructure investments to smart systems; create policies and standards for smart city technologies that promote interoperability and data sharing; and facilitate intercity collaborations.

National governments should also ensure that smart city efforts incorporate the needs of underserved communities, the report said.

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Report: Reconciled FY 2018 Defense Policy Bill Contains ‘Amazon Amendment’
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Report: Reconciled FY 2018 Defense Policy Bill Contains ‘Amazon Amendment’


Report: Reconciled FY 2018 Defense Policy Bill Contains ‘Amazon Amendment’The fiscal 2018 defense spending bill introduced by a joint House-Senate conference committee includes an amendment that would potentially shift approximately $53 billion in annual purchases of commercial products by the Defense Department to e-commerce portals, Nextgov reported Monday.

The Defense Acquisition Streamlining and Transparency Act, also known as the Amazon amendment, in the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would authorize the federal government to release several contracts to providers of online market portals through a phased method.

Agencies could use such portals to find and procure mobile devices, technology tools, pens and other commercial items, the report noted.

The proposed amendment would require the General Services Administration to create an implementation plan within 90 days of the law’s passage and work with the Office of Management and Budget to identify goods and services that could be offered through online marketplaces.

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Leigh Gordon: Australia to Field New Tech for Lockheed Autonomic Logistics Info System
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Leigh Gordon: Australia to Field New Tech for Lockheed Autonomic Logistics Info System


Leigh Gordon: Australia to Field New Tech for Lockheed Autonomic Logistics Info SystemAir Vice Marshal Leigh Gordon, head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program for Australia’s air force, has said the country looks to field a new system designed to mitigate sovereignty challenges related to Lockheed Martin‘s autonomic logistics information system (ALIS), FlightGlobal reported Sunday.

The report noted the new system will filter the F-35 and select facilities from the flow of data fed to ALIS as well as develop mission data files that can help operators meet operational sovereignty objectives.

“Ultimately, there will be a standard gateway off of the program that we can all work with, but in the interim we’re thinking for each nation to bring a gateway along and have that integrated,” said Gordon.

“We expect the gateway will allow us to inspect and decide when information gets passed.”

Gordon added the country plans to mature and deliver the technology in 2018 and expects initial operational capability to be achieved in 2020.

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FirstNet President TJ Kennedy to Step Down, Rejoin Private Sector
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FirstNet President TJ Kennedy to Step Down, Rejoin Private Sector


FirstNet President TJ Kennedy to Step Down, Rejoin Private Sector
TJ Kennedy

T.J. Kennedy, president of the First Responder Network Authority, will depart his role by the end of the year and return to the private sector, Urgent Communications reported.

The report said Kennedy plans to continue working toward public safety communications goals after he leaves FirstNet.

“I’m not leaving this area, this industry and this technology at all. I’m going to just continue to help it in different ways than I did before,” he told Urgent Communications in an interview.

He joined the agency in August 2013 as deputy general manager and was promoted to general manager on an acting basis when Bill D’Agostino stepped down in April of the following year.

The FirstNet board appointed Kennedy to the president role in August 2015.

Prior to the agency, he served as director of Raytheon‘s public safety and security business area from November 2011 to July 2013 and held an eight-year career at Science Applications International Corp.

Bill for FITARA Data Center Initiative Extension Clears Senate
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Bill for FITARA Data Center Initiative Extension Clears Senate


Bill for FITARA Data Center Initiative Extension Clears SenateThe Senate has passed a bill that would require agencies to continue to report data center inventory, conduct PortfolioStat reviews and share data via a federal information technology dashboard, Nextgov reported Friday.

The FITARA Enhancement Act now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) told Nextgov the passage of the bill is a key step  for agencies to realize FITARA’s full potential and comply with data center consolidation requirements.

“Congress is willing to be a partner in meeting these goals but we will also continue to hold agencies accountable,” Connolly added.

House members passed the bill in October through a 418-0 vote.

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Service Chiefs: DoD Needs Consistent Funds to Maintain Aviation Readiness
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Service Chiefs: DoD Needs Consistent Funds to Maintain Aviation Readiness


Service Chiefs: DoD Needs Consistent Funds to Maintain Aviation ReadinessAviation leaders from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy have urged Congress to authorize a stable budget for the Defense Department to support the readiness of military aviators, DoD News reported Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Mark Nowland, Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations, said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness subcommittee that President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget will establish the foundation to boost aviation readiness and joint lethality.

Nowland added that continuing resolutions and budget caps will reverse the progress of military aviation units.

Maj. Gen. William Gayler, commanding general of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence, told lawmakers that the Army aviation might face future readiness challenges due to force structure reductions, increased global requirements, budget uncertainty and higher training needs.

Budget constraints have also affected the retention and career progression of naval aviators because overseas deployments of aircraft leave non-deployed squadrons with an insufficient number of jets, stated Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces.

Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation, also called on Congress for consistent funds since the Marine Corps relies on modernization and repair to recover its aviation readiness.

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Air Force Leaders Call for Fiscal 2018 Budget Stability
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Air Force Leaders Call for Fiscal 2018 Budget Stability


Air Force Leaders Call for Fiscal 2018 Budget StabilityU.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein have said the military branch needs a stable budget to conduct national security efforts.

Wilson told reporters during the State of the Air Force Address held Tuesday at the Pentagon the branch seeks to restore readiness and modernize forces while it continues efforts to promote innovation, develop leaders and bolster America’s relationships with U.S. allies, the Air Force said Thursday.

“The fiscal 2018 continuing resolution is actually delaying our efforts to increase the readiness of the force, and risk accumulates over time,” she said.

At the event, Goldfein and Wilson also urged Congress to approve funds necessary for the branch to sustain its global operations.

The Air Force noted it will provide equipment and support services to Lebanon, Bahrain, Norway and Israel before the end of the year.

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NASA to Conduct CubeSat Study for Water Source On Moon
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NASA to Conduct CubeSat Study for Water Source On Moon


NASA to Conduct CubeSat Study for Water Source On MoonNASA has announced that scientist Noah Petro will lead a CubeSat mission to study the sources of water on the moon.

The space agency said Thursday the Mini Lunar Volatiles Mission or MiLUV aims to determine the locations of water on the moon; and study water migration to the lunar surface including permanently shadowed areas.

University of Hawaii researcher Paul Lucey and Goddard instrument experts will join Petro for the study funded by NASA’s Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies program.

The researchers will use a Goddard instrument-based laser spectrometer to detect lunar surface water.

The spectrometer employs its own source of light to operate at both day and night.

“We believe that the best-suited instrument to answer where these volatiles exist and their possible movement is a laser spectrometer that measures surface reflectance at several wavelengths,” Petro said.

The effort follows previous studies on evaporating volatiles and water found on the moon such as 1994’s Clementine mission.

To date, existing satellites have discovered three types of water sources on the moon: a global one-molecule layer of hydroxide and water; subsurface polar water ice; and polar surface water frost.

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