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Cybercom Establishes Strategic Concepts to Mitigate Cyber Threats to Natl Security
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Cybercom Establishes Strategic Concepts to Mitigate Cyber Threats to Natl Security


Cybercom Establishes Strategic Concepts to Mitigate Cyber Threats to Natl SecurityThe U.S. Cyber Command has developed an operational approach to defensive cyber operations and strategic concepts which aim to help address a number of cyber threats to national security.

According to a Department of the Navy report published Wednesday Cybercom also helped establish the Proactive – Defensive Cyberspace Operations Board which works to align the resources of multiple organizations and create focused and prioritized proactive cyber protection team operations designed to strengthen the Department of Defense Information Networks.

The P-DCO Board used an intelligence and threat-based strategy to engage the total force which included cyber forces under services and combatant commanders.

The total force approach led to more than a 100 percent rise in the deployment of Cyber National Mission Force cyber protection team operations that worked to protect DoDIN from malicious threats and adversaries.

Cybercom added it developed the “Operational Guidance 3-2: Defensive Cyberspace Operations” and “Operational Guidance for Sensing” documents which respectively help plan and execute defensive cyberspace operations as well as support situational awareness.

The Cybercom team also launched Operation Gladiator Hunter which synchronizes previous efforts and sets initial benchmarks for strategic prioritization of DCO missions throughout the Defense Department.

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Report: DHS Eyes Single Data Collection Portal for Agencies
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Report: DHS Eyes Single Data Collection Portal for Agencies


Report: DHS Eyes Single Data Collection Portal for AgenciesThe Department of Homeland Security has launched an effort to develop a single portal for data collection across 47 different agencies that handle goods coming into U.S., Federal News Radio reported Friday.

The agencies participated in conference calls, workshops and agile software development to automate and consolidate more than 200 paper forms, the report said.

Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for trade at Customs and Border Protection, told the Federal Drive radio show that the program involved support from private sector partners.

Smith advised agencies that work with industry to conduct early and frequent communications as well as agree on a solution that works for both parties.

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David Kautter Appointed IRS Acting Commissioner
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David Kautter Appointed IRS Acting Commissioner


David Kautter Appointed IRS Acting Commissioner
David Kautter

President Donald Trump has appointed David Kautter, assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department, as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in a move that takes effect Nov. 13, the White House reported Thursday.

Kautter previously worked at professional services firm EY in positions such as director of national tax as well as national director of compensation and benefits, tax services, human resource services, tax methodology development and delivery.

The 40-year tax management veteran also served as a partner and leader of Washington National Tax at RSM US; managing director of the Kogod Tax Center at the American University’s Kogod School of Business; director of national tax at Arthur Young; tax legislative counsel at the U.S. Senate.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University.

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DHS’ Michael Duffy Offers Updates on Kaspersky Anti-Virus Software’s Presence on Federal Networks
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DHS’ Michael Duffy Offers Updates on Kaspersky Anti-Virus Software’s Presence on Federal Networks


DHS’ Michael Duffy Offers Updates on Kaspersky Anti-Virus Software's Presence on Federal NetworksAn official with the Department of Homeland Security has said more than half of federal agencies had complied with the Oct. 13 deadline to identify whether they run Kaspersky Lab-developed anti-virus software on their computer networks, Nextgov reported Friday.

Michael Duffy, a DHS official, told reporters that of those compliant agencies, fewer than half reported their information systems use the Russian company’s anti-virus platform.

Duffy refused to disclose any specific percentage with regard to those that complied with the DHS deadline and those that discovered Kaspersky’s anti-virus tool in their data infrastructure.

DHS issued a binding operational directive in September that requires agencies to remove Kaspersky’s anti-virus software and related products from their information systems within 90 days due to potential security vulnerabilities and the company’s potential ties to the Russian government.

A&D Trade Group Asks Congress to Introduce ‘Revenue-Neutral’ Tax Reform Plan
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A&D Trade Group Asks Congress to Introduce ‘Revenue-Neutral’ Tax Reform Plan


A&D Trade Group Asks Congress to Introduce ‘Revenue-Neutral' Tax Reform PlanAn aerospace and defense trade group has asked Congress to devise a tax reform plan that would not contribute to budget deficit in an effort to prevent potential cuts to defense spending in the long term due to high shortfall, Defense News reported Saturday.

Doc Syers, vice president for legislative affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association, said AIA wants lawmakers to adopt a “revenue-neutral tax plan” as much as possible.

“We wanted all options to be on the table for Congress to offset the rate cuts and make tax cuts permanent,” Syers said Thursday.

“It’s up to the folks who really know all the credits and loopholes and deductions to balance that load and find the best possible situation — and that’s where we find ourselves at the moment.”

AIA also calls for Congress to implement a tax overhaul plan that would replace the worldwide tax system with a structure in which U.S. companies owe tax on domestic profits only.

Companies “want the certainty that comes with permanent tax changes over a decade that allow them to make basic business decisions on investments in [research and development], on whether to modernize plants, whether to do hires and which technologies to explore,” Syers added.

AIA represents defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to introduce a tax measure over the next two weeks, the report added.

The trade group’s call came a week after the Senate passed its fiscal 2018 budget resolution that would authorize a tax reform plan.

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Former NASA Chief Michael Griffin to be Nominated DoD Acquisition Deputy Undersecretary
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Former NASA Chief Michael Griffin to be Nominated DoD Acquisition Deputy Undersecretary


Former NASA Chief Michael Griffin to be Nominated DoD Acquisition Deputy Undersecretary
Michael Griffin

President Donald Trump will nominate Michael Griffin, former NASA administrator, as principal deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, Reuters reported Saturday.

Once confirmed, Griffin is expected to transition to the role of defense undersecretary for research and engineering by February 2018 as part of a reorganization plan the Defense Department announced in August.

DoD plans to split the AT&L undersecretary role into two positions in which one will oversee acquisition and sustainment functions – USDA&S – while the other undersecretary will be responsible for R&E efforts.

Griffin, who led NASA between 2005 and 2009, recently worked at Schafer Corp. as chairman and CEO.

He held various roles at NASA such as chief engineer and associate administrator for exploration.

He previously served as president and chief operating officer at In-Q-Tel and space department head at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Griffin also held senior leadership roles at Orbital ATK’s predecessor, Orbital Sciences, such as general manager of space systems group and CEO of the company’s Magellan systems division.

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Navy Backs Underwater Simulation Research Project
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Navy Backs Underwater Simulation Research Project


Navy Backs Underwater Simulation Research ProjectThe U.S. Navy‘s Office of Naval Research has sponsored a research project that aims to identify new methods to protect special operations divers from unseen-oxygen toxicity.

The study is led by Blair Johnson, a University at Buffalo professor of exercise physiology, and focuses on the human sympathetic nervous system that works to dictate an individual’s response to a perceived risk, an attack or a survival threat, the Navy said Thursday.

“Recent evidence suggests that hormone levels critical to maintaining breathing and heart function drop sharply when someone is immersed underwater,” said William D’Angelo, manager of ONR’s Undersea Medicine Program.

Johnson and his team members have built a water-immersion tank at the University’s Center for Research and Education in Special Environments to simulate underwater conditions.

The research group puts acupuncture needle-like microelectrodes into a volunteer’s nerves in order to measure physiological impulses and document reactions to water temperature changes and oxygen intake as part of experiments.

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GAO Urges DoD to Address F-35 Sustainment Challenges
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GAO Urges DoD to Address F-35 Sustainment Challenges


GAO Urges DoD to Address F-35 Sustainment ChallengesThe Government Accountability Office has found that the Defense Department‘s F-35 fighter aircraft program faces sustainment challenges primarily due to the lack of comprehensive sustainment plans and aligned funding.

GAO said in a report published Thursday DoD’s repair capacity for F-35 parts at military depots is six years behind schedule, doubling average part repair times to 172 days from the original goal of 60 to 90 days.

The report also found that F-35 aircraft were unable to operate 22 percent of the time from January through August due to ongoing spare parts shortages.

DoD has yet to identify all technical data it needs from prime contractor Lockheed Martin to allow competition for sustainment contracts in the future, GAO said.

The congressional watchdog added that the U.S. Marine Corps‘ initial ship deployment of F-35s in 2018 will not include necessary intermediate-level maintenance capabilities that enable repairs at sea.

DoD plans to implement initial intermediate capabilities to address the issue, but the department does not have funds in place to support implementation.

The Pentagon plans to award multi-year performance-based sustainment contracts to Lockheed by 2020, but GAO cautioned the department against entering such deals because of insufficient performance metrics and technical information.

DoD has forged performance-based agreements with Lockheed on a trial basis but the department has yet to achieve its desired aircraft performance, GAO said.

Performance metrics used in the pilot agreements do not fully reflect processes that are under Lockheed’s control, the report noted.

DoD also lacks information on F-35 sustainment costs and technical characteristics due to system immaturity.

GAO urged DoD to revise sustainment plans, reassess metrics and gather sufficient information on F-35 sustainment costs and technical characteristics before awarding performance-based contracts.

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DISA to Exercise Streamlined Contracting Authority
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DISA to Exercise Streamlined Contracting Authority


DISA to Exercise Streamlined Contracting AuthorityThe Defense Information Systems Agency plans to use a new contracting authority called Other Transaction Agreements starting next quarter in an effort to speed up acquisitions, C4ISRNET reported Wednesday.

DISA obtained permission to use OTAs in May but the agency did not immediately exercise the authority because of the need to establish new processes, the report said.

OTAs include deals that are executed outside the Defense Department‘s traditional acquisition system.

“One of the challenges with OTA is we actually have to build our workforce to understand how to use this capability, this contracting,” DISA Vice Director Rear Adm. Nancy Norton said Tuesday at the annual MilCom conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

“We’re building up that contingent within DISA to be able to understand how to most flex this capability and authority that we have now,” Norton added.

She noted that DISA has yet to define how it will use OTAs, but the agency might award follow-on contracts for existing rapid prototype initiatives through the new procurement vehicle.

In the News: Rear Adm. Colin G. Chinn, Joint Staff Surgeon of Joint Chiefs of Staff
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In the News: Rear Adm. Colin G. Chinn, Joint Staff Surgeon of Joint Chiefs of Staff

 

“For the last 15 years, we have had a significant amount of our [R&D] dollars go toward solving issues that have arisen…We are making great strides in opening up some issues and preparing for future conflicts.”

In the News: Rear Adm. Colin G. Chinn, Joint Staff Surgeon of Joint Chiefs of Staff
Colin Chinn

“All hands on deck,” said Joint Staff Surgeon, Rear Adm. Colin G. Chinn in his address at the Human Factors: How to Improve Combat Survivability forum in early April. At the time of his presentation, Chinn was Deputy ASD(HA) for R&D, walking a tightrope everyday in a balancing act of weighted responsibilities ranging from the oversight of supporting a $2 billion defense health program funding cutting-edge research, to prioritizing enterprise maintenance and keeping the lens focused on “Big ‘A'” acquisition processes.

Now at the newly-introduced combat-supporting Defense Health Agency (DHA) headquartered at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., Chinn works closely with the armed services on a 6-domain R&D portfolio, addressing CCMD-identified gaps, and as he loosely puts it: “I turn novel and innovative ideas into fielded products.”

“Our research seeks R&D solutions to the medical capability of the apps that have been identified by the combatant commands and the services, cutting across the entire continuum of care,” Chinn said. “My focus is primarily on triple ‘C’ concepts (combat, casualty, care), military operational medicine and medical simulation–strictly following the FDA-regulatory process–to make sure that the products or knowledge that we produce are of the highest standards of safety and efficacy.”

In the News: Rear Adm. Colin G. Chinn, Joint Staff Surgeon of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chinn plays chess and not checkers; his drive and attentiveness to the ‘Future Battlespace’ serves a reminder of the remaining moves that the U.S. has on the board, working hard to modernize health technology and military medicine in the right direction, and to stay a step ahead in the game. Military explorations in new tech like wearable sensors allow Chinn to travel around the country visiting research labs in the pursuit of optimizing medical performance for squads in-theater, large or small.

“90 percent of injuries and deaths are due to failure of early-detection. A lot of our work–we’re doing so many things–is involved in injury treatment,” said Chinn. “Thirty years ago when I was a medical officer, I was told not to use a tourniquet. Now, it can be one of the first measures taken to stop bleeding. All of our research and development keeps the warfighter in mind.”

Since completing his medical training, Chinn has served his country both domestically and overseas, including director of Tricare Region West/Pacific, chief of the Navy Medical Corps, U.S. Pacific Command surgeon, and as a dual-wielding director of the R&D Directorate (J9) of the DHA and U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command deputy commander. His accomplishments as a doctor and a decorated naval leader speak for themselves, as he continues to push the envelope on developing and delivering an integrated system of combat-ready medical care.

“For the last 15 years, we have had a significant amount of our [R&D] dollars go toward solving issues that have arisen,” Chinn said in closing. “We are making great strides in opening up some issues and preparing for future conflicts.”

Chinn serves as the chief medical advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing invaluable insight to chairs, the Joint Staff, and coordinating all issues related to health services, operational medicine, force health protection and readiness.

Rear Admiral Chinn will be addressing the Potomac Officer’s Club as a keynote speaker at the Operational Medicine through the lens of Defense Health Modernization forum to be held Nov. 7 at the 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, VA.

Click here to register

 

 

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