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Marine Corps Plans Laser-based Shooting Simulation Tech Upgrade
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Marine Corps Plans Laser-based Shooting Simulation Tech Upgrade


Marine Corps Plans Laser-based Shooting Simulation Tech UpgradeThe U.S. Marine Corps wants to update the military branch’s force-on-force shooting simulation system to accommodate replication for arcing shooting, Marine Corps Times reported Tuesday.

The branch aims to increase the capacity of laser systems to replicate the weight of bullets, a factor critical to simulating shots from mortars and grenade launchers, the report said.

USMC’s proposed Optically Based Small Arms Force-On-Force Training System would serve as the branch’s third-generation shooting simulation technology and replace the current Instrumented Tactical Engagement Simulation System.

The branch expects to launch a solicitation for the new system in late 2018.

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OPM Gives Agencies Technical Staff Hiring Authority for IT Modernization Programs
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OPM Gives Agencies Technical Staff Hiring Authority for IT Modernization Programs


OPM Gives Agencies Technical Staff Hiring Authority for IT Modernization ProgramsThe Office of Personnel Management has issued a memorandum to authorize agencies to use “excepted service appointments” as stated in the 5 Code of Federal Regulations 213.3102 to meet technical personnel requirements in support of information technology modernization efforts.

Kathleen McGettigan, acting OPM director, wrote in a memo released Friday agencies can use the authority to temporarily hire technical staff for up to a year in order to carry out Smarter IT Delivery and IT modernization programs funded under budgets for fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018.

The recruitment of employees for technical roles covers grade levels 11 through 15 under the General Schedule and can be implemented through the end of fiscal 2018.

OPM restricts the use of the authority to technical roles whose basic functions include solutions architecture, cloud migration and cloud architecture.

“OPM expects the use of this authority to inform our development of future qualifications standards and assessments for use in competitive examining,” McGettigan noted.

Agencies seeking to meet their technical requirements can use other hiring options such as the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, government-wide direct hire authority for IT management and consultant appointments, the memo added.

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DOE Researchers Recognized for Tech Devt Efforts
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DOE Researchers Recognized for Tech Devt Efforts


DOE Researchers Recognized for Tech Devt EffortsR&D Magazine has recognized researchers from the Energy Department for their efforts to develop new technology products or processes.

DOE said Monday its national laboratories received 33 of the 100 awards given out during the R&D 100 Awards on Friday in Orlando, Florida.

The winners were selected from technology projects that were developed and introduced to the market in 2016 by industry, government and academia.

An independent panel of judges picked the awardees based on the technical significance, uniqueness and usefulness of the technologies.

DOE’s laboratories have obtained more than 800 R&D 100 awards since the competition began in 1962.

The winning DOE projects include a new family of aluminum alloys; a sponge that provides a new method to clean up oil spills in water; an urban planning software; an algorithm that helps estimate electricity output from solar panels; and an indoor active-shooter detection system, among others.

USAF Transports Underwater Equipment to Support Argentine Submarine Search & Rescue Mission
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USAF Transports Underwater Equipment to Support Argentine Submarine Search & Rescue Mission


USAF Transports Underwater Equipment to Support Argentine Submarine Search & Rescue MissionThe U.S. Air Force has deployed military transport aircraft units to deliver U.S. Navy undersea rescue systems to help search for a missing Argentine submarine in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

USAF said Monday the Air Mobility Command launched two C-17 Globemaster IIIs and one C-5M Super Galaxy over the weekend to transport a submarine rescue chamber and a remotely operated underwater intervention vehicle to Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina.

The equipment will aid search-and-rescue efforts for the Argentine navy’s A.R.A San Juan submarine.

The SRC is designed to accommodate up to six people and operate at depths up to 850 feet.

USAF intends to conduct additional flights to deliver a Pressurized Rescue Module built to rescue up to 16 persons and submerge up to 2000 feet for docking and connecting with a settled submarine.

The U.S. Southern Command said Saturday the federal government supports a international assistance request from Argentina’s government for ongoing submarine S&R missions.

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Report: Frontis Wiggins to Retire as State Dept CIO
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Report: Frontis Wiggins to Retire as State Dept CIO


Report: Frontis Wiggins to Retire as State Dept CIO
Frontis Wiggins

Frontis Wiggins, chief information officer of the State Department, has decided to retire by Dec. 8 after a more than 30-year career there, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

Robert Adams, principal deputy CIO of the State Department, will succeed Wiggins on an interim basis, the report said.

Wiggins manages the $569 million budget of the State Department’s Information Resource Management Bureau and oversees the department’s total information technology management budget worth approximately one billion dollars in his current role.

Wiggins held roles of increasing responsibility at the State Department, such as principal deputy CIO, deputy CIO for foreign operations, a dean at the Foreign Service Institute and director of the IRM bureau’s messaging systems office, among others.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years.

DoD, VA Update Sen. John McCain on $4.3B EHR Implementation Program
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DoD, VA Update Sen. John McCain on $4.3B EHR Implementation Program


DoD, VA Update Sen. John McCain on $4.3B EHR Implementation ProgramThe departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs told Congress that VA and DoD work together to evaluate business processes and identify the necessary changes throughout the lifecycle of a $4.3 billion contract that seeks to help the Pentagon deploy a commercial electronic health record system, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

“DoD is making available senior acquisition, testing and project management experts who were instrumental in DoD’s own transformation to assist VA with initial contract implementation,” VA Secretary David Shulkin and Patrick Shanahan, deputy defense secretary, wrote in an October letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona).

In 2015, DoD awarded an industry team of Cerner, Leidos and Accenture a 10-year, $4.3 billion contract to field the MHS Genesis EHR system.

The letter is in response to McCain’s request for updates on lessons learned and best practices associated with the EHR implementation program.

Shanahan and Shulkin told the senator that VA has begun to develop an implementation and acquisition timeline and created a new EHR program office to be staffed with health IT and contracting professionals.

The letter comes as DoD marks the initial rollout of MHS Genesis at four health care facilities and as VA negotiates the terms of a potential 10-year contract with Cerner to field the same EHR platform.

DoD plans to fully deploy MHS Genesis in 2018 and complete the implementation phase in 2022, the report added.

US Army Garrison Develops Solar Tube Lighting System
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US Army Garrison Develops Solar Tube Lighting System


US Army Garrison Develops Solar Tube Lighting SystemA U.S. Army Garrison in Daegu, South Korea, has developed a solar tube lighting system in an effort to comply with the military branch’s renewable energy and green technology requirements.

The Army said Sunday the lighting system uses pipes to harness natural sunlight and brighten interiors without the use of electricity or a light bulb.

The project to develop the system began in 2014 with the goal to identify an alternative source of energy that could also help preserve the environment.

Eight buildings at the Army’s Camp Carroll base have been outfitted with solar tubes to date and six more facilities are due to receive system installations, according to the service branch.

The Army expects to save as much as $80,000 a year through the project.

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Marine Corps Sgt. Scott Stalker Assigned to Cybercom as Senior Enlisted Leader
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Marine Corps Sgt. Scott Stalker Assigned to Cybercom as Senior Enlisted Leader


Marine Corps Sgt. Scott Stalker Assigned to Cybercom as Senior Enlisted Leader
Scott Stalker

U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott Stalker, senior enlisted adviser for the Defense Intelligence Agency, has been appointed senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Cyber Command.

He will succeed U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. David Redmond, the Defense Department announced Monday.

Stalker was assigned to DLA in April last year and the first Marine to serve as DLA senior enlisted adviser.

He previously served at the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific, Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command and Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

His overseas deployments has included combat and contingency missions such as Operation Restore Hope in Somalia; Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Operation Silver Wake in Albania.

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Report: Trump Reinstates North Korea’s ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ Designation
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Report: Trump Reinstates North Korea’s ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ Designation


Report: Trump Reinstates North Korea’s ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’ DesignationPresident Donald Trump has decided to designate North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism for “repeatedly” backing assassinations overseas and other terrorist acts, CNN reported Tuesday.

Trump said Monday during a public cabinet meeting at the White House that the Treasury Department is set Tuesday to introduce new sanctions against North Korea amid the East Asian country’s ballistic missile and nuclear development efforts.

His move came nine years after President George W. Bush removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The redesignation of North Korea would result in sanctions such as restrictions on receiving foreign aid from the U.S. government and a ban on defense sales and exports.

Countries that are currently designated state sponsors of terror include Syria, Iran and Sudan, the report added.

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Marines Conduct Aerial Refueling Training in Hazardous Scenario
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Marines Conduct Aerial Refueling Training in Hazardous Scenario


Marines Conduct Aerial Refueling Training in Hazardous ScenarioThe U.S. Marine Corps has completed a “hot refueling” training exercise in Iwakuni, Japan, to familiarize marines with special equipment designed for operations in hazardous environments.

Marines wore Mission Oriented Protective Posture 4 gear composed of a mask, boots, suit and gloves during an F-35B Lightning II aircraft refueling activity, the Defense Department said Monday.

“This exercise enables us to refine our standard operating procedures while familiarizing the Marines to operate in gear they aren’t used to,” said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Martin Aldrete, a maintenance controller from VMFA-121.

MOPP is designed to protect troops as they train to operate in areas where chemical, biological or radiological weapons can affect their missions.

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