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Navy Applies Collaborative IT Contracting Process
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Navy Applies Collaborative IT Contracting Process


Navy Applies Collaborative IT Contracting ProcessThe U.S. Navy has initiated a new acquisition process for information technology products and services that involves coordination with industry while the contract is being developed, FCW reported Tuesday.

Capt. Donald Harder, deputy program executive officer for the Navy’s enterprise information systems, told reporters that the new method has been in place for two months and is intended to reduce the time it takes to negotiate contracts by four to six weeks.

The Navy pushed back the award of its Next Generation Enterprise Network Re-compete contracts to test a “sprint” procurement method that gives companies the opportunity to provide feedback on portions of the contract as drafts are created.

Harder said the new process also involves weekly conference calls and one-on-one sessions with companies to address questions and concerns on the drafts.

He added that the effort will help the Navy acquire services “in a way that industry provides it.”

Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently holds the $3.5 billion NGEN contract that was originally scheduled to end in June but has been extended to allow for transition.

The re-compete acquisition includes a contract for end-user hardware, which could be awarded in November 2018, and an IT services deal that could be issued in December 2018.

GAO: Navy, Marine Corps Should Adopt Amphibious Operations Training Strategy
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GAO: Navy, Marine Corps Should Adopt Amphibious Operations Training Strategy


GAO: Navy, Marine Corps Should Adopt Amphibious Operations Training StrategyThe Government Accountability Office has called on the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to formulate a strategy for both service branches to prioritize amphibious operations training resources and interpret common outcomes for naval integration efforts.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday it also recommended that Marine Corps produce guidance materials for the development and usage of virtual training assets.

The government audit agency found that select Marine Corps personnel had limited capacities to perform training missions for amphibious operations and other related priorities.

The decline in the number of active Navy amphibious ships also affected the Marine Corps’ training capacities for priority areas such as recurring training for home-station units, GAO noted.

Both service branches have begun to mitigate challenges related to amphibious training through the identification of units that need to be trained, the congressional watchdog reported.

GAO also urged the two services to increase coordination and implement collaborative practices to aid the naval integration of amphibious operations.

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DISA Supports Air Force Command ORS-5 Satellite Communications
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DISA Supports Air Force Command ORS-5 Satellite Communications


DISA Supports Air Force Command ORS-5 Satellite Communications

The Defense Information Systems Agency has contributed a converged access network for the Air Force Space Command and a military satellite tracking station to communicate with a new space surveillance satellite currently in orbit.

AFSC and its mission partners receive data from Operationally Responsive Space-5 via DISA’s Converged Access Lite Network, the agency said Tuesday.

The network employs an updated telemetry downlink technology designed to facilitate data transfer between the Diego Garcia tracking station in the Indian Ocean and ORS-5.

DISA’s Pacific Field Command officially commissioned the network April 18.

“Without the circuit rate increase, AFSCN could not have supported ORS-5 at the Diego Garcia tracking station,” said Lester Vanbuskirk Jr., a technical adviser at AFSCN.

The satellite was launched to space on Aug, 26 aboard an Orbital ATK-made Minotaur IV rocket and designed for surveillance operations within the geosynchronous orbit belt.

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Simon Birmingham: Australia to Create Natl Space Agency
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Simon Birmingham: Australia to Create Natl Space Agency


Simon Birmingham: Australia to Create Natl Space AgencySimon Birmingham, Australian minister of education, has announced that Australia’s government will create a new agency to oversee the country’s space programs and partnerships, Space News reported Sunday.

“This agency will be the anchor for our domestic coordination and the front door for our international engagement with so many of you across the world’s space industries,” Birminghan said in his opening remarks to the 68th International Astronautical Congress.

Birmingham told audience there is also an ongoing review of Australia’s space industry capacities.

“A national space agency will ensure we have a strategic long-term plan that supports the development and application of space technologies and grows our domestic space industry,” said Michaelia Cash, Australia’s acting minister of industry, innovation and science.

The report said South Australia also plans to establish a space development fund that would invest up to $800,000 annually in startup companies as well as scholarship and training programs in the region.

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GSA Unveils Roadmap to Help Companies Join Multiple Award Schedules
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GSA Unveils Roadmap to Help Companies Join Multiple Award Schedules


GSA Unveils Roadmap to Help Companies Join Multiple Award SchedulesThe General Services Administration has launched a website that is designed to help companies start offering products and services to government agencies via GSA’s contract vehicles known as Multiple Award Schedules.

GSA said Thursday the MAS Roadmap website is part of the agency’s Making It Easier initiative that aims to give companies of all sizes the tools they need to do business with government.

The MAS Roadmap is based on the IT Schedule 70 Plain Language Roadmap and is designed to provide a step-by-step guide on how to join GSA Schedules.

GSA initiated the MIE project in 2016 to address industry feedback on the complexity of becoming a vendor under MAS.

The agency previously worked to build MIE tools for the Schedule 70 procurement vehicle for IT goods and services.

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Senators Express Concern Over Decision to Exclude Aerial Refueling for Future Air Force One
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Senators Express Concern Over Decision to Exclude Aerial Refueling for Future Air Force One


Senators Express Concern Over Decision to Exclude Aerial Refueling for Future Air Force OneSenate lawmakers have raised concerns over the lack of aerial refueling capability in the next presidential aircraft, DoD Buzz reported Tuesday.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) asked Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the issue at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

“I think that was a decision that was not made by the — by the Air Force, but made by the White House, and I think it had to do with the fiscal constraints on the program,” Dunford said.

The service branch and the White House had been in talks to reduce the cost of the next Air Force One planes and forgoing the aircraft’s inflight refueling function was one of the cost-cutting measures they plan to implement.

Breaking Defense also reported that the Air Force’s budget request for fiscal 2018 shows that the service branch will need approximately $3.2 billion in funds from 2018 through 2022 to replace the current fleet of VC-25 planes.

“We may need to revisit that decision,” Cotton said of the White House’s decision to exclude the aerial refueling capability for the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program.

The hearing came weeks after the Air Force awarded Boeing a potential $600 million contract modification to conduct preliminary design work to convert a pair of 747-8 aircraft into presidential planes.

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National Guard Provides Comms System to Aid Hurricane Recovery Efforts
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National Guard Provides Comms System to Aid Hurricane Recovery Efforts


National Guard Provides Comms System to Aid Hurricane Recovery EffortsThe U.S. National Guard has rolled out satellite communications systems in an effort to address communication gaps in hurricane-affected U.S. territories.

The Guard said Friday its Joint Incident Site Communications Capability is designed to facilitate high-frequency radio, data, video and voice communications between first responders.

Four JISCCs are currently on-site in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to aid Hurricane Maria relief operations and more systems are slated to arrive.

The Guard previously fielded 18 JISCC platforms to support recovery missions in areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

A prototype of the communications system was deployed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to validate its performance.

The system has also been used to support chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and environmental response efforts as well as help mitigate wildfires in the Pacific Northwest.

The Guard expects to integrate 5G wireless connection into JISCC to optimize data transfer speed.

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Ryan McCarthy: Funding Predictability Key to Maintain Army Readiness, Modernization Efforts
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Ryan McCarthy: Funding Predictability Key to Maintain Army Readiness, Modernization Efforts


Ryan McCarthy: Funding Predictability Key to Maintain Army Readiness, Modernization Efforts
Ryan McCarthy

Ryan McCarthy, acting secretary of the U.S. Army, has said the service branch requires a “sufficient” and “predictable” budget to maintain readiness and prepare for future operations.

“You don’t defend a country on a budget, you defend it on a strategy,” McCarthy said Wednesday during his visit to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

“We must look for rapid insertion of new technology in order to keep pace with both commercial trends and adversaries,” he added.

McCarthy also met with Army leaders at APG to discuss the facility’s science and technology, research, development, acquisition, testing and sustainment functions.

He examined various modernization projects at APG, such as secure wireless communications, radios and mission command platforms.

The Army facility showcased other platforms such as the Ultra Light Command Post Node prototype designed to provide communications and mission command support; the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that will replace the Army’s Humvees; and the upgunned Stryker combat vehicle.

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Report: DHS to Introduce Federal Dashboard for Cybersecurity
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Report: DHS to Introduce Federal Dashboard for Cybersecurity


Report: DHS to Introduce Federal Dashboard for CybersecurityThe Department of Homeland Security will introduce a government-wide dashboard in October to compile data from federal agencies that currently use sensor networks and dashboards within their organizations, GCN reported Monday.

Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary at DHS’ cybersecurity office, said at a Professional Services Council-hosted event held Monday the federal dashboard represents the next step in the department’s continuous diagnostics and mitigation program.

The dashboard is designed to help an agency access information about server vulnerabilities and warn other agencies about the potential security threats.

The report noted that multiple agencies built internal dashboard to monitor network traffic, identify malicious cyber activity and comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act.

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Marines Conduct Hot-Loading Mission on F-35B Aircraft
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Marines Conduct Hot-Loading Mission on F-35B Aircraft


Marines Conduct Hot-Loading Mission on F-35B AircraftMarine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 members have performed a hot-loading mission using an F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft as part of the U.S. Marine Corp‘s Weapons and Tactics Instructors course 1-18.

The service branch said Monday that the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron one hosted the WTI event that gathered service members from around the world to participate in mission readiness training exercises.

The hot-loading mission aimed to provide an opportunity for pilots and ground crew to prepare for potential real world operations.

USMC service members loaded the AIM 120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile missiles onto an F-35B unit that immediately took off afterward.

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