The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will host a two-day event on Aug. 2 to 3 in Arlington, Virginia to discuss the Strategic Technology Office’s mission, problem spaces and technology interests with industry.

DARPA said Friday the Sync with STO event seeks to foster discussion between STO program managers and technologists on ways to address national security challenges.

“We look forward to engaging with a wide spectrum of technology companies, university researchers, and other technologists who can provide unique insights and advanced commercial technologies that could be applied in new ways to achieve STO’s vision,” said STO Director Tom Burns.

“We are especially interested in hearing from small, innovative, tech-savvy companies or research teams that have never worked with us before,” Burns added.

STO seeks to develop technologies in five areas including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; battle management; command and control; communications and networking; and electronic warfare.

Sync with STO will involve two workshop sessions wherein DARPA PMs and attendees will work together to assess military challenges and create potential technology solutions.

Discussions will focus on identifying ways to mitigate strategic U.S. military challenges; unconventional global security problems; and challenges associated with design, deployment and operation of complex and adaptive technologies, DARPA noted.

Interested participants can register for the event until July 17.

The Defense Department has moved to form a strategy that would define objectives to support collaboration and integration across DoD, as part of the requirements under section 911 of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Government Accountability Office said Friday DoD expects to complete the development of its organizational strategy by Sept. 1.

Section 911 also requires DoD to train officials within the office of the secretary of defense, who were appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, as well as award a contract to study practices for cross-functional teams.

DoD officials told GAO that the department plans to use existing approaches and establish additional methods to train OSD officials on leadership, organizational practice, collaboration and operation of cross-functional teams within three months of appointment.

The department issued a contract to explore leading practices for cross-functional teams on June 9, which is past the March 15 deadline set by section 911, according to the government watchdog agency.

Officials reported that DoD did not have enough funds to award the contract by the required date due to a delay in the passage of a defense appropriations bill for FY 2017.

DoD aims to submit results of the study to Congress in August.

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $10 million in total grants to 26 local law enforcement and community organizations that aim to help the government combat terrorism and radicalization.

DHS said Friday the Countering Violent Extremism program will fund community-led initiatives to identify and stop terrorist recruitment and extremist activities as well as deter individuals from engaging in criminal behavior or terrorist plotting.

The initiatives will also address terrorist messaging and help local law enforcement intervene to keep the youth from radicalization, DHS added.

DHS’ Office for Community Partnerships will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to execute the CVE grant program, which Congress established in December 2015.

The full list of awardees is posted on DHS’ website.

Rear Adm. Samuel Paparo, a U.S. Navy corporate fellow at Lockheed Martin, has been appointed to serve as commander of Carrier Strike Group 10 in Norfolk, Virginia, the Defense Department said Friday.

Paparo joined the Navy in 1987 and has supported Lockheed’s efforts to develop long-range objectives and strategic plans since August 2016 through the identification of internal and external factors that could affect corporate growth and innovation.

The 30-year naval officer previously held the roles of executive assistant to the chief of naval operations, executive assistant to the commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command and branch head within the service branch’s programming and assessment directorate.

He also led the Carrier Air Wing 7, Strike Fighter Squadron 106, Strike Fighter Squadron 195 and Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.

Paparo holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Villanova University and master’s degrees from the Old Dominion University and Naval Postgraduate School.