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Report: DoD FY 2018 Budget Request Includes $4.8B for European Defense Efforts
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Report: DoD FY 2018 Budget Request Includes $4.8B for European Defense Efforts


Report: DoD FY 2018 Budget Request Includes $4.8B for European Defense EffortsThe Defense Department‘s fiscal year 2018 budget request allocates approximately $4.8 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative, an increase of $1.4 billion from ERI funds in FY 2017, DoD News reported Thursday.

Air Force Maj. Gen. David Allvin, director of strategy at the U.S. European Command, told reporters in a telephone briefing that the funding increase will support efforts against future Russian aggression through heightened air, sea and land force activities as well as interoperability with multinational forces.

Allvin added the requested FY 2018 ERI budget includes $1.7 billion for increased U.S. military presence; $218 million for exercises and training; $2.2 billion for prepositioning military equipment; $338 million to optimize infrastructure; and $267 million to boost the defense capacity of allies and partners.

The budget request also allocates $150 million to aid Ukraine’s internal defense operations, the report stated.

EUCOM said in a press release that the U.S. Army will maintain its rotational armored brigade combat team and combat aviation brigade presence in the region in FY 2018.

The military branch will also ramp up intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts; integrated air and missile defense efforts; interoperability and deterrence exercises; and prepositioned equipment, according to the report.

The U.S. Air Force will expand ISR processing, exploitation and dissemination activities with European allies and continue support for NATO missions.

EUCOM noted the U.S. Marine Corps will work to grow its rotational presence across the theater and increase prepositioning assets while the U.S. Navy will boost anti-submarine warfare and surface mine-countermeasure efforts and equipment.

Delfin Gets DOE Approval to Export Liquefied Natural Gas From Proposed Offshore Terminal
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Delfin Gets DOE Approval to Export Liquefied Natural Gas From Proposed Offshore Terminal


Delfin Gets DOE Approval to Export Liquefied Natural Gas From Proposed Offshore TerminalThe Energy Department has granted Delfin LNG approval to export 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of liquefied natural gas over a 20-year period to countries that are not bound by free-trade agreements.

The company will export LNG from the proposed Delfin floating liquefaction facility in the Gulf of Mexico, DOE said Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration conducted the environmental review of the Delfin project that is located off Cameron Parish in Louisiana.

The proposed offshore project will cover the development of storage vessels and floating liquefaction terminals.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the authorization seeks to reflect efforts to invest in natural gas for job creation and economic development as well as help allies ensure energy security.

The approval of the Delfin offshore project brings the country’s total natural gas export capacity to 21 billion cubic feet per day.

India-based Fairwood Group and U.S.-based Peninsula group jointly own the Delfin LNG terminal.

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Thomas Zacharia Named Director of DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Thomas Zacharia Named Director of DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory


Thomas Zacharia Named Director of DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Thomas Zacharia

Thomas Zacharia, deputy director for science and technology at the Energy Department‘s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named director of ORNL effective July 1.

DOE said Thursday the board of governors of UT-Batelle — a joint venture of Battelle and the University of Tennessee — unanimously elected Zacharia to succeed Thom Mason as director.

UT-Battelle manages and operates ORNL on behalf of DOE.

“Dr. Zacharia has proven success with academic partnerships, broad-based scientific experience, and an exceptional skill set for building relationships,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Zacharia currently serves as a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Tennessee, where he has also worked as vice president of science and technology.

He previously served as chairman of the Qatar Science & Technology Park, a business park that focuses on technology incubation and acceleration.

Zacharia originally joined ORNL in 1987 as a postdoctoral researcher and has since held various roles at the laboratory including deputy laboratory director, associate laboratory director and director of the computer science and mathematics division.

 

Corey duBrowa Joins Salesforce as EVP and Chief Communications Officer
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Corey duBrowa Joins Salesforce as EVP and Chief Communications Officer


Corey duBrowa Joins Salesforce as EVP and Chief Communications OfficerCorey duBrowa will join Salesforce as Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer.

DuBrowa starts at Salesforce in July and will report to Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff, the company announced Thursday. Most recently, DuBrowa was the seven-year senior vice president of global communications for Starbucks as the coffee giant grew from 40 countries to 75.

“Corey is an extraordinary executive who brings a wealth of communications experience to Salesforce,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce. “He is the perfect person to lead our communications in our next phase of growth, and we are thrilled to have him as part of our team.”

 “Salesforce is a company that I’ve long admired for its pioneering technology leadership, uncompromising customer focus and its commitment to creating positive social impact,” said Corey duBrowa. “It’s an exciting time to join Salesforce and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of its future.”

Before his work with Starbucks, duBrowa also worked for WE Worldwide as President of the Americas Region and Business Development, as well as with Nike in a variety of global communications and management roles.

Trump Withdraws U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord
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Trump Withdraws U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord


Trump Withdraws U.S. from the Paris Climate AccordPresident Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. The White House said they will reopen negotiations so as to arrive at a deal that puts American workers first.

This decision fulfills a Trump campaign promise. In a release, the White House said the Paris Climate Accord would “cost the U.S. economy nearly $3 trillion in reduced output, over 6 million industrial jobs, and over 3 million manufacturing jobs.”

“At what point does America get demeaned? At what point do they start laughing at us as a country?” asked Trump at a Rose Garden event Thursday.

Continuing his criticisms, Trump said, “We want fair treatment. We don’t want other countries and other leaders to laugh at us anymore.”

“I was elected by the citizens of Pittsburgh,” Trump added, “not Paris.”

The Obama administration entered the pact along with 195 other nations on Dec. 12, 2015. The Paris agreement states that the threat of climate change is “urgent and potentially irreversible,” and must be addressed through “the widest possible cooperation by all countries” and “deep reductions in global emissions.”

The agreement calls for countries to recognize climate change and adopt green energy sources, cut down on climate change emissions and limit the rise of global temperatures, reports NPR.

Trump said Thursday that “this agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States.”

After Trump’s announcement, leaders of France, Italy and Germany said in a joint statement that the US cannot unilaterally renegotiate the terms of the agreement.

The deal “cannot be renegotiated based on the request of a single party” proclaimed the UN body that facilitated the deal.

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GAO: Most Participating Agencies Met Spending Requirements Under Small Business R&D Programs
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GAO: Most Participating Agencies Met Spending Requirements Under Small Business R&D Programs


GAO: Most Participating Agencies Met Spending Requirements Under Small Business R&D ProgramsThe Government Accountability Office has found that most agencies met spending requirements under two small business research and development programs in fiscal year 2015.

GAO said Wednesday nine of 11 participating agencies under the Small Business Innovation Research program submitted the required report on obligations for extramural research and development work, which are conducted by non-federal personnel outside of federal facilities.

Eight of the nine agencies met the 2.9 percent minimum requirement for extramural R&D obligations spent on SBIR.

Four of five participants in the Small Business Technology Transfer program provided extramural R&D obligations data and all four achieved spending requirements.

Auditors could not determine whether the Defense Department or the Environmental Protection Agency had met requirements since they did not submit obligations data, GAO reported.

Officials from DoD, EPA and most participating agencies told GAO they faced challenges in using extramural R&D obligations data to calculate spending requirements and gauge compliance.

A group of agencies aim to propose an alternative calculation process to address difficulties, according to the report.

DoD and EPA should establish procedures to properly collect the required data, or propose to Congress an alternative way to calculate spending requirements, the congressional watchdog noted.

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GAO: FDIC Should Further Implement Information Security Program, Address Configuration Mgmt Gaps
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GAO: FDIC Should Further Implement Information Security Program, Address Configuration Mgmt Gaps


GAO: FDIC Should Further Implement Information Security Program, Address Configuration Mgmt GapsThe Government Accountability Office has urged the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to exploit the full implementation of its information security program and mitigate identified access and configuration management gaps.

GAO said in a report published Wednesday that it discovered potential lapses on the authorization controls, boundary protection, identification and authentication capacity of the FDIC’s financial systems.

FDIC has established multiple information security controls in a push to defend its financial systems and the agency also implemented a comprehensive framework for the organization’s information security program.

The government watchdog agency noted that the FDIC was able to identify security categories for general support systems, evaluate control deficiency risks and conduct disaster recovery tests on its systems and applications.

GAO noted that FDIC must work to mitigate reported control deficiencies to protect sensitive financial information and resources from being disclosed, destroyed, misused or modified.

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NIST Cyber Center Seeks Comments on Proposed Internet Traffic Routing Security Project
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NIST Cyber Center Seeks Comments on Proposed Internet Traffic Routing Security Project


NIST Cyber Center Seeks Comments on Proposed Internet Traffic Routing Security ProjectThe National Institute of Standards and Technology‘s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has begun to seek public comments on a draft project that seeks to develop a publication to provide recommendations to protect internet traffic routing functions from cyber threats.

NCCoE said the proposed special publication as part of the Secure Inter-Domain Routing: Route Hijacks project will offer recommendations on the use of routing and inter-domain technologies and protocols.

The project also aims to facilitate the implementation of the Border Gateway Protocol Route Origin Validation process based on the Resource Public Key Infrastructure to help reduce route hijacking-related attacks.

BGP works as a default protocol for internet routing among autonomous systems and internet service providers.

NCCoE also plans to develop a cyber practice guide that will suggest practices that seek to show the functionality of ROV components.

The center will accept public feedback through June 29.

 

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DARPA-Backed Researchers Aim to Help Robots Imbibe Human Norms Via Machine Learning Algorithm
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DARPA-Backed Researchers Aim to Help Robots Imbibe Human Norms Via Machine Learning Algorithm


DARPA-Backed Researchers Aim to Help Robots Imbibe Human Norms Via Machine Learning AlgorithmThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has funded a team of researchers to create a machine-learning algorithm designed to help artificial intelligence systems learn human social norms.

The researchers developed the algorithm through the creation of a computational framework of human norms that can be converted into AI machines, DARPA said Wednesday.

“The goal of this research effort was to understand and formalize human normative systems and how they guide human behavior, so that we can set guidelines for how to design next-generation AI machines that are able to help and interact effectively with humans,” said Reza Ghanadan, program manager at DARPA.

Researchers at Tufts University and Brown University led by Bertram Malle conducted the project for DARPA.

 

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Air Force Tests Boeing-Developed Aircraft Refueling Tanker to Ensure Compliance with FAA Requirements
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Air Force Tests Boeing-Developed Aircraft Refueling Tanker to Ensure Compliance with FAA Requirements


Air Force Tests Boeing-Developed Aircraft Refueling Tanker to Ensure Compliance with FAA RequirementsThe U.S. Air Force has begun tests on a Boeing-built aerial refueling tanker to validate the aircraft’s capacity to meet Federal Aviation Administration certification requirements.

The service branch said Tuesday the KC-46A will undergo tests at the Benefield Anechoic Facility within the Edwards Air Force Base in California to evaluate the platform’s compliance with Defense Department electromagnetic environmental effects requirements.

The tests will evaluate the system’s shield effectiveness, capacity to moderate emission and perform missions in radiated fields.

The report noted that the tests will also help ensure that the KC-46A does not experience performance degradation which may impact mission outcomes.

BAF houses the world’s largest anechoic chamber which can offer an environment for electronic warfare tests on most aircraft without interference from outside sources.

The test team at BAF include Boeing, the 418th Flight Test Squadron, the 772nd Test Squadron and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.

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