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Report: Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell to Leave White House
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Report: Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell to Leave White House


Report: Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell to Leave White House
Dina Powell

Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, intends to leave the White House as she plans to return to her home in New York early next year, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Senior administration officials told the publication Powell and Trump have tackled the former’s resignation and started to come up with a plan on how Powell can continue to advise the president on the Middle East policy.

Powell’s “sage advice helped provide options to the president, and her strong relationships across the U.S. government and internationally helped drive execution of the president’s decisions,” H.R. McMaster, national security adviser, said in an email.

She worked with McMaster and Nadia Schadlow, one of the National Security Council staff, to develop the Trump administration’s national security strategy that is set to be announced this month.

Powell previously served as assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and director of presidential personnel during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

She is a former executive at investment bank Goldman Sachs and a former staffer during the term of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia).

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Gen. Jay Raymond Named Stratcom’s Joint Force Space Component Commander
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Gen. Jay Raymond Named Stratcom’s Joint Force Space Component Commander


Gen. Jay Raymond Named Stratcom’s Joint Force Space Component Commander
Jay Raymond

Gen. Jay Raymond, Air Force Space Command chief, has officially assumed the additional role of Joint Force Space Component commander as part of the U.S. Strategic Command’s restructuring efforts.

Raymond assumed his new position during a ceremony presided by Stratcom commander Gen. John Hyten on Dec. 1, at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, the U.S. Air Force said Dec. 4.

The ceremony marked the inactivation of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space and the initial operating capability of JFSCC.

Raymond will oversee the joint space forces’ command-and-control functions as well as the management and training of the service branch’s space forces.

“We are now focused on further integrating space… on taking tried and proven methods of joint warfighting, and applying them to the space domain to ensure normalization across all mission sets,” Hyten said.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, JFSCC integration team lead, was also appointed JFSCC deputy commander and succeeded Lt. Gen. David Buck as head of the 14th Air Force.

Stratcom also designated AFSPC as Air Forces Strategic-Space to build up the warfighting role of the command’s Air Force Service Component.

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Former HHS OIG InfoSec Official Steven Hernandez Moves to Education Dept
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Former HHS OIG InfoSec Official Steven Hernandez Moves to Education Dept


Former HHS OIG InfoSec Official Steven Hernandez Moves to Education Dept
Steven Hernandez

Steven Hernandez, former chief information security officer at the Department of Health and Human Services‘ Office of the Inspector General, will assume the CISO role at the Education Department effective Dec. 10, Cyberscoop reported Thursday.

The report noted Hernandez will bring government information technology experience to drive integrity and privacy efforts at the Education Department and support the integration of the agency’s cyber, information security and telecommunications programs.

The department posted a USAJobs notice for the position in June, which said the CISO will also serve as director of information assurance and principal adviser to the chief information officer and deputy CIO.

Hernandez is a volunteer at the nonprofit International Information System Security Certification Consortium and has served as a board member at the Cyber Corps Association as well as vice president and vice chairman of the board for the CyberCorps Scholarship For Service association.

He worked as a certification and accreditation manager at the Education Department earlier in his career.

DOE Announces Solicitation for Nuclear Reactor Technologies
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DOE Announces Solicitation for Nuclear Reactor Technologies


DOE Announces Solicitation for Nuclear Reactor TechnologiesThe Department of Energy has announced solicitation proposals for the development of nuclear reactors and supplementary technologies in aims to promote the use of nuclear power in the U.S.

DOE said Friday it will open a five-year application period for interested potential contractors and conduct selection processes quarterly.

The Department plans to obligate $30 million or more in fiscal 2018 funding to the selected contractor.

“Targeted early-stage investment in advanced nuclear technology will support a strong domestic industry now and into the future,” said DOE Secretary Rick Perry.

The effort persuades industry firms to collaborate with government agencies, laboratories, higher education institutions and other relevant parties within the country.

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Israel Announces Operational Readiness of F-35s
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Israel Announces Operational Readiness of F-35s


Israel Announces Operational Readiness of F-35sThe Israeli air force has declared that its fleet of Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighter aircraft is ready for combat operations.

Israel’s F-35s, named Adir, obtained initial operational capability after a year of training, which began when the country received its first aircraft in December 2016, Israel’s defense forces said Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, commander of the Israeli air force, said Adir will support the country’s air force as it operates “on a large scale on a number of fronts in a dynamic Middle East.”

The IOC was declared following an assessment of five of Israel’s nine existing F-35 planes, FlightGlobal reported Thursday.

Lt. Col. Yotam, commander of the 140th “Golden Eagle” squadron that operates the Adir fleet, said the jets will be deployed during Israel’s next military campaign.

Yotam added that the Israeli air force still needs to conduct tests, develop combat doctrines and gain “extensive learning” under its F-35 program.

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Mark Esper: Army Looks to Streamline Capability Delivery to Soldiers
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Mark Esper: Army Looks to Streamline Capability Delivery to Soldiers


Mark Esper: Army Looks to Streamline Capability Delivery to SoldiersU.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper has said the service branch plans to streamline the process of delivering capabilities to warfighters in the field, Defense News reported Thursday.

Esper noted during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on acquisition reform the Army looks to cut the requirements development timeline for typical acquisition programs to approximately one year from its current average of five years.

“The process now to acquire something is maybe 10 to 15 years … It used to be five to seven … So our aim would be to get it back to where it used to be as a starting point,” said Esper.

He added the Army will implement eight directives designed to modify and update its capability and material development, requirement development, contracting, sustainment and evaluation processes.

The Army also looks to utilize soldier involvement on the evaluation of prototypes to collect input that can help determine potential changes to the technologies’ design or requirements, the report noted.

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Ellen Lord: NDAAs Help Pentagon Accelerate Procurement, Modernization Efforts
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Ellen Lord: NDAAs Help Pentagon Accelerate Procurement, Modernization Efforts


Ellen Lord: NDAAs Help Pentagon Accelerate Procurement, Modernization EffortsDefense Department acquisition chief Ellen Lord has said defense policy bills enacted over the past two fiscal years have helped DoD to cut through the “red tape” that affected its acquisition and modernization efforts.

The U.S. Air Force reported Thursday she told Senate Armed Services Committee members that NDAAs have “provided the direction and the tools for the department to advance the capabilities required to restore our overmatch, speed the rate in which we field these advanced capabilities and improve the overall affordability of our fighting forces weapons systems.”

Lord added new authorities under the fiscal 2016 NDAA brought acquisition powers back to the military branches and worked to streamline the contracting system, according to Lord.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson also testified before SASC and told the committee that the new authorizations gave the Air Force decision authority over 76 percent of its program, up from 39 percent.

Wilson added that Lord has assigned eight more programs for Air Force management, which cut acquisition time by three months through the delegation of authority.

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David Norquist: DoD Financial Audit Now Underway
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David Norquist: DoD Financial Audit Now Underway


David Norquist: DoD Financial Audit Now Underway
David Norquist

David Norquist, Defense Department comptroller, has said he received a notice from the Pentagon’s office of the inspector general about the start of the first agencywide financial audit this month, DoD News reported Thursday.

“Beginning in 2018, our audits will occur annually, with reports issued Nov. 15,” Norquist said Thursday during the Pentagon news conference.

“Annual audits also ensure visibility over the quantity and quality of the equipment and supplies our troops use,” he added.

The departmentwide audit will involve approximately 2,400 auditors from independent public accounting companies and will examine weapons systems, supplies, real property and personnel across the service branches and agencies.

Norquist also discussed DoD’s contingency plan in the event of a government shutdown and how continuing resolutions impact military readiness.

His statement came before Congress passed Thursday another stopgap measure that would fund the government at current spending levels through Dec. 22.

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Navy Integrates AI Capabilities Into Shipboard Combat Networks
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Navy Integrates AI Capabilities Into Shipboard Combat Networks


Navy Integrates AI Capabilities Into Shipboard Combat NetworksThe U.S. Navy has begun efforts to integrate artificial intelligence capabilities into shipboard warfare networks that work to facilitate communications between littoral combat ships, destroyers, submarines, tactical nodes and shore locations, Scout Warrior reported Wednesday.

The service has started to upgrade the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services system aboard carriers, LCS, destroyers and other combat ships with AI technologies in order to facilitate automation and carry out analytical functions.

“We want to use it not only for defensive sensing of our networks but also for suggesting countermeasures,” Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett, Navy cybersecurity director, said of AI.

“We want to trust a machine and also look at AI in terms of how we use it against adversaries,” Barrett added.

CANES is designed to collect and transmit data from several domains and has nodes that use an automated digital networking platform to establish connection with satellite communication assets through the use of multiband terminals.

The service branch has completed work on more than 50 CANES systems and started to install the platforms aboard carriers, submarines and other combat vessels, the report added.

The Navy awarded five contractors a potential eight-year, $2.5 billion contract in 2014 to build and install CANES systems aboard the service’s fleet of combat ships.

Trump, Congressional Leaders Reach Provisional Deal on Defense Spending; Congress OKs 2-Week Stopgap Bill
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Trump, Congressional Leaders Reach Provisional Deal on Defense Spending; Congress OKs 2-Week Stopgap Bill


Trump, Congressional Leaders Reach Provisional Deal on Defense Spending; Congress OKs 2-Week Stopgap BillCongressional leaders and President Donald Trump on Thursday came to a “tentative agreement” to increase defense spending as part of a budget package, The Hill reported Thursday.

A White House official said Trump and congressional leaders were also in talks to reach an agreement on nondefense spending.

A source familiar with the meeting told the publication Democrats would allow defense programs to be funded at $54 billion for fiscal 2018 provided that nondefense initiatives would be backed with the same level of funding.

“The president had a constructive meeting with congressional leadership and Defense Secretary [James] Mattis, and the parties agreed on the need for eliminating the defense sequester to deal with the grave national security threats we face,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary, said in a statement.

Sanders added that negotiations on a long-term budget package would resume Friday.

Nextgov also reported that Congress passed Thursday another continuing resolution that would fund the government at current spending levels through Dec. 22.

The House voted 235-193 and the upper chamber voted 81-14 to approve a stopgap funding measure in an effort to avert a government shutdown and provide lawmakers more time to finalize the fiscal 2018 appropriations bill and raise the budget caps.

The Senate’s measure would authorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program through the end of 2017, the report added.

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