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DoD/News
USAF Sec. Heather Wilson’s POC Event Keynote Pushes for More Resources to Elevate Space Domain
by Anna Forrester
Published on October 19, 2017
USAF Sec. Heather Wilson’s POC Event Keynote Pushes for More Resources to Elevate Space Domain


USAF Sec. Heather Wilson's POC Event Keynote Pushes for More Resources to Elevate Space Domain
Heather Wilson

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has emphasized during her keynote speech at a forum hosted by Executive Mosaic‘s Potomac Officers Club that the U.S. needs to establish readiness for potential conflict in the space domain.

The service branch said Wednesday Wilson called for increased resources and flexibility in procurement in order to meet space requirements for joint operations and counter the technology development efforts of adversaries.

She noted that the creation of the Space Warfighting Construct and a new deputy chief of staff for space position, as well as the proposed 20-percent budget increase to fund space programs, will work to help elevate and integrate the space mission.

“Integration of domains at high speed is absolutely vital to the success in future combat operations,” Wilson told the audience at POC’s Space: Innovations, Programs and Policies Summit.USAF Sec. Heather Wilson's POC Event Keynote Pushes for More Resources to Elevate Space Domain

“That means air, space, ground, sea, undersea and cyber — the nation that rapidly integrates all of those domains will inflict surprise on their enemy and prevail.”

The POC space forum was held Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and featured Wilson with other officials such as NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot; Maj. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of the Air Force Space Command; and George Nield, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration.

DoD/News
Report: DSCA Chief Charles Hooper Mulls Establishment of ‘Security Cooperation University’
by Ramona Adams
Published on October 19, 2017
Report: DSCA Chief Charles Hooper Mulls Establishment of ‘Security Cooperation University’


Report: DSCA Chief Charles Hooper Mulls Establishment of 'Security Cooperation University'
Charles Hooper

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Charles Hooper, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, wants DSCA to establish a security cooperation university as part of efforts to accelerate the foreign military sales process, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Hooper said at an Association of the U.S. Army event held Oct. 10 he envisions that the new university would “not only provide courses for people going to the field, but a genuine font of learning and knowledge, specifically focused on security cooperation.”

He also pointed to the Defense Acquisition University as a possible model for the proposed new institution.

Hooper, who assumed the DSCA leadership role in August, seeks to increase workforce education for security cooperation professionals and coordination between the agency and the military branches.

Government Technology/News
James Mattis Voices Concerns Over Cyber Language in Fiscal 2018 Defense Policy Bill
by Jane Edwards
Published on October 19, 2017
James Mattis Voices Concerns Over Cyber Language in Fiscal 2018 Defense Policy Bill


James Mattis Voices Concerns Over Cyber Language in Fiscal 2018 Defense Policy Bill
James Mattis

Defense Secretary James Mattis has asked Congress to remove a language in the proposed fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would pressure the U.S. to notify foreign governments of cyber attacks in the event that the Defense Department has decided to counter such breaches, Reuters reported Thursday.

“The nature of cyber attacks is ever evolving, and we need to maintain our ability to take decisive action against this increasingly dangerous threat,” Mattis wrote in a Tuesday letter to Congress.

His letter comes as House and Senate conference members start to reconcile the two NDAA versions.

The Washington Examiner reported that Mattis also expressed his concerns about the potential impact of budget caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act on the country’s military readiness.

“Current caps continue to unnecessarily defer critical maintenance, limit aviation availability, delay modernization, and strain our men and women in uniform,” he wrote.

Mattis also asked Congress to authorize another round of base realignment and closures and raised objections to several provisions in defense policy bills, such as the establishment of a new space corps and proposed reforms to the military health system.

Government Technology/News
OMB Sets 2018 Deadline for Annual FISMA Reports
by Jane Edwards
Published on October 19, 2017
OMB Sets 2018 Deadline for Annual FISMA Reports


OMB Sets 2018 Deadline for Annual FISMA ReportsThe Office of Management and Budget has released a memorandum that requires federal civilian agencies to submit their annual Federal Information Security Modernization Act reports to OMB and the Department of Homeland Security by March 1, 2018, MeriTalk reported Wednesday.

Agencies should also file their FISMA reports with the Government Accountability Office and Congress, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney wrote in the memo published Monday.

The document directs agency heads to submit to OMB chief and DHS secretary letters that include a detailed assessment of their organization’s data security policies and practices; number of cyber incidents reported through DHS’ U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team Incident Reporting System; and each incident’s description that includes vulnerabilities and threats.

Agencies should also report through the CyberScope online platform their breach response plans; privacy plans; continuous monitoring strategies for privacy; and written policies to justify that any new effort to collect Social Security numbers is needed.

The memo also requires agencies to inform inspector generals and Congress of any cyber breach within seven days through reports that contain information on threat actors, risk assessments performed on affected data infrastructure and remediation measures.

Acquisition & Procurement/News
Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch: Air Force Seeks JDAM, SDB Weapons Procurement Boost
by Mary-Louise Hoffman
Published on October 19, 2017
Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch: Air Force Seeks JDAM, SDB Weapons Procurement Boost


Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch: Air Force Seeks JDAM, SDB Weapons Procurement Boost
Arnold Bunch

The U.S. Air Force looks to increase the number of Joint Direct Attack Munitions and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs the military service procures each year, DoD Buzz reported Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy to Air Force assistance secretary for acquisition, told DoD Buzz the service branch aims to increase annual buy of JDAMs from 36,500 to as many as 45,000.

He added the Air Force wants to triple its precision-guided bomb purchases to 8,000 annually and determine if manufacturers face a shortfall of processes or technologies to address the branch’s weapons requirements.

Boeing produces tailkits for JDAM and SDB weapons.

“If you are in this industry and you are contributing to what is going into the weapons portfolio, and you believe you’re running into issues based on production, or you’re running into quality, we’ve got to know that really quickly,” Bunch was quoted as saying.

Civilian/News
GSA Nominee Emily Murphy Talks Competition, Transparency at Senate Confirmation Hearing
by Jane Edwards
Published on October 19, 2017
GSA Nominee Emily Murphy Talks Competition, Transparency at Senate Confirmation Hearing


GSA Nominee Emily Murphy Talks Competition, Transparency at Senate Confirmation Hearing
Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy, the White House’s nominee to head the General Services Administration, has said she plans to increase transparency and facilitate competition within GSA once confirmed, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

“We are trying to make sure GSA’s contracting officers and our policies support really vigorous competition at the task order level because that is the amount we actually are going to spend so we want to get the best deal there, the most competition we can there,” Murphy said during her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

She said she intends to boost transparency through changes to the System for Award management and development of a real property database.

Her other two priorities include efforts to reduce duplication through the adoption of shared services and advancement of ethical leadership.

Murphy also fielded questions from members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on her plans to address challenges associated with federal real property such as the disposal of unused federal properties, the report added.

Civilian/News
NASA, Boeing Develop In-Orbit Payload Housing Platform
by Nichols Martin
Published on October 18, 2017
NASA, Boeing Develop In-Orbit Payload Housing Platform


NASA, Boeing Develop In-Orbit Payload Housing PlatformNASA‘s Marshall Space Flight Center and Boeing have collaborated to develop an in-orbit storage platform for payloads built to support scientific research efforts aboard the International Space Station.

ISS currently houses multiple science payloads in eight shelving units dubbed EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station Racks and outfitted with resources astronauts need to maintain experiments, NASA said Tuesday.

The agency projects all the EXPRESS shelves will reach their full capacity by the end of 2018.

Sean Thompson, payload facilities team lead at the Marshall Space Flight Center, said the center is building a simplified version of ISS payload racks in an effort to accommodate a demand for science payloads on the space station.

The new Basic Express Racks are designed to have common connectors such as standard ethernet cables and scheduled for deployment to ISS late next years aboard the Japanese launch vehicle HTV7.

DoD/News
DoD Names McKinsey’s Eric Chewning as Deputy Assistant Sec for Industrial Policy
by Joanna Crews
Published on October 18, 2017
DoD Names McKinsey’s Eric Chewning as Deputy Assistant Sec for Industrial Policy


DoD Names McKinsey's Eric Chewning as Deputy Assistant Sec for Industrial Policy
Eric Chewning

Defense Department Secretary Jim Mattis has selected McKinsey & Co. Partner Eric Chewning as a Senior Executive Service appointee and a deputy assistant secretary at DoD.

The department said Tuesday Chewning will specifically oversee manufacturing and industrial base policy as a deputy assistant secretary of defense.

Chewning most recently worked with McKinsey as a partner advising clients in the aerospace and defense industry and is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He worked as a principal at Booz & Company, now known as Strategy& under PwC, before joining McKinsey in 2014.

He earned a master of business administration degree at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business as well as an international relations master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

DoD/News
David Trachtenberg Confirmed as DoD Policy Deputy Undersecretary
by Scott Nicholas
Published on October 18, 2017
David Trachtenberg Confirmed as DoD Policy Deputy Undersecretary


David Trachtenberg Confirmed as DoD Policy Deputy Undersecretary
David Trachtenberg

The Senate voted 79-19 Tuesday to confirm David Trachtenberg, former president and CEO of Shortwaver Consulting, as the Defense Department‘s principal deputy undersecretary for policy, Defense News reported Tuesday.

He will also serve as undersecretary of defense for policy on an acting basis as DoD awaits a decision on former Lockheed Martin executive John Rood’s nomination to the post.

The report said Trachtenberg supports efforts to increase the department’s missile defense capacity and strategy to counter threats from Russia.

The more than 30-year public and private sector veteran previously served as a division manager and vice president at CACI International and SVP for homeland security and corporate support at National Security Research.

He also held the roles of principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for forces policy and senior professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee.

Government Technology/News
Report: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Asks DoD Over Cyber Risks Linked to Foreign Govt Source Code Reviews
by Jane Edwards
Published on October 18, 2017
Report: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Asks DoD Over Cyber Risks Linked to Foreign Govt Source Code Reviews


Report: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Asks DoD Over Cyber Risks Linked to Foreign Govt Source Code ReviewsSen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) has asked the Defense Department to provide information on how it handles security risks associated with DoD’s software platforms that have undergone foreign government reviews, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Shaheen’s Tuesday letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis came weeks after the news agency reported earlier this month that a Russian defense agency was permitted to assess the source code of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s ArcSight software.

ArcSight is a cyber defense tool that DoD uses to safeguard its computer systems from cyber threats.

“I understand that individual businesses must make decisions weighing the risk of intellectual property disclosure against the opportunity of accessing significant overseas markets,” wrote Shaheen, a Senate Armed Services Committee member.

“However, when such products undergird [Defense Department] cyber defenses, our national security may be at stake in these decisions,” she added.

A spokeswoman for HPE said such source code reviews have occurred in Russia for years and that the company ensures the security of its products through close monitoring of such reviews and prohibiting any source code from leaving the premises, according to the Oct. 2 report.

HPE sold ArcSight to U.K.-based software firm Micro Focus International last year.

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