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Report: Vincent Viola Drops Out of Consideration for Army Secretary Post
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Report: Vincent Viola Drops Out of Consideration for Army Secretary Post


Report: Vincent Viola Drops Out of Consideration for Army Secretary PostVincent Viola, President Donald Trump’s pick as U.S. Army secretary, has decided not to push through with the confirmation process due to the Defense Department‘s rules on business ownership, Military Times reported Friday.

Leo Shane writes that Viola aimed to turn over ownership of his businesses to family members but the plan failed to meet DoD requirements.

Viola is the founder of digital stock trading firm Virtu Financial and owner of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers team.

“I offer my continued support for President Trump and his administration, and look forward to redoubling my efforts to support the Army and its veterans as private citizens,” he said in a statement.

Robert Speer, former assistant secretary for financial management at the Army, was appointed to serve as acting secretary of the service branch until Congress can confirm a permanent successor.

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4 Senior Staff Join White House’s National Security Council
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4 Senior Staff Join White House’s National Security Council


4 Senior Staff Join White House's National Security CouncilNational Security Adviser Michael Flynn has announced the appointment of David Cattler, John Eisenberg, Kevin Harrington and Kenneth Juster to the National Security Council.

The White House said Thursday that Cattler will serve as deputy assistant to the president for regional affairs; Eisenberg was named deputy counsel for national security affairs; and Harrington will work as deputy assistant for strategic planning.

Juster was appointed deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs.

“I’m incredibly excited about working with this talented group,” Flynn said.

“With their diverse backgrounds in in business, law, technology, government, the military and the intelligence community, they bring a wealth of experience and fresh ideas to the table,” he added.

Cattler brings to NSC more than 20 years of intelligence community and Defense Department leadership experience that include roles as national intelligence manager for the Near East and principal deputy national intelligence officer for military issues at the National Intelligence Council.

Eisenberg, a former senior national security official at the Justice Department, will also serve as NSC legal adviser.

He previously worked as deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal counsel and associate deputy attorney general at DoJ.

Harrington previously served as managing director and head of research at San Francisco-based macro hedge fund Thiel Macro.

Juster will manage the White House’s international economic policy and serve as President Donald Trump’s representative and lead U.S. negotiator for the annual G-7, G-20 and APEC summits under his new role.

His government career includes time as under secretary of commerce, acting counselor of the State Department and deputy and senior adviser to the deputy secretary of state.

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House Approves US-Israel Cyber Collaboration Bill; Rep. John Ratcliffe Comments
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House Approves US-Israel Cyber Collaboration Bill; Rep. John Ratcliffe Comments


House Approves US-Israel Cyber Collaboration Bill; Rep. John Ratcliffe CommentsThe House on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to increase cooperation between the U.S. and Israel on cybersecurity initiatives.

Reps. John Ratcliffe and Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island) introduced the U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act in a push to establish a cybersecurity grant program for joint research-and-development ventures between U.S. and Israeli organizations, Ratcliffe’s office said Tuesday.

The introduction of the bill came after the two lawmakers took a congressional delegation trip in May 2016.

“After Jim and I traveled to Israel last year to discuss this important aspect of our national security with top officials, we defined key areas where we could boost our collaboration to strengthen our countries’ cybersecurity posture,” Ratcliffe said.

The bill would require the secretary of Homeland Security to determine research requirements for the proposed cybersecurity grant program with the help of an advisory board comprised of members from the the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation and the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.

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Brig. Gen. Kirk Smith Named Deputy Commander of Special Ops Joint Task Force-Afghanistan
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Brig. Gen. Kirk Smith Named Deputy Commander of Special Ops Joint Task Force-Afghanistan


Brig. Gen. Kirk Smith Named Deputy Commander of Special Ops Joint Task Force-Afghanistan
Kirk Smith

Brig. Gen. Kirk Smith, formerly director of force management and deployment at the U.S. Special Operations Command, has been appointed as deputy commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Friday.

He will spearhead SOJTF-A in efforts to carry out counterinsurgency, security and counterterrorism missions in Afghanistan.

Smith has recorded 3,395 flight hours as a command pilot of T-37B, T-38A, UH-1H, MH-53J and MH-53M aircraft.

He previously served as director of strategic plans, programs and requirements at the Air Force Special Operations Command and special assistant and director of the commander’s action group at USSOCOM.

The brigadier general also held positions at the 27th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Senior Leader Management Office and 16th Special Operations Wing.

Smith’s military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

He also holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in international relations from Troy State University.

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Navy Removes ‘Enterprise’ Aircraft Carrier From Active Service
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Navy Removes ‘Enterprise’ Aircraft Carrier From Active Service


Navy Removes 'Enterprise' Aircraft Carrier From Active ServiceThe U.S. Navy has decommissioned the Huntington Ingalls Industries-built USS Enterprise nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after nearly 55 years in active service.

The military service said Friday it held a ceremony at the ship’s hangar bay to mark the end of service branch’s utilization of the Big E.

Enterprise was the eight naval ship to carry the name and has sailed more than 1 million nautical miles across numerous deployments globally since 1961.

“For all that Enterprise represents to this nation, it’s the people that bring this ship to life,” said Capt. Todd Beltz, commanding officer of the USS Enterprise.

“I feel it’s appropriate to underscore the contributions of the thousands of Sailors and individuals that kept this ship alive and made its reputation.”

Defense News: Lack of Maintenance Budget Keeps 62% of Navy’s F/A-18 Jets from Flying
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Defense News: Lack of Maintenance Budget Keeps 62% of Navy’s F/A-18 Jets from Flying


Defense News: Lack of Maintenance Budget Keeps 62% of Navy’s F/A-18 Jets from FlyingSixty-two percent of the U.S. Navy’s fleet of Boeing-built F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft are not operational due to lack of funds to support maintenance and repair work on the fighter jets, Defense News reported Monday.

Christopher Cavas writes 35 percent of the fighter planes are still in the waiting process for parts, while 27 percent of the aircraft are in major aviation depot work.

Overall, 53 percent of the Navy’s aircraft that include approximately 1,700 combat planes, helicopters and transport and patrol aircraft are grounded, Cavas reported.

The report said the percentage of selected air crews that refused to take part in the service branch’s department head tours rose from 17 percent in 2013 to 29 percent in 2016.

Navy leaders associated the backlog in aviation maintenance with nine consecutive years of continuing resolutions as a result of Congress’ failure to pass a budget for fiscal year 2017.

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Report: DISA CTO David Mihelcic to Retire Before March
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Report: DISA CTO David Mihelcic to Retire Before March


Report: DISA CTO David Mihelcic to Retire Before March
David Mihelcic

David Mihelcic, chief technology officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency, will retire later this month after a three-decade career in government, C4ISR and Networks reported Friday.

Mark Pomerleau writes Mihelcic has advocated for efforts to reform the Defense Department‘s acquisition process and said he believes DoD should replace its current requirements-driven procurement system with a needs-based approach.

“If we can then buy a technology and determine that there is an unfulfilled need whether or not that’s a documented requirement or not we need to be able to move that quickly in acquisition,” said Mihelcic.

Before he became DISA CTO, Mihelcic previously served as the agency’s chief executive engineer and deputy program director for the Global Information Grid Bandwidth Expansion and chief executive engineer for network services.

He also served as an information assurance engineer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and as a senior consultant at SRI International.

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Gen. David Goldfein: Air Force Should Act As ‘Lead Service’ for DoD’s Space Operations
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Gen. David Goldfein: Air Force Should Act As ‘Lead Service’ for DoD’s Space Operations


Gen. David Goldfein: Air Force Should Act As 'Lead Service' for DoD’s Space Operations
David Goldfein

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein has said the military branch should serve as the “lead service” for the Defense Department’s space training and operations, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

Colin Clark writes Goldfein told audience at a Mitchell Institute breakfast event Friday in Washington that he believes the Air Force has been the “stewards of space” for DoD and that the service branch oversees 90 percent of the department’s space operations.

He also cited the need for an “honest discussion” on how to address the space acquisition process in which he said is dispersed among 60 organizations.

The separation of acquisition functions through the organizations poses a “decision-making problem” for the Air Force, Goldfein added, according to the report.

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CNAS, Bard College’s Center for the Study of the Drone Launch New Database on UAS
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CNAS, Bard College’s Center for the Study of the Drone Launch New Database on UAS


CNAS, Bard College’s Center for the Study of the Drone Launch New Database on UASThe Center for a New American Security and Bard College’s Center for the Study of the Drone have introduced a database designed to help the public and policymakers learn about the implications of the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems worldwide, CNAS said Wednesday.

The Drone Database contains profiles of at least 150 unmanned systems from 48 countries that can be classified based on payload size, country of origin, range, endurance and other technical specifications, CNAS’ JaRel L. Clay wrote.

The database was created as part of the CNAS Proliferated Drones project that offers information on the development and acquisition of drones in Germany, South Korea, Singapore and other countries and includes a war game report on how state and non-state actors could use unmanned vehicles in conflicts.

Ben FitzGerald, director of CNAS’ technology and national security program, discussed the new database with Paul Scharre, director of CNAS’ Future of Warfare Initiative; and Dan Gettinger, co-founder of the Center for the Study of the Drone, through a podcast that can be accessed through CNAS’ SoundCloud and iTunes channels.

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Army’s Portable Ball Seeks to Provide Ground Satcom Support to Sustainment Units
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Army’s Portable Ball Seeks to Provide Ground Satcom Support to Sustainment Units


Army’s Portable Ball Seeks to Provide Ground Satcom Support to Sustainment UnitsThe U.S. Army has developed a portable ground satellite communications system designed to provide various communications services to deployed troops.

The ground antenna transmit and receive ball is an inflatable device built by the service branch’s 369th sustainment brigade and works to provide more bandwidth capacity for data transfer functions, the Army reported Thursday.

The GATR ball is designed to help sustainment units facilitate deployment of forces to new sites as well as allow commanders to maintain communications with subordinate units.

“For the sustainment community, this means that there will only be a small lag time between when supported units become aware of a requirement and when the supporting units can begin satisfying that requirement,” said Maj. John McBride, signal officer of the 369th SB.

Service personnel from the 369th SB underwent training in January on how to assemble the GATR ball system and received instruction on signal polarization and electromagnetic spectrum, among other topics.

 

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