Profile: Joe Landino, CIO of National Counterterrorism Center
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Profile: Joe Landino, CIO of National Counterterrorism Center


Profile: Joe Landino, CIO of National Counterterrorism Center
Joe Landino

Joe Landino has served as chief information officer and director of mission systems at the National Counterterrorism Center since December 2014.

Prior to his current role, Landino was director of the open source engineering group within CIA‘s Open Source Center for nearly four years. He helped engineer and develop information technology infrastructure and applications at OSC as well as led cloud migration efforts there.

He also worked for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on a joint duty assignment as deputy program manager of the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence.

Between December 2003 and May 2008, Landino served as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office‘s imagery intelligence systems acquisition directorate (IMINT).

He came to CIA in 1999 as senior IMINT manager in the agency’s Office of the Senior Acquisition Executive for the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management.

Landino is a former U.S. Air Force officer who served as a systems acquisition professional at multiple product centers, test agencies and headquarters elements.

He also worked in the private sector as MCR federal group manager with responsibility over the McLean, Virginia-based company’s consulting practice that worked with the Defense Department and intelligence community.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Franklin Pierce College and a master’s degree in public administration from University of Denver as well as master’s degree in systems management from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

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Adm. John Richardson: Navy Found No Proof of Cyberattacks in Guided Missile Destroyer Collisions
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Adm. John Richardson: Navy Found No Proof of Cyberattacks in Guided Missile Destroyer Collisions


Adm. John Richardson: Navy Found No Proof of Cyberattacks in Guided Missile Destroyer Collisions
John Richardson

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson has said the U.S. Navy did not find evidence that cyber attacks caused the separate collisions of two guided-missile destroyers in the Pacific over the past three months, Military.com reported Thursday.

Richardson said in a Facebook live-stream call that the Navy has investigated the cyber warfare aspect of the collisions involving USS John McCain on Aug. 21 and USS Fitzgerald on June 17.

USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship near Honshu, Japan while USS John McCain underwent a similar incident with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore, prompting Richardson to order an operational pause for all Navy fleets worldwide.

The service branch has begun to review collisions and mishaps in the past decade to identify possible systemic causes of the recent accidents, the report noted.

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GSA Makes Transactional Data Reporting Pilot Program Voluntary for Contractors
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GSA Makes Transactional Data Reporting Pilot Program Voluntary for Contractors


GSA Makes Transactional Data Reporting Pilot Program Voluntary for ContractorsThe General Services Administration has modified its Transactional Data Reporting rule to make the pilot program voluntary for government contractors that received multiple-award schedule contracts and special item numbers.

Mary Davie, acting deputy commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote in a blog post published Wednesday that the TDR rule offers an option for the agency to collect transactional-level data it can use to formulate buying strategies and make purchasing decisions.

The new GSA Acquisition Regulation is meant to help vendors bypass reporting requirements on commercial sales practices and price reduction clauses as well as address compliance challenges.

Jack St. John, GSA chief of staff, said in May the modification of the TDR rule supports the agency’s efforts to transition President Donald Trump’s priorities into acquisition policies.

“GSA is altering TDR’s implementation to give new offerors and contractors approaching an option period the choice to adopt TDR,” said Davie, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2017.

“For those contractors who were previously required to accept TDR, GSA is extending them the option to execute a one-time reverse modification to undo this action and work with their contracting officer to revert back to operating under the structure and tracking requirements of the price reduction clause.”

GSA has scheduled a Sept. 12 webinar for contractors interested to learn about possible options under the TDR rule.

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NIST Accepts Comments on Forensic Science Org Restructuring Plan
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NIST Accepts Comments on Forensic Science Org Restructuring Plan


NIST Accepts Comments on Forensic Science Org Restructuring PlanThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has begun to solicit public comments on proposed restructuring of an NIST-led organization that promotes the development and adoption of forensic science standards.

NIST said Wednesday it released a request for information notice that describes four possible new structures for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science.

The comment period is open through Oct. 30.

The Justice Department and NIST established OSAC in 2014, with a plan to evolve the organization’s structure overtime and transition it from NIST to another host entity within five to 10 years.

“Now that OSAC has been operating for three-plus years, it’s time to assess the performance of the organization and look for opportunities for improvement,” said Richard Cavanagh, director of NIST’s Special Programs Office.

“Although the structure of OSAC may change, the goals remain the same, and NIST remains committed to OSAC’s stability and scientific integrity,” Cavanagh added.

NIST welcomes ideas that are not covered by the four concepts described in the RFI.

The agency noted it may also keep aspects of the current OSAC structure, modify the structure or consider “substantially different” arrangements.

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US Military Deploys Aircraft to Provide Humanitarian Aid in Houston, Texas
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US Military Deploys Aircraft to Provide Humanitarian Aid in Houston, Texas


US Military Deploys Aircraft to Provide Humanitarian Aid in Houston, TexasThe U.S. military has deployed dozens of aircraft to support humanitarian missions and help people in areas around Houston, Texas that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey, DoD Buzz reported Wednesday.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy dispatched a P-8 Poseidon maritime, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft to perform air traffic control and surveillance missions as well as collect data on flooded regions in the area.

Teams from military units across the U.S. will support the disaster relief, recovery and humanitarian efforts in Houston including members of the 601st Air Operations Center, 90th Rescue Wing, Joint Base Charleston, Air National Guard, 125th Special Tactics Squadron, 176th Wing, 129th Rescue Wing and the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron.

Other aircraft deployed in support of the mission included Pave Hawks, Combat King HC-130P/N, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and HH-60 helicopters.

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NNSA, Air Force Conduct B61-12 Bomb Qualification Flight Tests
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NNSA, Air Force Conduct B61-12 Bomb Qualification Flight Tests


NNSA, Air Force Conduct B61-12 Bomb Qualification Flight TestsThe U.S. Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration have completed a pair of qualification flight tests for the B61-12 gravity bombs.

NNSA said Monday an F-15E aircraft carried and dropped the non-nuclear bomb assemblies during the tests held Aug. 8 at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.

The test flights were conducted as part of a three-year series meant to prepare B61-12 for service.

“The B61-12 life extension program is progressing on schedule to meet national security requirements,” said Phil Calbos, acting deputy administrator for defense programs at NNSA.

NNSA and the Air Force used equipment from the Energy Department‘s Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, Nuclear Security Enterprise facilities and Boeing.

The first B61-12 production unit is scheduled for March 2020 completion.

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Air Force Life Cycle Mgmt Center Uses Supercomputer for Weather Forecasting
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Air Force Life Cycle Mgmt Center Uses Supercomputer for Weather Forecasting


Air Force Life Cycle Mgmt Center Uses Supercomputer for Weather ForecastingThe Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has bought a supercomputer system to aid the military branch’s weather prediction activities.

Thor is currently installed at the Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and designed to observe global weather patterns as well as provide individual air bases and U.S. Army units with specific forecasts on areas as small as six square miles, the Air Force said Wednesday.

“We’re running the same modeling program as our allies in [England], Australia, South Korea and New Zealand,” said Robert Born, Thor program manager.

“That way, when we’re in joint operations, we can all be working off the same forecast and aligning our plans to the same base assumptions,” Born added.

The Thor system consists of an estimated 1,000 individual blade servers built to help users predict various weather scenarios that may affect military operations.

The Air Force also uses the platform to generate customized forecasts, aeronautical forecasts and narrow forecasts that cover data on the atmosphere and areas with active military units.

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Kevin Cox: DHS to Require Vendors to Submit Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Plans for Cyber Products
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Kevin Cox: DHS to Require Vendors to Submit Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Plans for Cyber Products


Kevin Cox: DHS to Require Vendors to Submit Supply Chain Risk Mgmt Plans for Cyber ProductsThe Department of Homeland Security plans to implement a new requirement that seeks to provide federal agencies information on commercial cybersecurity products and services they purchase, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

Kevin Cox, manager of the continuous diagnostic and mitigation program at DHS, told the station the updated supply chain risk management plan for CDM offerings would require vendors to complete a questionnaire about the products they intend to be included in the CDM approved products list.

“The questionnaire addresses some background relating to the manufacturer in just getting some information in regards to having some visibility in terms of how the product was manufactured, what kind of visibility there was in tracking the supply chain of the product and in many cases the original equipment manufacturer,” Cox said.

“The goal is to really mature the visibility that the government has in terms of the products it’s offering out to the agencies, states, locals, tribes and territories, and the vendors have done their assessment of the product and can stand by what they are submitting,” he added.

DHS unveiled the SCRM plan in line with the Aug. 3 launch of a special item number for cyber platforms under the General Services Administration’s Schedule 70.

Cox noted that DHS and GSA will exempt approximately 70,000 cyber hardware, software and services that are already covered by the CDM program from complying with the new SCRM requirement, the report added.

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Army Seeks Accelerated Deployment of Modern Computing Systems
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Army Seeks Accelerated Deployment of Modern Computing Systems

Army Seeks Accelerated Deployment of Modern Computing SystemsThe U.S. Army expects to field new mission-command hardware and software platforms for all active, Reserve and National Guard units by 2024.

The military branch said Monday it aims to fully deploy an updated software dubbed Joint Battle Command-Platform and a new standardized tactical computer called Mounted Family of Computing System, two years ahead of the initial completion schedule.

JBC-P and MFoCS work to optimize situational awareness, chat functions and user interfaces for soldiers in combat vehicles.

Lt. Col. Shane Sims, a product manager for JBC-P, said the accelerated fielding of new computing platforms “will pave the modernization path for the Army’s Mounted Computing Environment.”

MCE is one of six computing environments of the Army’s Common Operating Environment and is designed provide a common set of applications and services.

The Army Training and Doctrine Command worked with the JBC-P program office to shorten new equipment training time for soldiers from 40 to 16 hours in an effort to accelerate deployment timeline.

The military branch’s mission command program manager will also increase the size of training and fielding teams as well as the acquisition of vehicle hardware and software to meet the 2024 deadline.

JBC-P is currently used by 17 units and will be rolled out to 18 additional units during fiscal year 2018.

Beginning FY 2019, 50 to 70 Army units are scheduled to undergo fielding and training every year — an increase from 30 to 50 units in the original timeline.

The Army plans to have 98,000 MFoCS systems in the field by 2024.

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Rex Tillerson to Close State Dept Cyber Office; Realign Special Envoy Roles
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Rex Tillerson to Close State Dept Cyber Office; Realign Special Envoy Roles


Rex Tillerson to Close State Dept Cyber Office; Realign Special Envoy Roles
Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has notified Congress of his plans to shut down the State Department‘s cyber coordinator office and transfer its responsibilities to the economics bureau, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Tillerson wrote in a letter to Sen. Robert Corker (R-Tennessee) that he also aims to eliminate or realign special envoy positions as part of a larger effort to reorganize the State Department, the report noted.

The reorganization effort is intended to streamline department operations, address redundancies and consolidate offices within regional and functional bureaus, according to Tillerson.

The move could also support Tillerson’s plan to reduce the State Department’s budget by approximately 30 percent, Nextgov noted.

Certain special roles will be retained and expanded, including the special ambassador for religious freedom and a representative to Muslim communities, the report said.

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