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DARPA to Hold Proposers Day for Human-Machine System Design Program
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DARPA to Hold Proposers Day for Human-Machine System Design Program

darpas-agile-teams-programThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold a Proposers Day on Dec. 7 via webcast to provide information on a program that seeks to explore mathematical methods for use in the development of human-machine teaming systems in support of the military’s national security missions.

DARPA said Monday the Agile Teams program aims to identify, test and demonstrate predictive algorithms, architectures and abstractions for the design of hybrid teams of humans and intelligent-machine platforms that will be evaluated through the use of experimental testbeds.

“A-Teams is focused not on developing new AI technologies per se, but on developing a framework for optimizing the use of smart machines in various roles together with humans to ensure optimal human-machine teamwork for solving dynamic problems,” said John Paschkewitz, a program manager at DARPA.

DARPA expects to apply results from the A-Teams program to software engineering, drug discovery, intelligence forecasting, logistics planning and other non-combat applications.

The agency also plans to apply outputs from the program in the development of human-machine collaboration platforms through other DARPA initiatives, such as the Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment and Resilient Synchronized Planning and Assessment for the Contested Environment programs.

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GAO: DoD Should Update Workload Shortfall Calculation Guidance, Offer Congress More Info
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GAO: DoD Should Update Workload Shortfall Calculation Guidance, Offer Congress More Info


DoD logo resizeThe Government Accountability Office has recommended the Defense Department update guidance on the calculation of workload shortfalls and provide Congress with additional information on future reports to help bolster oversight.

A GAO report published Monday says DoD’s 2016 Biennial Core Report complied with two out of three Section 2464-required reporting elements and partially complied with the remaining element.

GAO noted that the report complied with core capability requirements and planned workload but failed to provide a detailed explanation or rationale for shortfalls and accompanying mitigation plans due to a lack of rationales and mitigation plans for all identified shortfalls.

Auditors added the armed services have not consistently calculated shortfalls because of a lack of guidance on how to accurately compute for shortfalls to support information in the Core Report.

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Marine Corps Unveils New Man-Portable Media System for Broadcasting; Kenneth Kunze Comments
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Marine Corps Unveils New Man-Portable Media System for Broadcasting; Kenneth Kunze Comments


public-affairs-live-media-engagement-systemThe U.S. Marine Corps has developed a new media system to help the service branch broadcast a story that currently occurs anywhere around the world and replace the former Public Affairs News Link System.

The Marine Corps said Sept. 19 the Public Affairs Live Media Engagement System offers a capacity to stream live video, conduct media interviews and upload content online using a setup composed of a wireless microphone, video camcorder, video encoder and ground satellite terminal.

PALMES includes a satellite that weighs approximately 45 pounds to offer a capacity for assembly, usage and disassembly in less than 10 minutes as the new internet connection feature provides users with access to the web for content upload.

“PALMES fits in a backpack, and connects to the internet via satellite,” said Kenneth Kunze, Marine Corps Systems Command project officer.

“Running off longer lasting batteries, which will last up to six hours, PA Marines can interview and upload media coverage without being tied to one location.”

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NASA’s Scatterometer Wraps Up Operations Aboard ISS
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NASA’s Scatterometer Wraps Up Operations Aboard ISS


International Space StationA NASA Earth science instrument has ended operations after a two-year mission to monitor ocean winds aboard the International Space Station.

NASA said Monday the ISS-Rapid Scatterometer is designed to measure wind speed and direction over the ocean surface to help agencies forecast weather and monitor tropical cyclones.

“The data from ISS-RapidScat will help researchers contribute to an improved understanding of fundamental weather and climate processes, such as how tropical weather systems form and evolve,” said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth science division.

NASA launched ISS-RapidScat in September 2014 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of a resupply mission to the space station.

A power distribution unit for ISS’ Columbus module malfunctioned on Aug. 19 which resulted in a power loss to ISS-RapidScat and attempts to reactivate the instrument were not successful, NASA said.

The agency does not plan to deploy a replacement scatterometer mission but the Indian Space Research Organization’s ScatSat ocean wind sensor will work to mitigate the loss of ISS-RapidScat’s data.

Agencies that used the instrument’s data included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Navy and European and Indian weather agencies.

ISS-RapidScat was a joint effort of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the ISS program office at Johnson Space Center with support from the Earth science division of NASA’s science mission directorate.

NASA plans to launch two Earth science instruments to ISS in 2017 to monitor the ozone layer and lightning over Earth’s tropics and mid-latitudes.

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GSA Issues Vulnerability Disclosure Rule for Technology Transformation Service-Run Systems
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GSA Issues Vulnerability Disclosure Rule for Technology Transformation Service-Run Systems


cyberThe General Services Administration’s technology transformation service organization has released a new policy that seeks to help security researchers report cyber vulnerabilities in TTS-run systems.

TTS issued the vulnerability disclosure policy in an effort to assure security researchers that GSA will not initiate legal action under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for research efforts that are considered “authorized,” according to a blog post published Nov. 22 on 18F website.

The policy covers five TTS-operated systems that include vote.gov, analytics.usa.gov, calc.gsa.gov, micropurchase.18f.gov and 18f.gsa.gov.

GSA’s TTS wants security researchers to avoid privacy violations and disruption to production systems as well as keep the use of exploits “to the extent necessary to confirm a vulnerability.”

Security researchers should maintain the confidentiality of identified vulnerabilities 90 days after submission of notification reports to TTS, according to the policy.

The Defense Department also introduced a vulnerability disclosure policy that aims to facilitate reporting of cyber vulnerabilities in DoD websites.

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House Panel Asks GSA to Report on Use of SAM Database to Identify Tax Delinquency Among Contractors
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House Panel Asks GSA to Report on Use of SAM Database to Identify Tax Delinquency Among Contractors


GSAThe House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked the General Services Administration to submit information on how GSA uses the System for Award Management database to identify contractors that are not eligible for contract awards due to federal tax debt.

According to a Nov. 22 letter sent to GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth, the House panel requested GSA to submit by Dec. 6 documents related to the agency’s verification and publication of data associated with active exclusions in SAM and exclusions for contractors with federal tax debt in SAM.

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) also want GSA to report on how frequent the agency updates exclusion status data within SAM and submit documents on how it identifies contractors that have active exclusions due to tax liens.

The lawmakers have also requested guidance and memoranda that GSA issued to contract officers to make sure that they do not award contracts to firms that do not comply with the federal tax law.

The House committee issued the letter after a report by an independent  media organization showed that GSA, Internal Revenue Service, National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies awarded $63.8 million in fiscal year 2016 contracts to companies with $112 million in tax liens.

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Michael Wynne: Analog Circuit Design Key to Cyber Defense
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Michael Wynne: Analog Circuit Design Key to Cyber Defense


Michael Wynne
Michael Wynne

Michael Wynne, former U.S. Air Force secretary, has said the federal government should prioritize the shift from software patches to computational analog circuit design in order to defend computer networks from cyber threats.

He wrote in a Breaking Defense opinion piece published Wednesday that government officials should work to protect federal websites from potential cyber attacks through the use of “frozen complex analog circuitry mimicking and replacing currently installed internet appliances.”

Wynne, one of the candidates for the deputy defense secretary post under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, urged critical infrastructure owners to integrate analog circuit design with supervisory control and data acquisition systems under the supervision of the Department of Homeland Security.

Server and router designers as well as internet service providers should offer support to government agencies and public corporations as part of the transition to the frozen analog circuitry, he wrote.

“It is time for analog as the solution set to deal with the vulnerability challenges associated with software,” Wynne noted.

“Vulnerability on the internet is actually a choice, not a given outcome,” he added.

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Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon: Donald Trump Should Privatize VA to Address Concerns With Veterans Benefits
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Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon: Donald Trump Should Privatize VA to Address Concerns With Veterans Benefits


Michael Cannon
Michael Cannon

Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at Cato Institute, has said President-elect Donald Trump should push for the privatization of the Department of Veterans Affairs and collaborate with Congress in order to build a system of veterans benefits.

Cannon wrote in a Forbes opinion piece published Nov. 11 that Trump should call for an increase in military pay in an effort to allow service personnel to buy from private insurance firms a set of life, health and disability benefits at “actuarially fair rates.”

He also recommended the federal government to privatize the Veterans Health Administration and “issue shares to active-duty personnel and veterans based on length of service or other criteria.”

Such a move would result in a pay increase among service members and establishment of a “massive wealth transfer” to veterans and active-duty soldiers, Cannon wrote.

“The federal government should give current veterans vouchers to purchase insurance and medical care from the insurers and health systems of their choice, including the new veteran-owned and -operated systems,” he added.

British Commodore Andrew Burns to Lead US Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 50
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British Commodore Andrew Burns to Lead US Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 50


fa-18c-hornetRoyal Navy Commodore Andrew Burns has taken command of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 50 in the Arabian Gulf during a change-of-command ceremony held onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier.

He succeeds U.S. Navy Rear Adm. James Malloy, head of Carrier Strike Group 10, as CTF 50 commander and is the first British naval officer to lead a U.S. task force in the Middle East, the service branch said Friday.

Burns is also the commander of Amphibious Task Group embarked on the U.K.’s helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean.

Ocean will provide continued forward presence in the Arabian Gulf, as well as systems meant to assist in theater security cooperation efforts and maritime security operations in the region, the U.S. Navy noted.

NAVCENT oversees more than 2.5 million square miles of area that includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, North Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

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NIH Details New 5-Year Strategic Plan for Behavioral & Social Sciences Research
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NIH Details New 5-Year Strategic Plan for Behavioral & Social Sciences Research


NIH image
NIH image

The National Institutes of Health‘s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research has published a strategic plan for fiscal years 2017-2021 that details scientific priorities and research challenges OBSSR looks to address.

NIH said Wednesday OBSSR aims to build on the coordination of basic and applied behavioral and social sciences research as well as update required research infrastructure, methods and measures.

OBSSR also plans to support the adoption of behavioral and social sciences research findings in health research and practice as part of the office’s strategic plan, NIH added.

The office seeks to communicate results from behavioral and social sciences research; coordinate and integrate related research efforts across NIH; train future behavioral and social science researchers; and assess the impact of behavioral and social sciences research.

OBSSR supports the creation of NIH-wide goals and research activities on the role of behavior in the etiology, course, prevention and treatment of disease.

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