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Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA Implementation
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Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA Implementation


Jason Gray: Cross-Agency Collaboration Key to FITARA ImplementationJason Gray, chief information officer at the Education Department, has said the federal information technology community should encourage collaboration across agencies through sharing of strategies and lessons learned to fully implement the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act and expand the law’s impact.

Gray wrote in a CIO.gov article published Tuesday that federal agencies should increase IT cost transparency through the implementation of the Technology Business Management model.

“The TBM framework aims to standardize the way an organization categorizes IT costs, resources, and services by mapping and allocating costs to standardized categories,” he wrote.

He noted that his department uses a two-pronged approach to adopt FITARA and that includes implementation and compliance as well as assessment of the maturity of the compliance.

Gray also cited how FITARA provides CIOs visibility into a program’s performance and authority to decide on IT projects.

“To use FITARA successfully in this way, CIOs have to be willing to speak up for their authority and ensure the appropriate decisions are made,” he added.

Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource App
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Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource App


Navy Rolls Out Enterprise-Wide Healthcare Resource AppThe U.S. Navy‘s medical organization has released a mobile application designed to offer  sailors, marines and their families information about the locations of military treatment facilities and available healthcare services.

The app is designed to also help users access Defense Department hotlines, the RelayHealth patient-doctor communications service and links to Navy Medicine’s social media and health resources, the military branch said Monday.

Navy Medicine aims to install new features into the enterprise-wide app during 2017.

“Every day we leverage mobile technology for a greater portion of the things we need and want to do; our Sailors, Marines and their families deserve this same level of convenience from Navy Medicine,” said Mark Beckner, chief digital officer of the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The app is available on the Apple App and Google Play stores.

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House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous Vote
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House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous Vote


House Approves Email Privacy Bill in Unanimous VoteThe House on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would require the U.S. government to obtain a warrant to search email messages and other electronic files stored in the cloud, Broadcasting & Cable reported Tuesday.

John Eggerton writes the Email Privacy Act would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and would authorize law enforcement agencies to access online communications  more than 180 days old for investigation.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) sponsored the bill.

“Right now, the rules governing how and when the government can access a person’s emails, photos, documents and other online communications are outdated and do not provide for the same Fourth Amendment protections given to on-paper or in-person communications,” Issa said in a statement released Monday.

“The bill we’ve passed today is an important privacy safeguard that will help cement Americans’ rights in the digital age.”

GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight Purposes
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GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight Purposes


GAO: CMS Should Ensure Quality of Medicaid Data for Oversight PurposesThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to initiate efforts to evaluate and ensure the quality of Medicaid data for use in program oversight.

CMS should also speed up efforts to review data in the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System, GAO said in a report published Monday.

GAO made the recommendation after it evaluated Medicaid utilization and expenditure data and found that the healthcare program made approximately $36 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2016.

The congressional budget watchdog found that CMS’ Medicaid expenditure data do not offer accurate and complete information on how states fund their share of program costs.

GAO also raised issues on the timeliness and completeness of Medicaid utilization data, specifically for managed care.

CMS told GAO that 18 states started to submit T-MSIS data as of October 2016 and cited states’ efforts to replace their Medicaid information technology platforms as one of the factors that delayed the T-MSIS implementation.

 

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State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber Rules
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State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber Rules

State Dept’s Michele Markoff: UN Group Should Encourage Member States to Adopt Existing Cyber RulesMichele Markoff, deputy coordinator for cyber issues at the State Department, has said a United Nations group of cybersecurity experts should focus on how to encourage member states to implement existing cyber rules instead of developing new norms, Defense One reported Tuesday.

Joseph Marks writes Markoff is one of the delegates scheduled to attend the third meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts this month in Geneva.

“We don’t need a continual norms machine ramping out a lot of norms,” Markoff said Monday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“What we need to do is consolidate what we’ve done and get states to implement both in the internalization of the norms but also in the operationalization of [confidence-building measures] which will help the norms,” she added.

Confidence-building practices include efforts among countries to share information on national cyber strategies and transnational cyber threats, Marks reports.

GGE, which is set to hold its final meeting in June, consists of diplomats from 25 countries that include China and Russia and works as an advisory panel on international cyber issues, the report added.

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Marine Corps Eyes Rifle-Mounted Laser Range Finder for Infrantry Missions
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Marine Corps Eyes Rifle-Mounted Laser Range Finder for Infrantry Missions


Marine Corps Eyes Rifle-Mounted Laser Range Finder for Infrantry MissionsThe U.S. Marine Corps looks to implement a rifle-mounted laser range finder in 2018 as part of efforts to help the service branch’s infantry squad leaders call in air strikes and artillery fire when they perform missions, C4ISR and Networks reported Sunday.

Shawn Snow writes the Marine Corps Systems Command currently conducts a market research and plans to invest $16 million to procure 1,800 laser range finders.

The technology is designed to help users access information on distances and locations of targets that can be engaged with heavy fire.

“The Marine Corps desires a smaller and lighter range finder for use in the infantry squad as it will be mounted on [the M4] and minimizing any addition to the individual combat load is always a prime consideration,” a MARCORSYSCOM representative was quoted as saying by C4ISR and Networks.

Snow noted that fielding new laser range finders may transform the approval process of air strikes or artillery fire missions, which he said currently goes through the joint terminal attack controller process.

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GAO Examines Military Depot Workload Fluctuation in Fiscal Years 2012-2015
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GAO Examines Military Depot Workload Fluctuation in Fiscal Years 2012-2015


GAO Examines Military Depot Workload Fluctuation in Fiscal Years 2012-2015The Government Accountability Office has found that the workload of depots run by U.S.  military branches fluctuated from fiscal year 2012 through fiscal 2015 and that reduced funding levels affected depot maintenance previously planned for FY 2013 to future years.

GAO said in a report published Friday it collected information on military services’ depot maintenance management, planning and execution processes to help assess the DoD’s processes and management of core capacity requirements.

The audit agency also gathered data on capital investment, personnel and workload through interviews with military leaders and questionnaire responses collected from all 17 depots.

GAO found that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps reduced the workload at their respective depots between FY 2012 and FY 2015 due to a decrease in ground combat operations for both service branches.

U.S. Air Force officials predicted the workload hours of the branch’s depots will increase to support repairs on new platforms such as the F-35 and KC-46 aircraft.

GAO added that U.S. Navy depot workloads have generally risen throughout the period and will continue to increase as the branch works to address maintenance backlogs accumulated from over a decade’s worth of workloads at an accelerated operations tempo.

The agency said the largest decrease in military depot maintenance workload happened in FY 2013 due to sequestration.

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Air Force Starts B-2 Bomber Upgrade Tests
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Air Force Starts B-2 Bomber Upgrade Tests


Air Force Starts B-2 Bomber Upgrade TestsThe U.S. Air Force has begun to test upgrades for Northrop Grumman-built B-2 stealth bombers that include new sensors, software, electronics and radar technology, Scout Warrior reported Monday.

Kris Osborn writes the B-2 defensive management system has been updated to help  sustain the bomber’s stealth functions and increase defense against new threats.

Capt. Michael Hertzog, an Air Force spokesman, told Scout Warrior the DMS-M system will work to support B-2’s capacity to counter 21st century threats.

The report said the DMS-M program obtained authorization last year to move into the engineering manufacturing and development phase of the acquisition process.

Hertzog added three aircraft will be updated to complete the EMD phase and the program is scheduled to enter full rate production in 2019, according to the report.

The service branch expects to spend nearly $1.84 billion to build four B-2 DMS-M units and looks to invest $832 million to procure an additional 16 units, Osborn wrote.

The Air Force will fly B-2 aircraft alongside the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, which is scheduled to enter service by the mid-2020s.

Defense News: Air Force to Decide on B-52 Engine Replacement Program Soon
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Defense News: Air Force to Decide on B-52 Engine Replacement Program Soon


Defense News: Air Force to Decide on B-52 Engine Replacement Program SoonU.S. Air Force officials have said the service branch is close to a decision on whether to replace the engines of Boeing-built B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, Defense News reported Monday.

Valerie Insinna writes the Air Force Global Strike Command conducted a business case evaluation with engine makers and financial organizations and found that a possible engine replacement would result in long-term fuel and maintenance cost savings.

James Noetzel, deputy chief of the B-52 weapon system team, said the service branch’s acquisition arm has started to look for options on how to fund the engine replacement effort.

Noetzel noted the Air Force plans to buy eight new propulsion systems that resemble the size, thrust and weight of Pratt & Whitney-made TF33 engines.

The military branch also has released two requests for information to seek technical and performance data from engine manufacturers, the report added.

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Richard Ledgett to Retire as NSA Deputy Director
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Richard Ledgett to Retire as NSA Deputy Director


Richard Ledgett to Retire as NSA Deputy Director
Richard Ledgett

Richard Ledgett, deputy director at the National Security Agency since 2014, will retire this spring after nearly 40 years of government service, Reuters reported Friday.

NSA spokesman Michael Halbig confirmed Ledgett’s planned departure from the agency in an email to Reuters.

Ledgett led the agency’s Media Leaks Task Force and response to leaks of classified information by former contractor Edward Snowden, according to the report by Warren Strobel and Mark Hosenball.

The nearly 29-year NSA veteran held various operational, management and technical leadership roles at the branch, division, office and group levels.

Ledgett previously served as director of the NSA/CSS Threat Operations Center; national intelligence manager for cyber; deputy director for analysis and production; deputy director for data acquisition; assistant deputy director for data acquisition; and chief of NSA/CSS Pacific.

He also supported signals intelligence gathering at the U.S. Army for nearly 11 years.

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