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Army to Develop Airborne Bomb Squad to Address Global Contingencies; Aaron Golson Comments
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Army to Develop Airborne Bomb Squad to Address Global Contingencies; Aaron Golson Comments


explosive-disposalThe U.S. Army is working to establish an airborne bomb squad with the capacity to respond to global contingencies as fast as the 82nd Airborne Division and the Global Response Force, Army Times reported Wednesday.

Meghann Myers writes the 767th Ordnance Company, 192nd Ordnance Battalion have completed the Army’s first conventional explosive ordnance disposal operations with members of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Golson said in an interview with Army Times that the development of an Army airborne disposal unit can lead to collaboration between technicians and paratroopers that will respond to conflicts on the ground and help protect troops from conventional ordnance and improvised explosive devices.

“The purpose of us jumping in is to offer EOD support earlier on in the joint force entry operations, and that’s what the 82nd does,” said Golson.

“EOD’s role in support of the [Global Response Force] is a lot of protecting the force during rapid threat assessment … Once our guys jump in, they’re looking at threats the force may encounter,” added Capt. Zachary Abood, commander of the 767th Ordnance Company.

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White House Seeks $11.6B in Additional Overseas War Funds
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White House Seeks $11.6B in Additional Overseas War Funds


ArmyChopperThe White House has requested $11.6 billion in additional funds for overseas contingency operations, Defense News reported Thursday.

Aaron Mehta writes the supplemental request brings the total of the OCO budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 to $85.3 billion and comes in two budget amendment requests worth $5.8 billion each.

The first amendment request seeks to help the Defense Department support the campaign against the Islamic State militant organization in Iraq and Syria as well as offer assistance to the Afghan national defense and security forces, according to the report.

The second budget amendment would help the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development provide non-military assistance in support of the anti-Islamic State campaign efforts, Mehta reports.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called on Congress to fund the supplemental budget request in order to sustain the “positive momentum” in Iraq against the militant group, the report added.

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Air Force’s Deanna Ryals: DoD Eyes International Partnerships to Support Military Satcom Operations
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Air Force’s Deanna Ryals: DoD Eyes International Partnerships to Support Military Satcom Operations


WidebandGlobalA U.S. Air Force satellite communications official has said the Defense Department believes in the role of allied countries in the development and operation of military satcom systems and in efforts to achieve “resilience” in satcom operations, Space News reported Thursday.

Peter B. de Selding writes Deanna Ryals, chief of the international military satcom division at the Air Force’s milsatcom systems directorate, made the remarks Wednesday at the SMi Group-hosted Global Milsatcom conference in London.

“If we can move between our own milsatcom capabilities, commercial capabilities and allied capabilities, it makes it difficult for our adversaries to know where we are,” Ryals told event attendees.

Ryals noted that DoD asked 16 allied nations to participate in the Wideband Analysis of Alternatives that seeks to address a possible shortage in wideband capacity and that approximately eight of those invited international partners said they would take part in the analysis, de Selding reports.

She also cited that approximately six international governments participated in the 10th Schriever Wargame 2016 exercise held by the Air Force Space Command in Alabama, the report added.

FirstNet Opens Public Safety Network Test Lab in Colorado
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FirstNet Opens Public Safety Network Test Lab in Colorado


FirstNetThe First Responder Network Authority has opened a test laboratory in Boulder, Colorado as part of FirstNet’s preparation for the implementation of a national emergency services network.

The FirstNet Innovation and Test Lab will serve as a hub for the agency and its contractor to test public safety features, devices and applications prior to deployment on the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, FirstNet said Wednesday.

The agency issued a request for proposals on the project in January.

“When first responders are racing to help in disasters and emergencies, they need communications tools that are tested and proven to work,” said Jeff Bratcher, FirstNet chief technology officer.

FirstNet will use the lab to validate testing for the network, services and features as well as to facilitate future broadband-related research and development efforts.

The lab is built to support a training and experience center that will be established to help provide hands-on training, demonstration and user evaluation of future FirstNet network applications.

Lisa Schlosser to Retire as Federal Deputy CIO
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Lisa Schlosser to Retire as Federal Deputy CIO

 

Lisa Schlosser
Lisa Schlosser

Lisa Schlosser is set to retire from the Office of Management and Budget as federal deputy chief information officer by the end of November, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Jason Miller writes Schlosser will leave the government after she completed her stint at the Office of Personnel Management as acting CIO and led the establishment of the OMB’s cyber unit.

She joined OMB as deputy CIO in 2011, with responsibility in promoting digital services and agile development, shared services and cybersecurity.

Schlosser also previously served the principal deputy associate administrator in the Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education and the director of the Office of Information Collection in the Office of Environmental Information at the Environmental Protection Agency.

She was also a CIO at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and associate CIO and chief information security officer at the Transportation Department.

She worked for Global Integrity and Ernst & Young after she served as a military intelligence officer at the U.S. Army.

 

Israel, DOE Invest in 5 Clean Energy Projects via Binational R&D Effort
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Israel, DOE Invest in 5 Clean Energy Projects via Binational R&D Effort


clean-energyThe U.S. Energy Department and the Israeli government have invested a total of $4 million in five clean energy projects through the Binational Industrial Research and Development  Energy program.

The investments build on a partnership between DOE and Israel’s ministry of national infrastructure, energy and water resources under the U.S. Israel Energy Dialogue that seeks to promote the use of clean energy technologies and foster natural gas regulations.

“The collaboration through BIRD Energy… will help both nations continue to work together to foster research and development efforts, build on the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement and drive down the costs of clean energy technologies,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

Recipients of funds under the BIRD Energy initiative include:

  • BrightSource Industries and Dynamis Solutions
  • CelDezyner and POET Research
  • Solview Systems and Yarotek PR
  • Technion IIT and Pajarito Powder
  • Waves Audio and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Each team will work to address energy challenges and opportunities of interest to Israel and the U.S. through the development and commercialization of clean energy technologies.

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Detroit News: Former US Rep. Mike Rogers to Lead Donald Trump’s Presidential Transition Team for Natl Security
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Detroit News: Former US Rep. Mike Rogers to Lead Donald Trump’s Presidential Transition Team for Natl Security


Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers, former chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee and a CNN commentator, will lead national security planning for Donald Trump’s presidential transition, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

The former Michigan representative is a vocal advocate of national security, intelligence and counterterrorism issues, according to the joint report by Chad Livengood, Melissa Nann Burke and Michael Gerstein.

“Few if any from Michigan will have the political clout Rogers has with the Trump administration,” Saul Anuzis, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, was quoted as saying.

Rogers served in Congress for seven terms and previously worked as an FBI special agent.

He is a member of IronNet Cybersecurity‘s board of directors, Next Century‘s board of advisers and Trident Capital‘s Cybersecurity Industry Advisory Council.

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NASA Sets Dec. 12 Launch for Hurricane-Observing Microsatellite Constellation
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NASA Sets Dec. 12 Launch for Hurricane-Observing Microsatellite Constellation

nasas-cygnssNASA has scheduled Dec. 12 as the date it plans to launch a constellation of small satellites that will work to predict storm surges and track hurricane intensity.

The space agency said Friday the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and will be composed of eight microsatellites designed to measure and track surface wind speeds over the oceans.

Each CYGNSS satellite works to gather four wind measurements per second, according to NASA.

“There’s a gap in our knowledge of cyclone processes in the critical eyewall region of the storm – a gap that will be filled by the CYGNSS data,” said Chris Ruf, principal investigator for the CYGNSS mission and professor at the University of Michigan’s department of climate and space sciences and engineering.

The University of Michigan’s space physics research laboratory oversees the execution of the CYGNSS mission in collaboration with the Southwest Research Institute.

NASA and the University of Michigan began development work on the CYGNSS satellite network in August 2015.

The space agency said it plans to use an Orbital ATK-built Pegasus XL rocket to bring CYGNSS to low-Earth orbit.

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NIST Releases Cybersecurity Guide for Small Businesses
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NIST Releases Cybersecurity Guide for Small Businesses


cyberThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a cybersecurity guide meant to help small businesses secure information systems.

NIST said Wednesday it created the Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals guide in an effort to provide basic cybersecurity steps and walk small business owners through a risk assessment process.

“Businesses of all sizes face potential risks when operating online and therefore need to consider their cybersecurity,” said Pat Toth, lead author of the NIST guide.

“Small businesses may even be seen as easy targets to get into bigger businesses through the supply chain or payment portals,” Toth added.

The guide also contains worksheets to help small businesses identify information they store and use; determine the information’s value; and assess potential risks in case the information’s confidentiality, integrity or availability is compromised, NIST said.

The agency noted the publication outlines strategies to regulate employee access to data and information; conduct information security training for employees; establish information security policy and procedures; encrypt data; install web and email filters; and update operating systems and applications.

NIST added the guide recommends that small businesses install surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies; look into cybersecurity insurance; and find reputable cybersecurity contractors.

The document is based on the agency’s Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity that was published in 2014 to provide standards and best practices from the federal government and industry.

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DARPA Conducts Field Test of Mobile Radiation Sensors
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DARPA Conducts Field Test of Mobile Radiation Sensors


DARPAThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has deployed more than 1,000 networked mobile detectors at the National Mall in downtown Washington as part of an exercise to track radioactive material threats in urban areas.

DARPA said Friday the scavenger hunt was conducted as part of the agency’s SIGMA program that aims to create networked sensors designed to provide radiation detection capacity over large urban areas.

Hundreds of volunteers participated in the field test and wielded a backpack that contained radiation detectors while walking around the park as they attempted to locate an abducted fictitious physicist.

“We collected and analyzed a huge amount of streaming data as we watched in real-time as participants covered a large portion of D.C.,” said Vincent Tang, a DARPA program manager.

The University of Maryland’s national consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism supported the planning of the day-long deployment with its recruitment of ROTC cadets from universities in the National Capital Region as well as U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen.

DARPA aims to test the system on a full city- and regional-scale as well as demonstrate the program’s continuous wide-area monitoring capacity in 2017 prior to its transition to local, state and federal operational systems in 2018.

https://youtu.be/GFJoDV1J0kQ

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