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ODNI Unveils First Intell Community Workforce Diversity Report
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ODNI Unveils First Intell Community Workforce Diversity Report


workforceThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence has issued a report that examines workforce diversity across 17 agencies that operate under the Intelligence Community.

The Annual Demographic Report: Hiring and Retention of Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities in the United States Intelligence Community Fiscal Year 2015 shows that the percentage of minorities that comprise the IC workforce rose to approximately 25 percent during fiscal year 2015, up from almost 21 percent in FY 2011, ODNI said Friday.

According to the report, the attrition rate among women in the IC dropped by 1.7 percentage points between FY 2014 and 2015 and female employees in the IC achieved nearly 47 percent of the honorary awards and 43.9 percent of promotions.

PWD workforce in the IC reached 7.9 percent in FY 2015, a figure lower than their representation in the federal workforce at 8.99 percent, the report said.

The document also noted that several IC elements including the CIA, U.S. Air Force and the National Security Agency have integrated inclusion performance and diversity goals in their performance evaluation plans for senior executives.

“While we have made progress, the data indicates greater work needs to be done to create a more diverse workforce,” said Rita Sampson, chief of the equal employment opportunity and diversity office at ODNI.

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Army Program Pairs Active, Reserve Components for Tactical Exercises
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Army Program Pairs Active, Reserve Components for Tactical Exercises


army stock photoCalifornia Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has joined a U.S. Army Forces Command program that pairs National Guard and Reserve units with active BCTs for joint planning, interoperability and training exercises, the Army News Service reported Thursday.

David Vergun writes the 79th Infantry BCT trained with the 1st Armored Division’s 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment from May 15 to June 4 as part of FORSCOM’s Total Force Partnership Program.

Lt. Col. David Murphy, commander of the 79th IBCT’s 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, said the partnership represents the first time in over a decade that the military unit partnered with an active duty component.

The program works to operationalize the Army Total Force Policy established in 2012 and coordinate all eight Army National Guard division headquarters and with active component corps headquarters, Vergun reports.

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CBP Tests Updated Departure Data System at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport; John Wagner Comments
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CBP Tests Updated Departure Data System at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport; John Wagner Comments


biometricsThe U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has kicked off the testing phase for its updated departure data processing system at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to advance CBP’s biometric exit initiative.

CBP seeks to automate the way travelers’ images taken upon departure from the U.S. are compared with previously provided photos in order to evaluate the new facial comparison technology at Hartsfield-Jackson, CBP said Monday.

Travelers from age 14 through 79 departing for Japan through Sept. 30 will have their photos taken as they present their boarding pass.

CBP will store the digital images of travelers in its data systems and analyze the information after travelers have departed before the agency deletes the test data to protect the citizens’ privacy.

“Our goal remains to implement a biometric exit system that conforms with existing standard operating procedures so that the incorporation of biometrics has minimal impact to airlines, airports, and the traveling public,” said John Wagner, deputy executive assistant commissioner at CBP’s field operations office.

CBP Cabinet parent Department of Homeland Security plans to implement the biometric exit technology in 2018.

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IRS Names Winners of Online Tax Info System Design Challenge
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IRS Names Winners of Online Tax Info System Design Challenge


IRSbuildingThe Internal Revenue Service has revealed the winners of the agency’s “Tax Design Challenge” crowdsourcing competition that sought designs for a future online tax information system.

The tax collection agency said Friday the three-week challenge received 48 submissions that a review panel considered for three prize categories such as overall design, best taxpayer usefulness and best financial capability.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the winning designs show potential features of a future online taxpayer account.

Andrew Miller’s IRS MyService received first place awards for overall design and best taxpayer usefulness worth $10,000 and $2,000, respectively, while second place spots for both categories went to Andrea Angquist’s IRS 365 for a total of $6,000.

For best financial capability, Sam Nguyen and Vidhika Bansal’s Taxes won the $2,000 first place award and Dante Vono’s MyTax Online made second place for $1,000.

IRS held the challenge in collaboration with the Mortgage Bankers Association — the sole sponsor of monetary prizes — to call on teams of designers, developers and thinkers across the U.S. to present options for taxpayer interactions.

MBA President and CEO David Stevens said the organization will work with IRS and stakeholders to build on the results of the challenge.

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Army Times: US Army Cancels M4 Carbine Upgrade Effort
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Army Times: US Army Cancels M4 Carbine Upgrade Effort


military in trainingThe U.S. Army has halted its effort to upgrade the ergonomics and accuracy of its M4 carbine assault rifles after it reviewed proposals from industry, Army Times reported Sunday.

Kyle Jahner writes the M4A1+ initiative was part of the Army’s ongoing upgrade of M4s to M4A1s, which the report says is 25 percent complete.

The Army intended to incorporate a heavier barrel into the carbine for prolonged use, safety controls and automatic burst mode after the M4 barrels were distorted in Afghanistan during extended use, according to the report.

During the market survey, the service sought an extended Picatinny rail, a floating barrel, flash suppressor, brownish color for new parts, removable iron sights and a sniper-style single-stage trigger, Jahner reports.

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Laura Bucheit Named Assistant Director for FBI’s Security Division
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Laura Bucheit Named Assistant Director for FBI’s Security Division


Laura Bucheit
Laura Bucheit

Laura Bucheit, former special agent in charge for the FBI‘s Las Vegas division, will transition into a new role as assistant director for the bureau’s security division in July.

The FBI said Monday Bucheit’s 20-year career at the agency also includes roles in the criminal investigative division, inspection division, San Francisco division and as special assistant to former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Bucheit is also a former officer for San Diego’s police department and as a contract performance consultant at the Naval Special Warfare Center Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training Center.

The FBI started the security division in December 2001 to protect and keep bureau personnel, information, operations and facilities through services that work to address changing and emerging threats.

House OKs $3.5B Capitol Complex Maintenance Package; Hal Rogers Comments
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House OKs $3.5B Capitol Complex Maintenance Package; Hal Rogers Comments


CapitolDomeThe House has passed a bill that seeks to allot $3.48 billion in funds to secure and maintain of the Capitol complex.

Lawmakers voted 233-175 to approve the fiscal year 2017 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for the annual budget for the offices of House members, support agencies of Congress, security and police forces, services for visitors and Capitol operations, the House Appropriations Committee said Wednesday.

The committee noted that the proposed funding package is $73 million more than the fiscal year 2016 level in order to address security efforts and health and safety repairs to damaged facilities.

The bill also seeks to prevent pay hikes for members of Congress in fiscal year 2017.

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Susan Rice: President Barack Obama Eyes New US Military Aid Pact With Israel
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Susan Rice: President Barack Obama Eyes New US Military Aid Pact With Israel


ArmyChopperIsrael has expressed interest to sign a memorandum of understanding over a military assistance package with the U.S. government before President Barack Obama leaves office in January, the Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

Herb Keinon writes Susan Rice, U.S. national security adviser, said Obama would like the new MOU with Israel to be signed under his term.

“Israel currently receives more than half of the United States’ entire foreign military assistance budget,” Rice said at the AJC Global Forum.

“And, we’re discussing a new agreement with Israel that would guide our military assistance until 2029,” she added.

Israel has requested up to $5 billion in annual military assistance from the U.S. government in order to address regional challenges, while the U.S. plans to maintain the level of military aid at approximately $3 billion and reduce the portion of that package that could be spent in Israel, Keinon reports.

Israel is allowed to use 26 percent of that military aid package in the country under the current MOU that is scheduled to expire by the end of 2017, according to the Jerusalem Post.

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FAA Seeks Chief Data Officer to Manage Information Assets
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FAA Seeks Chief Data Officer to Manage Information Assets


Federal aviation administration (FAA)The Federal Aviation Administration is searching for a chief data officer who will oversee the management of information assets as well as a staff of chief scientific advisers for software integration, engineers and risk management officers.

The CDO will direct and analyze the integration of information into the National Airspace System, develop business and strategic plans for enterprise-level data initiatives, engage in industry and research activities and communicate with stakeholders, a USAJobs notice stated Friday.

The incumbent will also coordinate activities with other components of FAA and collaborate with the Nextgen program’s associate administrator, the Air Traffic Organization’s chief operating officer and the Office of Finance and Management’s chief information officer.

The role also entails interaction with high-level executives within FAA and across the federal government such as members of the Executive Branch and Congress, the notice said.

FAA is open for CDO applications until July 12.

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Mary Davie: GSA, NASA, NIH to Conduct IT Hardware Buying Events Through September 2016
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Mary Davie: GSA, NASA, NIH to Conduct IT Hardware Buying Events Through September 2016


Mary Davie
Mary Davie

The General Services Administration, NASA and the National Institutes of Health will each hold buying events from June to September in an effort to increase participation of federal agencies in the Government-wide Strategic Solution for Desktops and Laptops initiative.

Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of the integrated technology service office at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote in a blog entry posted Thursday the three agencies will conduct the events to comply with an Office of Management and Budget-issued memorandum that calls for interagency collaboration and industry feedback to increase efficiency in government IT hardware acquisitions.

She said research showed that agencies awarded over 10,000 individual contracts and delivery orders to procure desktop and laptop computers during fiscal year 2014 and the cost of those products varied by nearly 300 percent.

An OMB-formed team of IT and procurement professionals from NASA, GSA and NIH collaborated with other several other federal and industry partners to establish the GSS program in efforts to drive pricing transparency and address challenges agencies face when they buy computers.

“GSS currently gives agencies a choice of three desktop and three laptop configurations that meet the federal government’s requirements for more than 80 percent of systems purchased,” Davie noted.

“In addition to the six standard configurations, GSS for Desktops and Laptops has pre-negotiated policies and terms and conditions, and includes significant small business participation–over 85 percent, ensuring that agencies save time and meet socioeconomic goals.”

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