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Lawrence Strickling: NTIA Will Let IANA Contract Expire on October 1
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Lawrence Strickling: NTIA Will Let IANA Contract Expire on October 1


cybersecurityThe National Telecommunications and Information Administration will not renew its Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers after the pact expires on October 1.

NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling wrote in a blog post published Tuesday ICANN reported that it has completed or will complete tasks for the IANA transition by the end of the contract term.

The transition marks the last step in an 18-year U.S. government effort to privatize the internet domain name system, Strickling added.

In June, NTIA determined that a proposal from the internet multistakeholder community meets the agency’s criteria on the transition of NTIA’s stewardship role over DNS.

The agency established the criteria in March 2014 while ICANN gathered internet stakeholders to develop a transition plan that will meet NTIA’s requirements.

NTIA partnered with ICANN in 1998 to relinquish the agency’s control over technical DNS coordination and management functions to the private sector.

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British Duke Gerald Grosvenor Dead at 64, Backed UK Soldier Hospital Construction Project
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British Duke Gerald Grosvenor Dead at 64, Backed UK Soldier Hospital Construction Project


British Duke Gerald Grosvenor Dead at 64, Backed UK Soldier Hospital Construction Project
Gerald Grosvenor

Gerald Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, has died at the age of 64 in his 22,000-acre Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire, England due to a heart attack, the New York Times reported Monday.

Sam Roberts writes throughout Grosvenor’s stint as Duke of Westminster he served as Grosvenor Estate‘s chairman of trustees and held the title of the country’s richest landowner with an estimated $12 billion in wealth.

Grosvenor launched a program to invest $390.2 million into the relocation of the Defense and National Rehabilitation Center in Headley Court to a new purpose-built location at Stanford Hall that will provide immediate access to on-site patient diagnosis and treatment plans.

“His personal vision and ambition to create the Defense and National Rehabilitation Centre is an inspiration, and his legacy will continue to touch the lives of soldiers and their families for decades to come,” Teresa Carlson, Amazon Web Services public sector leader, told Fedscoop.

“The Duke of Westminster’s selfless commitment to the care of all of the United Kingdom’s soldiers inspired us in the United States in our own responsibilities to our veterans. In doing so the Duke strengthened the crucial military alliance between the US and the UK Armed Forces to help ensure the safety of the international community at a precariously dangerous time in global politics,” retired Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said in a statement.

Mullen holds the title of honorary president for the American Friends of Black Stork organization, a US-based nonprofit that supports the U.K. DNRC.

The 425,000-square acre Stanford Hall facility will be four times bigger than the Headley Court facility and feature a 224 patient bed capacity, gyms and physiotherapy spaces, pool complex and a rehabilitation research center with a gait lab and virtual reality unit.

Marine Corps Embraces Smaller Surveillance Sensor; John Covington Comments
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Marine Corps Embraces Smaller Surveillance Sensor; John Covington Comments


The Marine CorpsThe U.S. Marine Corps has adopted a smaller measurement and signature intelligence sensor to conduct remote surveillance operations and deployed the platform six months ahead of schedule.

Marines will use the Magnetic Intrusion Detector II to detect and identify vehicles and rifle-sized objects that move within its electromagnetic fields, USMC said Tuesday.

“MAGID provides not only target detection and direction information, but also magnetic disturbance readout, indicating the size of the target,” said John Covington, project officer for the Tactical Remote Sensor System in the Marine Intelligence program office.

“The new MAGID II is multi-directional, meaning the magnetic changes can be detected no matter where the device is pointed,” Covington added.

MAGID II operates with other devices built to detect seismic, acoustic and infrared activity as part of continuous surveillance missions in key areas.

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GAO: Office of Government Ethics Should Identify Other Agencies With Special Govt Employee Data Reporting Challenges
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GAO: Office of Government Ethics Should Identify Other Agencies With Special Govt Employee Data Reporting Challenges


workforceThe Government Accountability Office has called on the Office of Government Ethics to determine whether other federal agencies have experienced difficulties in reporting data on special government employees who do not serve on federal boards.

GAO made the recommendation after it found that the Department of Health and Human Services, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State Department encountered challenges on how to differentiate SGEs on federal boards from those who are not, the congressional audit agency said in a report released Monday.

“Weak internal coordination and misunderstanding about the SGE designation contributed to the identification challenges,” GAO said in the report.

“Stronger data would better position agencies to report on SGEs and provide the required ethics training.”

According to the report, federal agencies hired an annual average of approximately 2,000 SGEs between 2005 and 2014 and that approximately 3 percent of 40,424 SGEs were not on federal boards and served as consultants as of December 2014.

GAO also found that agencies hire SGEs to serve in specialized areas, such as the Justice Department’s recruitment of a compensation fund attorney in support of a 9/11 victim and employment of professionals by the National Science Foundation to perform scientific research work.

Three of the five selected federal agencies – HHS, DOJ, State Department, NRC, NSF – tapped consultants to hire non-federal board serving SGEs, while the other two used their agency-specific authorities to appoint such employees, the report added.

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DOE Selects 12 Projects for Energy System Infrastructure Defense Effort; Ernest Moniz Comments
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DOE Selects 12 Projects for Energy System Infrastructure Defense Effort; Ernest Moniz Comments


transmission tower against the sun during sunsetThe Energy Department has allotted $34 million in funds for 12 projects designed to harden systems against attacks in support of Secretary Ernest Moniz’ call for more investments in U.S. energy emergency responses.

DOE said Tuesday the funds will go to energy sector organizations through the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Cybersecurity of Energy Delivery Systems program.

Funded projects include two in Washington state and will cover cybersecurity education for energy sector professionals and research and development of tools for the energy infrastructure.

“The Department of Energy uses its expertise in transformative science and technology solutions to support and enhance our Nation’s emergency response capabilities,” said Moniz.

Moniz added the department applies various systems through private and public partnerships to help prepare for emergencies, mitigate risks and boost restoration and recovery from incidents that impact the energy sector.

Details on the 12 projects that were awarded funds can be found on the Energy Department’s website.

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DHS, Army Develop Wildland Firefighter Garment System to Address Heat Exhaustion Risk
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DHS, Army Develop Wildland Firefighter Garment System to Address Heat Exhaustion Risk


Wildland FirefightersThe Department of Homeland Security‘s science and technology directorate has partnered with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center to create a garment system for wildland firefighters in an effort to address risks from heat exhaustion.

DHS said Monday the Wildland Firefighter Advanced Personal Protection System is made of material with high heat loss properties that work to reduce core body temperatures during wildfire scenarios.

William Deso, APPS project manager, said wildland firefighters provided input for the WLFF APPS garment system that is designed to provide protection against burn injuries as well as user comfort.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection asked DHS to develop new personal protective equipment when CAL FIRE found that wildland firefighters experience heat stress at a higher rate than burn injury patients.

DHS published a report on WLFF APPS in 2014 that detailed wildland fighters’ experiences as they tested 1,000 garment ensembles during two wildfire seasons.

WLFF APPS prototypes have achieved National Fire Protection Association 1977 standards that outline requirements for wildland firefighting garments such as heat loss, thermal stability, heat and thermal shrinkage parameters, DHS said.

EPA, NHTSA Finalize Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks
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EPA, NHTSA Finalize Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks


green earth, environmentThe Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have jointly finalized standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in an effort to boost fuel efficiency and address carbon pollution.

EPA said Tuesday the final phase two standards promotes a generation of clean and fuel-efficient trucks that utilize a wider application of currently available technologies as well as the development of new technologies through model year 2027.

“The actions we take today on climate change will help lessen the impacts on future generations,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator.

McCarthy noted the next phase of standards for heavy- and medium-duty vehicles will work to cut greenhouse gas emissions and drive innovation in support of U.S. efforts to develop fuel-efficient technologies through the next decade and beyond.

EPA expects the standards to generate $230 billion in savings out of climate, public health and oil consumption costs from semi-trucks, large pickup trucks and vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks.

The agencies will also work to create standards for fuel-efficiency and GHG standards for trailers to include currently excluded categories such as mobile homes.

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GAO Wants DoD to Revise Budget Materials Preparation, Execution Reports Guidance
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GAO Wants DoD to Revise Budget Materials Preparation, Execution Reports Guidance


budget analysis reviewThe Government Accountability Office has asked the Defense Department to revise the way the department prepares budget materials and execution reports in an effort to help Congress oversee operation and maintenance budget.

GAO said Tuesday the DoD should add operation and maintenance base obligations to each account under the budget materials and execution reports.

The government watchdog released a report that examines the trends in enacted funding for DoD’s operation and maintenance base appropriations accounts since fiscal year 2009 and the amount of O&M funding the department transferred.

GAO found nearly $146.9 billion in reprogrammed funds from fiscal year 2009 through fiscal 2015 and the review concluded no apparent impact of the realignments on base obligations as DoD failed to submit a separate O&M base obligations report to Congress.

The agency also found O&M base obligations in excess of O&M base enacted amounts in each fiscal year due to the realignment of funds.

“By revising its guidance to require congressional reporting on O&M base obligations for each account in these materials and reports, DOD could provide complete information to assist Congress in better understanding and overseeing DOD’s full funding needs for O&M base,” GAO noted.

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Virginia National Guard Breaks Ground on New $30M HQ
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Virginia National Guard Breaks Ground on New $30M HQ


VA National Guard headquartersThe Virginia National Guard held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday on the military organization’s new state headquarters at the north section of the Defense Supply Center Richmond in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

The 102,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled to be completed in February 2018, will accommodate the Adjutant General of Virginia, the Virginia National Guard Joint Staff and Air National Guard Staff, the Virginia National Guard said Tuesday.

The $30 million project will be funded by the Department of Military Affairs and the state’s Air National Guard and Army National Guard.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Allan Day, Defense Logistics Agency aviation commander, said the facility will expand the Guard’s presence at the site as well as bring new military partnership opportunities.

Lt. Col. Charlton Dunn, construction and facilities management officer at the Virginia National Guard, said the project will increase authorized space to 98 percent from the 58 percent capacity of the organization’s current state headquarters in Sandston.

Dunn added the facility will be designed to comply with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver requirements and feature ground-source heat pumps, photovoltaic solar panels and natural gas to support energy efficiency goals.

The construction project employs a construction manager at risk, building information modeling as well as a commissioning agent to address initial and lifecycle costs within existing time constraints, the Virginia National Guard added.

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Tom Sharpe, David Shive: GSA’s IT Initiatives Underscore Cross-Agency Collaboration
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Tom Sharpe, David Shive: GSA’s IT Initiatives Underscore Cross-Agency Collaboration


GSATom Sharpe, commissioner of the General Services Administration‘s federal acquisition service, and GSA Chief Information Officer David Shive have highlighted the agency’s information technology initiatives that seek to foster partnerships across the government.

Sharpe and Shive wrote in a blog post published Tuesday GSA’s 18F organization led efforts to create the Agile Services blanket purchase agreement from IT Schedule 70 to accommodate demand for digital services and address service delivery time frame.

The first Agile BPA helped GSA to develop a public dashboard for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program within 60 days, according to Sharpe and Shive.

They added the agency’s FedRAMP program management office will publish pre-audit requirements for cloud service providers with the goal to cut the program’s certification process cycle by more than 50 percent.

FAS’ office of integrated technology services, GSA’s Office of the CIO and the Federal Salesforce Community of Excellence also partnered to establish a BPA that works to give agencies access to Salesforce cloud services.

These GSA IT initiatives also support the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act that aims to develop programs to update government-wide acquisition, shared use and software dissemination, Sharpe and Shive noted.

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