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Navy Appoints Rear Adm. John Neagley to Head Littoral Combat Ship Program Office
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Navy Appoints Rear Adm. John Neagley to Head Littoral Combat Ship Program Office


$headshot John_Neagley
Rear Adm. John Neagley

The U.S. Navy has appointed Rear Adm. John Neagley to the role of program executive officer for Littoral Combat Ships and will transfer to Washington for his new role, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.

Neagley, a 32-year military veteran, currently serves as the deputy commander of fleet readiness for U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego and has been stationed at SPAWAR in that role for four years.

He served as LCS program manager for five months prior to SPAWAR and his prior Littoral Combat Ship roles include lead requirements officer, principal assistant program manager and director of sustainment.

Neagley transferred to SPAWAR in September 2012 after service as executive assistant to Naval Sea Systems Command.

Prior to NAVSEA, he served as a program manager for explosive ordnance disposal and counter-improvised explosive device systems for two years and focused on deployment of EOD and IED systems in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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GSA Seeks New IT Schedule Programs Director for FAS
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GSA Seeks New IT Schedule Programs Director for FAS


GSAThe General Services Administration has kicked off its search for the new director of IT Schedule programs within the Federal Acquisition Service through a resume-based hiring process.

Applicants are required to submit an online resume that contains executive core qualifications and the mandatory technical competencies, GSA said in a notice posted Thursday on the USAJobs website.

The director of IT Schedule programs will be responsible for the IT Schedule contract operations and business programs and report to the assistant commissioner of the Office of Integrated Technology Services at FAS.

The position also covers the development, management and execution of all GSA IT schedules that comprise IT products and services for all government levels.

The director will have responsibility for IT Schedule-related acquisition program planning, policy implementation, resource evaluation, quality systems administration and mentoring, supervision and training of workforce.

GSA noted the position calls for a Top Secret security clearance and will be open for applications through the end of the month.

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DHS’ Phyllis Schneck: Trust Key to Threat Info Sharing Between Agencies, Companies
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DHS’ Phyllis Schneck: Trust Key to Threat Info Sharing Between Agencies, Companies


Phyllis Schneck
Phyllis Schneck

Phyllis Schneck, deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity and communications at the Department of Homeland Security, believes the government should establish trust with companies in order to encourage them to share digital threat information, Fedscoop reported Monday.

Schneck told Fedscoop reporter Greg Otto in an interview that DHS and its partner agencies work to ensure privacy in the department’s automated indicator sharing system.

She added a National Institute of Standards and Technology-developed cybersecurity framework can serve as a tool for the private sector to manage the risk and potential consequences of security incidents.

DHS also works to accelerate the process of hiring information security professionals who can help secure federal civilian and enterprise systems, according to Schneck.

“We asking for people to explore a hybrid: Do a private sector career and do some time in government,” she noted in the interview.

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Oklahoma Lawmakers Propose New Bill to Grow Defense Workforce in State
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Oklahoma Lawmakers Propose New Bill to Grow Defense Workforce in State


workforceReps. Steve Russell and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma have authored a new bill that seeks to allow the state’s military installations to recruit additional employees.

The proposed Department of Defense Workforce Flexibility Act of 2016 will give temporary employees within the Defense Department the opportunity to seek permanent positions within DoD, Russell’s office said Friday.

“Oklahoma’s contribution to our national defense is significant,” the lawmaker said.

“It only stands to reason that those hired to fill needed jobs on a temporary basis should be duly considered for full time positions,” added Russell.

Russell and Mullin wrote the bill following discussion with the McAlester Defense Support Association and the Federal Managers Association early this year.

The lawmakers already submitted the proposed legislation to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for review.

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DoD’s Jamie Morin: Programming Function Aims to Deliver ‘Comprehensive Deterrence’ for US
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DoD’s Jamie Morin: Programming Function Aims to Deliver ‘Comprehensive Deterrence’ for US


Jamie Morin
Jamie Morin

Jamie Morin, director of cost assessment and program evaluation at the Defense Department, has said the programming facet of the planning, programming and budgeting process aims to bring “comprehensive deterrence” for the U.S., DoD News reported Monday.

Jim Garamone writes Morin made the remarks at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington Monday.

“[Programming] is really about connecting the broad goals of our strategy and of our operational planning with the capabilities, the capacity and the readiness that’s required to carry them out,” Morin added.

He said his office sought guidance from Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in order to identify strategic priorities and critical objectives necessary to draft the details of the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal year 2017, Garamone reports.

Morin also discussed the three key principles in the strategic portfolio review of power projection.

These include the U.S.’ ability to convey effects from range, disaggregation of complex systems into simple components necessary to perform military tasks and the need to leverage aspects of relative sanctuary through investments in new weapons systems and other technology platforms, according to the report.

Mike McCord: Pentagon’s 2017 Budget Plan Intended to Be ‘All-Inclusive’
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Mike McCord: Pentagon’s 2017 Budget Plan Intended to Be ‘All-Inclusive’


Mike McCord
Mike McCord

Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord said DoD’s fiscal 2017 budget plan has been developed to address the diverse needs of all U.S. military agencies across operational domains and geographic areas, DoD News reported Monday.

Jim Garamone writes McCord’s office considered the challenges posed by Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and terrorist groups to the U.S. as his office crafted the $583-billion defense budget for the next fiscal year.

“It’s not acceptable to say I can only afford to do three or four of these,” he told audience at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Monday.

“We have to be able to do them all.”

He noted a two-year budget agreement that Congress passed in 2015 offers some fiscal stability for DoD planners, military branches and contractors but the expiration of the deal “leaves the question open again for where we are going on defense resources.”

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Robert Work: Wright-Patterson AFB Researchers Support 3rd Offset Strategy Through Technology R&D
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Robert Work: Wright-Patterson AFB Researchers Support 3rd Offset Strategy Through Technology R&D


Robert Work
Robert Work

Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work has highlighted several technology research programs that service and civilian personnel currently develop at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in support of the Defense Department’s Third Offset Strategy, DoD News reported Friday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes the strategy seeks to deter and protect the U.S. from emerging threats through the development of autonomous weapons, combat teaming, human-machine collaboration and learning systems.

The Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided Knowledge system is one of the technology platforms Work emphasized during his visit to the air base’s 711th Human Performance Wing Thursday.

The BATMAN platform has the Battlefield Airmen Trauma Distributed Observation Kit designed to help pararescue jumpers track the vital signs of wounded warfighters on the battlefield through a wearable device equipped with a small computer and sensors, Ferdinando reports.

“That’s a perfect example of how wearable electronics and stuff like that can assist the human in doing their jobs on the battlefield,” said Work, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2016.

ONC Unveils Software Contests, Funding Opportunity for Health IT Providers
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ONC Unveils Software Contests, Funding Opportunity for Health IT Providers


healthcare systemThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has launched a three-part challenge that aims to encourage the development of software applications for healthcare, with prizes worth $625,000 in total.

The three-part strategy seeks to build on Health Level 7 of the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources and promote standardized application programming interfaces, ONC said March 1.

Parts one and two of the strategy involve software development contests — including one app built for consumers and one for providers – with prizes valued at $175,000 each.

ONC’s third challenge is a competitive funding opportunity worth $275,000 which calls for the development of an open resource platform where developers can publish apps for healthcare providers to see and compare.

“This strategy will help us reach the consumer and provider-friendly future of health IT we all seek,” said Karen DeSalvo, national coordinator for health information technology.

“It reflects our guiding principles that consumers and providers should have easy, secure access to health information and the ability to direct that information when and where it is needed most.”

The three-part initiative is also a part of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan and the Interoperability Pledge campaign.

Apps developed through the challenges could also be used to support delivery system reforms, the Precision Medicine Initiative and the National Cancer Moonshot.

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Patrick Murphy, Gen. Mark Milley: Army’s FY 2017 Budget Request Eyes Readiness Against Asymmetric Threats
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Patrick Murphy, Gen. Mark Milley: Army’s FY 2017 Budget Request Eyes Readiness Against Asymmetric Threats


military in trainingTwo U.S. Army officials have said the service branch’s proposed budget of $125.1 billion for fiscal year 2017 aims to establish military readiness against asymmetric threats posed by Russia, China, North Korea and terrorist groups, the Army reported Thursday.

David Vergun writes Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Patrick Murphy, acting secretary of the Army, made the remarks at a hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations’ defense subpanel Thursday.

Milley and Murphy told the House subcommittee that funds for military modernization and manning programs had been reduced in the service branch’s budget request to prioritize readiness of service personnel.

“The Army must produce units ready today to win decisively… against an aggressive Russia or its surrogates,” Murphy noted.

“We’re mortgaging modernization to meet readiness.”

He added that lawmakers should decide on potential base realignment and closures in 2019 to help generate $500 million in savings and control risk arising from the budget cuts, the report said.

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NIST Scientists Develop Quality Control Method for Nanoscaled Materials
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NIST Scientists Develop Quality Control Method for Nanoscaled Materials


research and development RDA team of National Institute of Standards and Technology scientists has invented a “nondestructive” process for quality control testing of carbon nanotube and graphene materials that are increasingly used in the electronics manufacturing sector.

NIST said Friday the method employs a microwave cavity designed for measurement of film properties and an electrical circuit intended to measure resonance frequency changes.

Physicists Christian Long, Nathan Orloff and Jan Obrzut helped assemble the testing equipment, which the agency says is built upon roll-to-roll processing technology used for the bulk production of nanomaterials.

“This method could significantly boost prospects of not making a faulty batch in the first place,” Long said.

Manufacturers use carbon nanotubes and graphene to build composite aircraft components, wearable electronic devices and smartphone screens, according to NIST.

Long, Orloff and Obrzut filed a patent for the nanomanufacturing quality-control technique in December.

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