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Gen. John Kelly: Southcom Looks to Partners for Regional Security Missions
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Gen. John Kelly: Southcom Looks to Partners for Regional Security Missions


John F. Kelly
Gen. John Kelly

Gen. John Kelly, outgoing chief of the U.S. Southern Command, has said the command collaborates with its military allies to counter terrorism, illegal drug trade and transnational organized crime, DoD News reported Friday.

Lisa Ferdinando writes the Defense Department established Southcom to carry out DoD’s security cooperation initiatives in southern and central America and the Caribbean.

“It’s all about broadening and deepening partnerships down there,” Kelly told reporters at a news conference held Friday at the Pentagon.

He noted the command has interdicted nearly 200 metric tons of cocaine over the past year through partnership with several U.S. partner nations as well as works to ensure humane treatment of prisoners at a Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility, Kelly added to reporters.

Kelly is retiring after a more than 40-year military career and will be succeeded by Navy Vice Adm. Kurt Tidd as head of Southcom effective Thursday.

Air Force Unveils Placement Efforts to Address Civilian Labor Overage
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Air Force Unveils Placement Efforts to Address Civilian Labor Overage


Air Force logoThe U.S. Air Force has announced it will implement reduction-in-force authority through April 4 as part of efforts to rebalance its civilian workforce and meet defense funding goals for fiscal 2016.

The move comes after the Air Force identified more than 1,000 “overage” civilian positions across 48 facilities during a command needs review conducted in August last year, the military branch said Wednesday.

“Although we have made great strides, we still have a number of affected employees to place into funded vacancies, and RIF authorities will enable us to achieve that goal,” said Debra Warner, director of civilian force management policy at the Air Force.

The military branch implemented pre-RIF placement, voluntary early retirement and separation incentive pay and hiring control efforts during fiscal 2014 and 2015 to manage civilian labor surpluses.

RIF policy allows Air Force bases to reassign excess civilians or register them in the Defense Department‘s priority placement program for consideration into future employment opportunities.

“We are committed to assisting each individual through this transition,” said Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services.

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Rep. Jason Chaffetz: Education Dept Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks
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Rep. Jason Chaffetz: Education Dept Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks


Rep. Jason Chaffetz
Rep. Jason Chaffetz

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, believes the Education Department is under risk of a cyber breach, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Chaffetz told an event at the Brookings Institute in Washington that the potential cyber attack could affect half of the nation’s population, Scott Maucione reports.

He cited security issues with the department’s information systems and pointed to a problem with the diversity of contractors that handle student information, according to the report.

Chaffetz told legislators the department’s database that contains personal information of individuals that apply for student loans are susceptible to cyber attacks, the station reports.

“Here, we’re talking about more than $1 trillion in student loans and data on more than 100 million Americans, and it’s not secure by any definition,” he said.

Chaffetz hascalled on the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the security status of the department’s data centers in November, Maucione reports.

Navy Wants More Spending Authority in FY 2017 Budget; Sean Stackley Comments
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Navy Wants More Spending Authority in FY 2017 Budget; Sean Stackley Comments


U.S. NavyThe U.S. Navy seeks expanded authority to spend money under the fiscal year 2017 budget in an effort to fast track the way it deploys services, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.

Colin Clark writes the Navy wants a new approach similar to the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capability Office.

“There will be something that closely mirrors the Air Force RCO going forward for unique missions, especially in the black world,” Sean Stackley, head of Navy acquisition, told the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.

Stackley called for legal relaxations at an early stage of a program, according to the report.

Reps. Adam Smith and Mac Thornberry agreed to impose fewer restrictions on how the Navy uses funds and supported a prototyping approach for the effort, Clark reports.

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GAO: NASA, TSA Use ‘Other Transaction’ Agreements Outside RD&D, Prototypes
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GAO: NASA, TSA Use ‘Other Transaction’ Agreements Outside RD&D, Prototypes


GAOThe Government Accountability Office reports that a majority of the 11 federal agencies authorized to use what GAO called “other transaction” agreements for contracting or financial assistance programs employed them sparingly from fiscal year 2010 to 2014.

GAO said in a report submitted Thursday to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) — ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology — that most agencies utilized other transaction agreements for research, development and demonstration projects.

Agencies use other transaction agreements to customize certain project requirements and missions and those deals are generally not subject to federal laws and regulations on federal contracts or other financial assistance arrangements, GAO said.

Other agencies used them for prototype development, while NASA and the Transportation Security Administration applied them to activities outside RD&D and prototypes and thus had the larger number of other transaction agreements.

GAO noted that the 11 agencies believe the use of those agreements provides flexibility to address issues related to requirements in contracts and other traditional mechanisms.

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ODNI Names Leadership Team of Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center
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ODNI Names Leadership Team of Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center


CyberStockThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence has appointed Tonya Ugoretz, Maurice Bland and Thomas Donahue to be on the leadership team of the newly-formed Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.

ODNI said Thursday Ugoretz will head CTIIC, Bland will serve as deputy leader and Donahue will be the research director.

James Clapper
James Clapper

“CTIIC will lead integrated community analysis of our cyber adversaries and support interagency efforts to develop whole-of-government opportunities against cyber threats,” DNI James Clapper said.

“I am confident this capable team will work seamlessly with intelligence community and federal partners to integrate intelligence on foreign cyber threat capabilities and activities.”

Ugoretz is a career intelligence analyst and former chief intelligence officer from FBI, where she has worked on assignments with CIA, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Intelligence Council.

Bland is a retired U.S. Army colonel and has served as associate deputy director for cyber at the National Security Agency.

Donahue was chief editor of the President’s Daily Brief at the CIA and senior director for cyber operations for the staff of the National Security Council.

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GSA’s 18F Debuts Online Platform for Source Code Micro-Purchases
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GSA’s 18F Debuts Online Platform for Source Code Micro-Purchases

source codeThe General Services Administration‘s 18F unit has introduced an online micro-purchase platform for open-source code developers to bid on various projects at the digital services organization.

V. David Zvenyach and Alla Goldman Seiffert wrote in a post published Thursday that 18F will initially post a batch of reverse auction opportunities on the marketplace to buy new codes or features for the group’s Tock time-tracking software.

Vendors can submit bids that range between $1 and $3500, Zvenyach and Seiffert noted.

The 18F team implemented the platform after it conducted a federal acquisition experiment in efforts to determine whether the micro-purchase strategy can help attract small businesses and nonconventional contractors.

The experiment’s winner Brendan Sudol, a Simon Data software engineer, bid $1 to provide a source code designed to move data from GSA’s Schedule 70 contracting tool into the online Contract-Awarded Labor Category portal.

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GAO Evaluates TSA’s Efforts to Change Airport Screening System Acquisitions
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GAO Evaluates TSA’s Efforts to Change Airport Screening System Acquisitions


AirportRunwayA Government Accountability Office official has said that the Transportation Security Administration has initiated efforts to change the way it acquires passenger and baggage screening systems used at airports in order to comply with the TSA Reform Act.

Michele Mackin, director of acquisition and sourcing management at GAO, said in written testimony to the House Homeland Security transportation security subcommittee Thursday that approximately 15,000 airport security systems were fielded by TSA as of August 2015.

Mackin also cited TSA’s efforts to enhance its test and assessment procedures through the development of a strategy in which a third party would help the agency evaluate the maturity of screening systems.

Jill Vaughan, assistant administrator at TSA’s office of security capabilities, told panel members that TSA officials have shared test plans with vendors and launched efforts to seek industry proposals for new platforms through open notices, according to an FCW report.

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Michael Huerta: FAA-Registered Drones Reach 180K
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Michael Huerta: FAA-Registered Drones Reach 180K


Michael Huerta
Michael Huerta

The Federal Aviation Administration has recorded nearly 180,000 unmanned aerial systems that registered with the agency since it launched the registration system in December, FCW reported Wednesday.

Chase Gunter writes the FAA intends for the registration to help address issues around safety involving drones and passenger aircraft.

“Simply put, registration is all about safety,” Michael Huerta, FAA chief, told the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“It provides us with a key opportunity to educate the new generation of airspace users that, as soon as they start flying outside, they’re pilots,” he said.

The FAA charges $5 per system for the registration that is valid for three years, according to the report.

CBO: Annual US Deficit Fell to Lowest Point in 8 Years
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CBO: Annual US Deficit Fell to Lowest Point in 8 Years


budget analysis reviewThe Congressional Budget Office has published an infographic report that indicates the $439 billion U.S. budget shortfall the agency recorded for fiscal 2015 was the government’s smallest deficit since fiscal 2007.

CBO said Wednesday federal debt held by the public at the end of FY 2015 was 74 percent of gross domestic product, the highest annual debt-to-GDP ratio in 65 years.

The agency calculates public debt by adding annual deficits and surpluses and says federal credit programs, including financial aid to students, can also affect overall debt.

The government spent a total of $3.7 trillion on discretionary defense and nondefense programs as well as on mandatory benefits such as Medicare, Medicaid and social security, according to the report.

Revenues from corporate, payroll, individual and miscellaneous taxes amounted to $3.2 trillion during fiscal 2015, the report noted.

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