Acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy Aims to Expand Transition Assistance Programs
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Acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy Aims to Expand Transition Assistance Programs


army stock photoPatrick Murphy, undersecretary and acting secretary of the U.S. Army, has said he believes the entire military branch should emulate efforts at Fort Hood, Texas, to help soldiers make the transition to civilian life.

“Fort Hood is really the model when it comes to the Soldier for Life program,” Murphy said in a statement published Thursday.

He also pointed to the base’s partnership with Raytheon and General Motors to train transitioning military personnel for service technician positions at the two companies under the Shifting Gears initiative.

“To see in action what the community of Fort Hood is doing — the civilian community outside the gates and the community inside those gates — and how they are working at creating these public-private partnerships is inspiring,” he added.

Murphy estimates the Army and the Defense Department have spent approximately $4.6 billion in military unemployment benefits over the past five years and believes a portion of funds allocated for unemployment compensation should go to transition assistance programs.

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Army to Kick Off Aberdeen Proving Ground Cyber Courses; Victor Carrozzo Comments
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Army to Kick Off Aberdeen Proving Ground Cyber Courses; Victor Carrozzo Comments


cyberThe U.S. Army will begin to offer a graduate-level certificate program in cybersecurity on Feb. 10 to all Aberdeen Proving Ground engineers and scientists in an effort to equip them with cyber skills.

The University of Delaware at the University Center in Aberdeen, Maryland, will offer the three-course sequence that comprises an introduction to cybersecurity, techniques to harden computer systems and advanced cybersecurity, the Army said Thursday.

Victor Carrozzo, Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center human capital cell specialist, said CERDEC created the program after it identified a workforce development gap through a survey.

The University of Delaware program will run as a live cohort at the Northeastern Maryland Higher Education Applied Technology Center.

“Our goal is to promote cross-fertilization and networking within the APG cyber community as well as the technical aspect of learning,” Carrozzo said.

Navy Demos Common Control System on Unmanned Vehicle; Ralph Lee Comments
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Navy Demos Common Control System on Unmanned Vehicle; Ralph Lee Comments


NavyC5ISRThe U.S. Navy has conducted underwater demonstrations on a fresh common control system with an unmanned vehicle at the Puget Sound, Washington-based Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport.

The system transmitted pre-planned missions to the autonomous controller of a large displacement unmanned undersea vehicle during the tests in December, the Navy said Friday.

Submarine operators also executed surveillance and intelligence preparation missions using the system.

“These tests proved that operators could use CCS from a single global operations center to plan, command, and monitor UUVs on missions located anywhere in the world,” said Capt. Ralph Lee, lead of the Navy’s CCS program.

The system is built to incorporate a common framework, user interface and components that work with different types of unmanned systems.

The Navy plans to integrate the system into the unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike program first.

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Ashton Carter: Mideast Allies Need to ‘Do More’ in Anti-Islamic State Group Efforts
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Ashton Carter: Mideast Allies Need to ‘Do More’ in Anti-Islamic State Group Efforts


Ashton Carter
Ashton Carter

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said allied countries in the Middle East should increase their efforts to defeat the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, Defense News reported Monday.

“Now I’m hoping, and believe, that if we show them what they can do and what they can accomplish, that they will do more… [because] they are better suited culturally and historically to deal with some of these complicated situations than we are,” Carter said, according to the report.

Joe Gould writes Carter said the U.S. plans to share with allies in the Gulf countries the operations plan on how to defeat the Islamic State organization and that he believes the allies could play a role in police training, logistics and sustainment efforts.

The defense chief also briefed the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on the operations plan as the division prepares for deployment in Iraq.

Carter is scheduled to visit Brussels in February to discuss the efforts of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group with 27 defense ministers from coalition member countries, Gould reports.

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Gen. Paul Selva: Military-Industry Dialogue Needed to Discuss Impact of New Tech
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Gen. Paul Selva: Military-Industry Dialogue Needed to Discuss Impact of New Tech


Paul Selva
Paul Selva

Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, believes awareness and dialogue regarding new technologies can help U.S. efforts to drive innovation in warfare and other applications, DoD News reported Thursday.

Jim Garamone writes that Selva told his audience at the Brookings Institution both the military and industry should address concerns regarding the impact of technologies, including potential ethical implications or what he calls the ‘Terminator Conundrum.’

Selva said technologies such as autonomous vehicles “[bring] us to the cusp of questions about whether we are willing to have unmanned, autonomous systems that can launch on an enemy.”

He also noted that the application of the “deep learning” concept in machines also presents a dilemma.

“The deep learning concept of teaching coherent machines… to advise humans and making them our partners has huge consequences,” he said, according to the report.

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GSA, DoD, NASA Propose Rule to Tackle Federal Contractor Confidentiality Requirements
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GSA, DoD, NASA Propose Rule to Tackle Federal Contractor Confidentiality Requirements


acquisition policyThe General Services Administration, NASA and the Defense Department have proposed a regulation to block vendors that use internal agreements to prevent their employees or subcontractors from reporting wasteful spending, fraud and abuse to federal customers.

The three agencies said Friday in a Federal Register notice their proposed rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation in order to implement section 743 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act.

The policy forbids agencies from awarding contracts, grant funds or cooperative agreements to companies that put the internal confidentiality statement in employee or subcontractor agreements.

GSA, NASA and DoD proposed to include the clause in solicitations for all federal contracts, except ones that cover services to be provided by an individual who is not a contractor employee or a subcontractor.

Comments to the proposed rule are due March 22.

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Federal News Radio: OMB to Restrict New Federal Agency Mobile Device Contracts
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Federal News Radio: OMB to Restrict New Federal Agency Mobile Device Contracts


acquisition policyThe Office of Management and Budget plans to release a draft policy that will block federal agencies’ new contracts for the procurement of mobile devices and services, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

Jason Miller writes the draft policy will require agencies to adopt existing government-wide General Services Administration wireless services.

Under the proposed ruling, agency chief information officers must integrate all contracts for mobile devices and services into a single contract per carrier by Sept. 30, 2018, according to the report.

Devices permitted under the draft policy are those one generation behind the latest version of the product and agencies need to develop standards for device features, the station reports.

Agencies are also required to submit a report on mobile usage and pricing data to OMB’s integrated data collection by May 31 before the OMB shares the pricing data with agencies via GSA’s acquisition gateway, Miller reports.

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DoD’s Interim Rule Seeks to Extend Contractors’ Compliance With NIST Cloud Security Requirements
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DoD’s Interim Rule Seeks to Extend Contractors’ Compliance With NIST Cloud Security Requirements


cloudThe Defense Department has released a draft regulation that seeks to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement in an effort to provide additional time for contractors to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s security requirements for cloud services.

DoD said in a Dec. 30, 2015 notice posted on Federal Register that defense contractors have until Dec. 31, 2017 to comply with security provisions stipulated in NIST’s Special Publication 800-171.

The NIST publication contains requirements for contractors on how to protect sensitive data stored in contractors’ information networks and systems.

The department will also require contractors to inform DoD’s chief information officer of any NIST provisions that were not implemented within one month of contract award, according to the interim rule.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Feb. 29, according to the notice.

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Stratcom Head Cecil Haney Pushes for Whole-of-Govt Approach to Support Threat Deterrence
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Stratcom Head Cecil Haney Pushes for Whole-of-Govt Approach to Support Threat Deterrence


Cecil Haney
Cecil Haney

U.S. Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, has said training, modernization and nuclear deterrence will work to support the U.S. national security mission amid the current global security environment, DoD News reported Friday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes that Haney noted the threat from both violent extremists such as the Islamic State militant group and state actors such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

“Achieving comprehensive deterrence and assurance requires more than just nuclear weapons systems,” Haney said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Friday.

Haney said the U.S. should adopt what he called a “whole-of-government” approach that covers the priority areas of strategic deterrence, partnerships with allies, readiness for change or uncertainty and capabilities in warfighting, space and cyberspace.

The report said Haney cautioned against the potential “deterrence” impact of budget cuts on modernization as part of efforts to ensure strategic stability.

“We must modernize the force, including the people, to ensure this force remains capable of delivering strategic stability and foundational deterrence well into the future, even as we pursue third-offset strategic choices,” he said.

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DoD’s Michael Gilmore: JPO’s F-35 Software Development Deadline ‘Not Realistic’
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DoD’s Michael Gilmore: JPO’s F-35 Software Development Deadline ‘Not Realistic’


Michael Gilmore
Michael Gilmore

A weapons testing official at the Defense Department has said the Joint Program Office’s plan to complete software development work on the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 aircraft by July 31, 2017 seems unrealistic, Defense News reported Saturday.

Lara Seligman writes Michael Gilmore, DoD’s director of operational test and evaluation, said in a Dec. 11 memo that he is concerned that JPO might rush tests on the fighter jet’s Block 3F software in order to meet the July 2017 deadline.

Gilmore added there is a “very high risk” the software might fail the final testing phase prior to a full-rate production decision due to hasty testing schedules.

“The JPO does not intend on ‘short-cutting’ any required test points,” Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for JPO, told Defense News in an email.

DellaVedova said approximately half of all baseline flight testing points for the Block 3F software had been concluded by JPO as of Jan. 15 and that the office remains on schedule to deliver the software in the fall of 2017.

“Any critical deficiencies identified during the remainder of development flight testing and [initial operational test and evaluation] will be coordinated with key stakeholders including the services and operational test team, to determine the need for any required fixes or other follow-up actions,” DellaVedova wrote in the email.

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