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Labor Dept Refreshes Employment Services Website for Veterans
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Labor Dept Refreshes Employment Services Website for Veterans


websiteThe Labor Department has updated the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service’s online portal that works to connect employers with former and transitioning service members and their spouses who are seeking jobs.

DOL redesigned Veterans.gov to provide users a “one-stop shop” for veteran employment services, the department said Monday.

“There are many resources for veterans seeking employment and for those employers eager to hire veterans, but it’s often difficult for both groups to know where to start,” said Mike Michaud, assistant labor secretary for veterans’ employment and training.

Michaud added VETS aims to provide those resources to companies and job seekers through Veterans.gov.

DOL collaborated with the Small Business Administration and the Office of Personnel Management as well as the departments of Energy, Transportation, Agriculture and Homeland Security to create site content.

The site features new tools designed to help employers connect with with VETS’ regional employer outreach specialists, upload available positions and access the America’s Heroes at Work hiring toolkit.

According to DOL, the portal also works to help job seekers to receive assistance from American Job Centers, search career paths by keyword or industry, connect to the Veterans Employment Center portal and access local training and industry-specific career programs.

Federal Times: GSA to Handle All Health IT Contracts for DHA
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Federal Times: GSA to Handle All Health IT Contracts for DHA


health infosecThe General Services Administration will handle contracts for the Defense Health Agency‘s health information technology requirements under a DHA memo sent April 25, Federal Times reported Monday.

Aaron Boyd writes that DHA Component Acquisition Executive Michael O’Bar signed the memo to require health agency procurement officers to use GSA’s governmentwide acquisition contracts and schedules for all IT and healthcare systems.

GSA formed a seven-year partnership with DHA in February to invest $5.4 billion to procure health information technology services and systems.

DHA acquisition officials selected GSA vehicles after reviewing a Defense Department memo on the Better Buying Power 3.0 initiative that stressed contracting efficiency and strategic sourcing, the report said.

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Navy Extends USS Truman’s Presence in Arabian Gulf
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Navy Extends USS Truman’s Presence in Arabian Gulf


USS Harry S. TrumanThe U.S. Navy has extended the presence of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Arabian Gulf by 30 days as part of an effort to combat the Islamic State militant organization, DoD News reported Monday.

Terri Moon Cronk writes Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told reporters Monday at the Pentagon the initiative also seeks to increase maritime security in the region.

Richardson added the aircraft carrier lends intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to U.S.’ Arabian Gulf allies, according to the report.

The report said USS Truman is built to perform maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, crisis response, sea control, deterrence and counterterrorism missions.

Marines Complete MV-22B Osprey/F-35B Ground Refueling Test; Adam Geitner Comments
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Marines Complete MV-22B Osprey/F-35B Ground Refueling Test; Adam Geitner Comments


V-22-OspreyThe U.S. Marine Corps has completed a ground refueling test for the Bell/Boeing-built MV-22B Osprey and Lockheed Martin-built F-35B aircraft Thursday at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Maj. Adam Geitner, F-35 detachment aircraft maintenance officer with the Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 22, said in a report published Friday the test was meant to validate ground refueling functionality in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

Fuel transfer lines were connected to the two aircraft during the test for the Osprey to refuel the F-35B for an hour and verify the equipment and procedures, Edwards AFB reported.F-35

“From a tactical point of view, the MV-22 to F-35 ground refueling allows the Marine Corps to employ assets in austere environments on a short notice without having to rely on long-term planning and fixed facilities,” said Geitner.

He noted that the team next plans to test air-to-air refueling between the two aircraft, which is part of the MAGTF operational construct alongside ground refueling.

“This is even more significant for the MAGTF when operating F-35s from [amphibious assault ships] because it provides organic air-to-air refueling capability that vastly extends the range of the aircraft and also provides operational flexibility,” he added.

The F-35B is the short-takeoff/vertical-landing variant of the F-35 aircraft designed for Marine Corps stealth missions.

MV-22 is a variant of the V-22 joint service multirole combat aircraft.

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White House to Ask FAA to Oversee Asteroid Mining, Lunar Surface Missions; George Nield Comments
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White House to Ask FAA to Oversee Asteroid Mining, Lunar Surface Missions; George Nield Comments


deep_spaceThe White House has proposed a “mission authorization” framework that would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to oversee asteroid mining, transportation of payloads to the lunar surface and other emerging commercial space missions, Space News reported Monday.

Jeff Foust writes the White House’s office of science and technology policy included the proposal in a report to Congress as part of its compliance with the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015.

OSTP’s report is in response to industry concerns that such commercial space activities are not covered by the licensing system for commercial spacecraft and launches as mandated in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

“If the United States wants to be perceived as being compliant with the Outer Space Treaty, somebody has to authorize and oversee those operations,” said George Nield, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at FAA.

According to the report, the White House’s mission authorization measure does not aim to create a “comprehensive regulatory framework” for such “unprecedented” space activities.

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Richard Kidd: Climate Change-Induced Floods, Heat Affect Army Training
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Richard Kidd: Climate Change-Induced Floods, Heat Affect Army Training


green earth, environmentRichard Kidd, deputy assistant army secretary for energy and sustainability, told Defense Department leaders in a panel discussion held April 26 that Army training exercises are affected by inclement weather conditions he says result from global climate change.

Kidd said floods in Fort Irwin, California and Fort Eustis, Virginia have caused erosion of ranges and tank trails that subsequently strained the service branch’s training cycle, according to a release published by the Army on Sunday.

He also said soldiers are prone to heat stress and decreased performance levels due to the rise in temperature.

“The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are going to increase our requirements while also imposing more constraints on our training and readiness and use of scarce dollars,” Kidd told the panel.

Climate change also overwhelms the states’ governance capacity which leads to opportunities for security threats to proliferate, Kidd added.

He further said the extreme weather disrupts global supply chain and creates a need to include climate change considerations into Army processes.

Kidd suggested the use of the Army’s regionally aligned forces concept as well as collaborations with combatant commands and government agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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Treasury Releases Federal Spending Data Reporting Standards
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Treasury Releases Federal Spending Data Reporting Standards

digital governmentThe Treasury Department has completed and released the final data format designed to standardize reporting of federal spending data in compliance with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, the Data Coalition reported Monday.

The department posted the DATA Act Information Model Schema v1.0 on its Federal Spending Transparency’s GitHub website Friday after it completed the schema’s initial version and published 57 data elements with the Office of Management and Budget in May 2015.

“From the very beginning, we wanted to mandate a government-wide format to transform federal spending from disconnected documents and siloed systems into standardized, open data,” said Hudson Hollister, executive director of the Data Coalition.

The schema includes information on reporting submission specification, information flow, interface definition document, DAIMS diagrams, XBRL schema files and online data dictionary as well as instructions on how to upload federal spending data files.

Federal agencies should adopt and comply with the schema and data elements by May 2017, according to the Data Coalition.

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Chuck Elmore: Air Force’s Investigative Org Aims to Migrate Entire Network to AFNet
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Chuck Elmore: Air Force’s Investigative Org Aims to Migrate Entire Network to AFNet


networkChuck Elmore, chief information officer at the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, plans to consolidate the organization’s enterprise network into the military branch’s AFNet infrastructure in the next year or so, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

Jason Miller writes AFOSI has already migrated about 20 percent of its network into AFNet as part a network consolidation effort.

“Once we collapse this network, we basically hand over our local staff, all of the investigators and analysts and folks that are in the field, to the local base for them to now become the maintainer for those folks,” Elmore told the station.

He added AFOSI also seeks to build a single database system for information that the organization collects to facilitate manpower, budgetary and mission planning activities.

His office is also working with other military commands and agencies to identify strategies to meet a January 2017 deadline for a Defense Department-wide implementation of Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, Elmore noted.

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NTIA Unveils Toolkit to Help Communities Develop Broadband Roadmap
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NTIA Unveils Toolkit to Help Communities Develop Broadband Roadmap


CellTowerThe Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a toolkit that offers six steps on how communities can develop a roadmap to develop and expand broadband networks to unserved areas as well as support public computer centers.

NTIA said Thursday the toolkit titled Planning a Community Broadband Roadmap was released as part of the BroadbandUSA program that works to help communities expand their broadband capacity and adopt wireless broadband networks through technical support and publications.

The toolkit details ways on how to set up a team to create a vision, evaluate broadband-related gaps and resources in communities, involve local stakeholders and select technology platforms.

Tips on how to choose an organizational model and develop project plans are also provided in the document.

NTIA said the resource also covers best practices identified by grant recipients under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

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Michael Watkins Appointed as New NASA JPL Director; Charles Bolden Comments
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Michael Watkins Appointed as New NASA JPL Director; Charles Bolden Comments


Michael Watkins
Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins, director of the center for space research at the University of Texas in Austin, has been appointed as the new director of NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

“Dr. Watkins is no stranger to the NASA family,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Watkins has worked with JPL for more than 20 years aiding the Mars Curiosity Rover, Cassini, Mars Odyssey, GRAIL and GRACE missions.

“I am confident that he will do an excellent job as he begins a new chapter in the incredible legacy that [California Institute of Technology] and NASA have written together through JPL for generations,” Bolden said.

Watkins, who also serves as the Clare Cockrell Williams Centennial chair in engineering at UT Austin, will succeed the retiring Charles Elachi.

NASA JPL currently handles spacecraft, rovers/landers, instruments, airborne/ground and technology demonstration missions including the Jason 3, Disturbance Reduction System, Soil Moisture Active Passive, ISS-RapidScat and Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2.

Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

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