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DOE’s CIO Office Unveils Reference Guide for Generative AI
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DOE’s CIO Office Unveils Reference Guide for Generative AI

The Department of Energy’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has released the second version of DOE’s Generative Artificial Intelligence Reference Guide.

DOE said the document offers an overview of the key benefits, risks, best practices and considerations associated with the responsible development, use and implementation of generative AI tools.

The reference guide provides a background on generative AI and cites opportunities to apply the technology, including key applications for text, speech, code and image or video.

For text, the use cases cited in the document are summarizing documents, inferring reference, translating language and writing emails.

The guide’s operationalization section provides foundational knowledge of three key concepts surrounding generative AI technology: organizational roles, public versus protected data and service models.

The document outlines generative AI-related best practices that are classified into people, organization and technology categories.

Under the tech category, best practices include providing a safe space for experimentation, exercising data minimization best practices when collecting data for a system and considering using synthetic data to mitigate risks surrounding privacy, data integrity and insufficient data.

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David Cattler Vows to Revamp Government Background Checking System
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David Cattler Vows to Revamp Government Background Checking System

David Cattler, director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, aims to ensure that National Background Education Services works to its full potential after initially not reaching its effectiveness goals.

NBIS is an information technology system meant to modernize the background investigation process. However, since DCSA took over the system in 2020, they have struggled to get it up and running, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

Cattler, who has served as DCSA director for just over 90 days, declared his commitment to NBIS’ progress on Wednesday to members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s subcommittee on government operations and the federal workforce.

“Simply and directly, the delay in fielding NBIS is unacceptable to everyone,” Cattler said. “Oversight from GAO [Government Accountability Office] and Congress are important parts of this ecosystem of accountability. As we move forward, we will be guided by what is in the best interest of national security and what is in the best interest of the taxpayer.”

The system is expected to be a vital component of the Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, often referred to as TW 2.0, which aims to build a single personnel security vetting system for the federal government.

Cattler said, “When complete, NBIS will deliver robust data security, enhanced customer experience and integrate data access across the whole-of-government and cleared industry.”

In numerous reports, the GAO outlined areas DCSA needs to improve to move forward with NBIS.

“Even before I became DCSA’s director, I closely studied these reports and noted GAO’s concerns,” Cattler stated. “These recommendations do guide my focus and my direction as the director of DCSA. I have directed that we renew our focus on these recommendations, and we close the action items presented within them as soon as we can.”

Over the next 18 months, DCSA will prioritize five actions to push delivery of NBIS — modernizing and migrating NBIS applications; aligning acquisition and development actions; adapting the NBIS workforce; aligning program cost and service pricing and strengthening cybersecurity protections.

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GSA Raising VETS 2 Ceiling to $6.1B
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GSA Raising VETS 2 Ceiling to $6.1B

The General Services Administration is increasing the ceiling of the Veterans Technology Services 2 governmentwide acquisition contract from $5 billion to $6.1 billion, a move that will bring about multiple benefits, according to Laura Stanton, assistant commissioner at the Federal Acquisition Service’s Office of Information Technology Category.

The ceiling increase will ensure that VETS 2 remains available to federal agencies as they work to achieve the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business participation goal of 5 percent, as established by the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, Stanton said Wednesday on her GSA blog.

The timing of the ceiling increase will also ensure that disruptions to the use of the contract will be avoided. The increase was announced even before the current ceiling is reached. Projections show that 80 percent of the current ceiling will be reached within the fiscal year.

The increase is also expected to provide SDVOSBs the opportunity to join federal IT procurements, supporting the goal of the administration to foster diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

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NASA Launches Final Spacecraft to Join NOAA’s Advanced Weather Satellite Constellation
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NASA Launches Final Spacecraft to Join NOAA’s Advanced Weather Satellite Constellation

NASA has sent to space the last satellite to complete the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES, constellation.

The space agency said Tuesday the satellite was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida using SpaceX’s Falcon rocket, which lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at 5:26 p.m. on Tuesday.

Commenting on the successful launch, Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA and a 2024 Wash100 Award recipient, said GOES-U will monitor weather in real-time. “This fleet of advanced satellites is strengthening resilience to our changing climate, and protecting humanity from weather hazards on Earth and in space,” the exec shared.

GOES-U will be renamed GOES-19 once it reaches a geostationary orbit, where it will monitor weather in North America, the Central and South Americas, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

The GOES constellation will provide coverage of weather and hazardous environmental conditions across the Western Hemisphere, according to NASA.

In addition, it will assist in forecasting near-Earth space weather that could potentially disrupt satellite electronics, GPS and radio communications.

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Rear Adm. Todd Evans Appointed Commander of NAVSEA Warfare Centers
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Rear Adm. Todd Evans Appointed Commander of NAVSEA Warfare Centers

Rear Adm. Todd Evans officially took command of the Warfare Centers of the Naval Sea Systems Command on June 24, NAVSEA announced Monday.

As commander of both Naval Surface Warfare Center and Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Evans will lead over 29,000 civilian and active duty personnel responsible for the U.S. Navy’s research, development, test and evaluation efforts.

Evans, former vice commander of Naval Air Systems Command, succeeded Rear Adm. Thomas Dickinson, who has been assigned as a program executive officer for integrated warfare systems.

The new leader of the NAVSEA Warfare Centers has been in service for over two decades, his first fleet tour being with the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen “Vanguard” in 1997.

Since then, Evans has assumed roles of increasing responsibilities including commanding officer of HM-14, in-service Integrated Product Team lead supporting the Presidential Helicopters Program Office and executive assistant to NAVAIR commander.

Evans received a bachelor of science degree in marine engineering and a Navy commission from the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.

Register here for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit on Aug. 15 and hear insights from naval, government and industry leaders. Click here to learn more about the in-person event.

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DCSA Opens 1st Regional Office in Texas to Enhance Agency Coordination
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DCSA Opens 1st Regional Office in Texas to Enhance Agency Coordination

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, marking the official opening of its first regional office designed to enhance how the agency operates.

Located within Federal Building in Farmers Branch, Texas, the Central Region Headquarters will house agency leaders responsible for background investigations, counterintelligence and insider threat, and industrial security functions, DCSA said Tuesday.

Previously, such activities were managed from different sites in Dallas and Fort Worth.

According to DCSA Deputy Director Daniel Lecce, the new facility provides a single location where agency heads leading said functions can coordinate and align their work within the 21 states in the Central Region.

The regional headquarters was established after the DCSA revamped its field structure in 2022. The agency plans to open its Western Regional Headquarters in San Diego in fiscal year 2026.

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J.D. Smith: DOD Study Shows AI, Machine Learning Can Use ‘Contextual Understanding’ to Declassify Records
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J.D. Smith: DOD Study Shows AI, Machine Learning Can Use ‘Contextual Understanding’ to Declassify Records

J.D. Smith, chief of the records and declassification division at the Department of Defense’s Washington Headquarters Services, said a DOD research study validated a proof of concept that demonstrates the capability of artificial intelligence and machine learning models to manage and declassify records using “contextual understanding,” Federal News Network reported Monday.

“The big breakthrough here is the mapping of business rules to contextual understanding models,” Smith said at an event Monday.

He said the DOD study will lead to the development of a “playbook” with regard to the use of AI and ML tools and related technologies in making records management and declassification decisions in government.

Smith added that a request for proposals will stem from the playbook that could help guide industry’s work with government agencies on supporting technologies.

According to FNN, the DOD research project comes as Congress seeks updates on the current administration’s efforts to build a technology platform to support classification and declassification initiatives.

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DHS Names Inaugural Director, Members of AI Corps
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DHS Names Inaugural Director, Members of AI Corps

The Department of Homeland Security has announced the inaugural 10 members of the AI Corps that will focus on advancing the responsible use of artificial intelligence tools to improve cybersecurity, strengthen critical infrastructure and deliver immigration services, among other strategic mission areas.

Michael Boyce, a former Office of Management and Budget official, has been named the first director of the DHS AI Corps, the department said Tuesday.

Boyce previously served as chief of innovation and design for the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The first 10 members of the DHS AI Corps are:

  • Babatunde Oguntade, who served as senior principal data scientist at CACI International
  • Christine Palmer, who served as chief technology officer of the U.S. Naval Observatory
  • Jenny Kim, former principal product manager at McKinsey & Co. and former digital service expert at the DHS Digital Service and Defense Digital Service
  • Pramod Gadde, a machine learning lead and founder of healthcare-related startups, including Confidante
  • Raquel Romano, most recently senior director of engineering at Fora and former engineering lead at the U.S. Digital Service
  • Robin Rosenberger, who served as director of Interagency IT, Data and Analytics Initiatives within the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office
  • Sadaf Asrar, an AI technology expert for the National Center for Education Statistics and former director of data science at Optimal Solutions
  • Sean Harvey, former group product manager at Google
  • Stephen Quirolgico, who has 25 years of experience in government, industry and academic research and development
  • Zach Fasnacht, former senior manager of product management at PwC and former lead AI/ML product manager at Allstate Insurance

In February, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Chief AI Officer Eric Hysen held a recruitment event in Mountain View, California, to start the AI Corps program, the department’s first sprint to hire 50 AI tech experts.

“We are excited to onboard our first group of AI experts to begin the work of our new AI Corps. I look forward to growing our AI Corps in the months ahead, as we continue to introduce the safe and responsible use of AI across the broad range of missions we perform,” said Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 awardee.

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DARPA’s SHEPARD X-Plane Receives Official Designation
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DARPA’s SHEPARD X-Plane Receives Official Designation

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has assigned the designation XRQ-73 to its Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration, or SHEPARD, hybrid electric uncrewed aircraft system.

Northrop Grumman and its Scaled Composites subsidiary are developing the XRQ-73 plane in collaboration with Cornerstone Research Group, Brayton Energy, PC Krause and Associates and EaglePicher Technologies, DARPA said Monday.

“The idea behind a DARPA X-prime program is to take emerging technologies and burn down system-level integration risks to quickly mature a new missionized long endurance aircraft design that can be fielded quickly,” said Steve Komadina, SHEPARD program manager.

“The SHEPARD program is maturing a specific propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense,” Komadina said.

XRQ-73, weighing approximately 1,250 pounds, is expected to take its first flight by the end of 2024 in the Group 3 UAS category.

ONCD Provides Updates on National Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation
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ONCD Provides Updates on National Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation

The Office of the National Cyber Director has released a report outlining the government’s progress in building the U.S. cyber talent pool and creating hiring goals for the federal cyber workforce.

ONCD has found that 35 federal departments and agencies participate in one or more working groups to identify and share best practices and support the objectives outlined in the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy, Seeyew Mo, assistant national cyber director for workforce, training and education, wrote in a blog post published Tuesday.

Another key progress outlined in the report is removing unnecessary barriers to cyber careers and transitioning to skills-based hiring and talent development approaches.

The report cited the Office of Personnel Management’s effort to modernize the federal hiring process and implement a skills-based approach for information technology positions.

The government also provides opportunities to access hands-on learning and training programs, such as registered apprenticeships and cyber clinics.

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