The Department of Defense introduced a strategy last week to provide sustainable living facilities that improve quality of life for service members and their families.

The Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities Strategy details three main objectives, one of which is to create environments that are policy-compliant, utilitarian and foster camaraderie, productivity and purpose for DOD’s workforce, the agency announced Thursday.

The plan will be implemented on 538 DOD installations, which include 280,000 buildings housing 2 million servicemen, civilian personnel and their families.

DOD will focus on aligning its infrastructure’s scale and scope with the needs of its personnel. It will also seek sustainment investments that will have the best impact on the condition of existing facilities and natural environment.

“This strategy focusing on improving our defense installations reflects the Department’s ongoing commitment to take care of our people and improve the quality of life of our Service members and their families,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said. “It ensures we put our people’s experiences at the very center of our recruit and retain approach,” the four-time Wash100 awardee added.

William LaPlante, under secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, echoed the sentiment of his fellow 2024 Wash100 inductee. “We owe it to our Service members and their families to honor the sacrifices they are voluntarily making by creating environments that help our total force bring their best self to the mission—and this strategy will help ensure we are aligning our resources to outcomes which do exactly that,” he commented.

The National Nuclear Security Administration and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have kicked off the construction of a new digital infrastructure facility that would provide LLNL with upgraded networking and communications capabilities.

The 13,000-square-foot Digital Infrastructure Capability Expansion, or DICE, facility is expected to be completed in June 2025 and will replace LLNL’s pre-internet networking and communications facility to address the laboratory’s increasing demand for a modern, resilient digital infrastructure.

“Our missions require that this facility not only be scalable and reliable, but agile and modern. We’ve learned some hard lessons about reliability of infrastructure in the last few years as we work to make this transition on our site,” said LLNL Director Kim Budil.

“This facility represents more than just an infrastructure — it embodies the promise of enhanced capabilities, efficiency and the digital communication foundation that will support the NNSA mission here at LLNL far into the future,” said Sue Marlais, chief information officer of LLNL.

The facility will be adjacent to the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General building and the Exascale Facility Modernization Project and include an underground cable entrance vault that will integrate into LLNL’s information exchange infrastructure.

The Office of Management and Budget created a searchable database containing federal grants and loans information to aid potential beneficiaries looking for government assistance programs.

The Federal Program Inventory, dubbed FPI, combines the resources of SAM.gov, USASpending.gov and similar data repositories with more than 100 program subcategories, OMB announced Thursday.

FPI was created in large part to create transparency regarding government expenditures on loans, grants and direct payments to individuals and groups seeking financial support.

OMB intends to collaborate with stakeholders for the continuous improvement of the inventory, including ensuring consistency of program information across federal programs as well as additional performance data about such funding vehicles.

The budget agency is soliciting feedback to enhance the effectiveness of the new tool.

Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the U.S. Navy and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, has underscored the service branch’s efforts to maintain global maritime dominance and prevail over strategic competition with China during his keynote address at WEST 2024 in San Diego.

Among the initiatives he highlighted are the Transportable Re-Arming Mechanism, the Naval Modular Missile program, the Modular Consol Adapter Kit and the Modular Fuel Delivery Station, the Navy said Thursday.

“These game-changing initiatives—TRAM, NMM, MCAK, and MFDS—will solidify our maritime dominance and act as a powerful deterrent to our adversaries—and will be operational within two to three years,” Del Toro said.

He also noted the importance of having leaders and industry partners “who can identify, propose, act decisively on the best courses of action” and execute mission objectives as the service branch develops its new approach to maritime statecraft.

“As we all know, seapower advances the security and prosperity of the nation—understanding and leveraging its political influence must shape our approach to operations every day short of war. All of us—from Seaman Recruit, Private, Ensign or Second Lieutenant to Admiral, General, Master Chief, Sergeant Major, or Secretary of the Navy—have a critical role to play in our efforts. And all of you in industry equally play an important part, as well,” Del Toro said.

The Navy’s maritime statecraft aims to facilitate a whole-of-government effort to build comprehensive maritime power for the U.S. and its allies.