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DOD Releases Additional Zero Trust Guidance; David McKeown Quoted
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DOD Releases Additional Zero Trust Guidance; David McKeown Quoted

The Department of Defense’s Office of the Chief Information Officer has published a comprehensive document to guide the department’s zero trust journey.

Titled “Zero Trust Overlays,” the 400-page document is intended to offer an additional asset for those responsible for zero trust implementation across the department, the DOD said Tuesday.

DOD Releases Additional Zero Trust Guidance; David McKeown Quoted

“The zero trust overlays are another tool in the department’s toolbox supporting components’ execution by providing clear guidance on which controls facilitate specific zero trust activities and outcomes,” explained David McKeown, deputy CIO for cybersecurity and chief information security officer at the Pentagon.

McKeown will speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on Thursday. Tickets are still available, so take advantage of this opportunity to hear even more of his insights in person. Register here.

The zero trust overlays grew from previous strategies such as the DOD Zero Trust Reference Architecture and the DOD Zero Trust Capability Roadmap, which previously identified seven pillars of zero trust: user; device; applications and workload; data; network and environment; automation and orchestration; and visibility and analytics.

They are intended to supplement baseline security controls laid out in the Risk Management Framework with more precise instructions for modifications relevant to the process of zero trust implementation.

In 2022, the department set a goal of implementing zero trust by 2027, but McKeown recently said that officials may move that deadline forward.

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NASA Selects 3 Industry Proposals for Advancing Future Space Telescope Technologies
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NASA Selects 3 Industry Proposals for Advancing Future Space Telescope Technologies

NASA has selected proposals from BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to help develop technologies for future large space telescopes and lay the groundwork for the agency’s Habitable Worlds Observatory mission concept.

The Habitable Worlds Observatory is a space telescope concept that would search for and directly image potentially habitable planets around stars and study their atmospheres for evidence of life, NASA said Friday.

BAE Systems will conduct high-fidelity modeling and subsystem demonstrations to support the future development of “ultra-stable” optical systems under its Ultra-stable Telescope Research and Analysis – Critical Technologies project.

Lockheed’s Technology Maturation for Astrophysics Space Telescopes project aims to advance the integrated modeling infrastructure for navigating design interdependencies and comparing potential mission design options.

Meanwhile, Northrop will mature technologies that support telescope features as part of its proposal, titled “STABLE: Systems Technologies for Architecture Baseline.”

The selected projects will receive two-year, fixed-price contracts worth $17.5 million combined and will begin by the late summer.

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HUD Eyes Consolidated Procurement Action for IT Operations & Maintenance Services
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HUD Eyes Consolidated Procurement Action for IT Operations & Maintenance Services

The Department of Housing and Urban Development intends to seek offers to provide support for information technology-related integration, operation, maintenance, deployment and eDiscovery efforts for all of HUD’s IT infrastructure.

HUD’s Office of the Infrastructure Operations Office is also seeking general support services capabilities and investments to support enterprise and end-user operational environments and help the department review, preserve and generate electronically stored information to meet its legal and business requirements, according to a special notice published Monday on SAM.gov.

According to the notice, the planned procurement effort will consolidate common use IT operations and maintenance services into a unified enterprise architecture task order contract under a single service provider.

Through the proposed acquisition, HUD will combine five contracts with a lifecycle value of approximately $363.6 million into a new consolidated requirement.

The new O&M procurement effort will have a five-year performance period and will be competed unrestricted through the General Services Administration’s Alliant 2 governmentwide acquisition contract.

MOMRP’s Andrew Midzak to Speak at the 2024 Army Summit
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MOMRP’s Andrew Midzak to Speak at the 2024 Army Summit

Dr. Andrew Midzak, the Military Operational Medicine Research Program’s (MOMRP) strategic research program integrator, is set to join the distinguished lineup of speakers at the 2024 Army Summit. With extensive experience in the defense research sector, he brings valuable insights into using technology to boost force readiness in multi-domain environments.

Midzak’s government contributions have earned him a spot as a speaker at the 2024 Army Summit. Discover more about his background and the qualifications behind his selection.

 

Who is Andrew Midzak?

A photo of Andrew Midzak during one of the Potomac Officer Club's events
Photo/ Executive Mosaic

Andrew Midzak is a prominent figure in the military health sector. His key skill sets include research integration, program management and biomedical countermeasures development.

As the strategic research program integrator for the MOMRP, Dr. Midzak is responsible for guaranteeing that the organization’s primary research initiatives are in sync with advanced material development. He closely monitors the organization’s ongoing research activities, particularly in critical areas crucial to military health.

Before assuming his current position, he was the product manager at the United States Army Medical Materiel Development Activity. In this role, he was in charge of modernization efforts for the Army’s medical laboratory, dental and preventive medicine.

Dr. Midzak earned a Physician Assistant degree with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and a Doctor of Medicine degree with a PH.D in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University. He is an active member of the Defense Acquisition Workforce and holds certifications in Program Management and Science and Technology Management.

 

What is the MOMRP and Its Role in Service Member Health?

Military service members face numerous physical and psychological challenges during training and missions, affecting their health, readiness and performance. Addressing these pitfalls is the core mission of the MOMRP.

The program develops biomedical solutions that counteract operational stressors and prevent injuries. It guarantees that service members remain healthy and prepared, no matter the adversaries they face.

MOMRP supports several military initiatives:

  • Army Human Performance Optimization and Enhancement (HPOE)
  • Human Dimension (HD)
  • Multi-Domain Battle (MDB)
  • Army Big 6 modernization priorities
  • DoD Total Force Fitness (TFF)

 

4 Key Areas of MOMRP’s Biochemical Research

MOMRP is pushing forward biomedical research to create and deliver health and fitness solutions for service members. The organization is divided into four main blocks:

 

1. Environmental Health and Protection

Service members grapple with severe environmental conditions, such as extreme heat, cold temperatures and high altitudes. They are also at high risk of exposure to toxic chemicals and materials. Coupled with operational stressors, these factors can easily wear down soldiers. 

To tackle these challenges, MOMRP creates guidelines to help mitigate these performance issues. A critical priority of the program is to develop biomarkers to detect toxic exposures and assess soldiers’ health risks.

 

2. Injury Prevention and Reduction

Service members are susceptible to physical injuries, some of which can be debilitating. In fact, one-fourth of all evacuated service members suffer from head and neck injuries. 

MOMRP’s research focuses on preventing these physical injuries by developing injury prediction models, designing equipment specifications and guidelines, assessing health hazards and formulating strategies to reduce musculoskeletal injuries.

 

3. Physiological Health and Performance

Service members are constantly on the move with back-to-back deployments. These fast-paced operations can significantly impact their physiological health and performance in the long run.

In line with this, MOMRP develops innovative nutritional strategies to keep service members healthy and well-prepared to fulfill their duties.

 

4. Psychological Health PTSD and Resilience

Frequent and often extended deployments can cause significant mental strain among service members. It’s no surprise that psychological health problems are the second leading cause of evacuation. 

One of MOMRP’s primary goals is to develop strategies to improve and sustain mental fitness for service members. These strategies include:

  • Creating effective prevention and treatment interventions for mental health issues.
  • Enhancing the screening and identification of concussion-related health concerns.
  • Formulating advanced clinical guidelines for healthcare providers.

 

Andrew Midzak, Panelist at the 2024 Army Summit

2024 Army Summit banner

Date: June 13, 2024

Venue: Hilton-McLean, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA

The 2024 Army Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club, is gearing up to be a dynamic gathering of Army officials, government leaders and industry luminaries. This premier event presents an opportunity for public and private sector leaders to discuss the most pressing issues in the military today.

Among the esteemed panelists taking the stage is Dr. Midzak. His panel session, “Harnessing Technology for Force Readiness in Multi-Domain Environments,” will explore cutting-edge technologies and strategies for strengthening service members’ readiness and performance across diverse operational landscapes.

Capgemini’s Lisa Mitnick and the U.S. Army’s Rodney Davis will join Dr. Midzak at the panel discussion.

 

How Can Technology Enhance Force Readiness Across Multi-Domain Environments?

Emerging technologies are altering how the Armed Forces prepare for and engage in operations across multi-domain environments. 

Military training programs are increasingly embracing a more integrated approach through virtual and augmented reality technologies. For example, virtual gaming has been employed for over a decade to enable dispersed teams to train and coordinate operations in different domains.

In line with this, the U.S. Army is reshaping its space vision and strategy to integrate real fighters with virtual systems. The new strategy aims to utilize virtual, constructive and live environments and mirrors actual combat situations.

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GovCon Index Finished in the Red Last Week
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GovCon Index Finished in the Red Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended last week with an average of $4,998.95, a 1.13% decrease from the previous week and a shift away from a six-week growth trend.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that tracks real-time stock market data from 30 key government contracting companies. It presents this data in a dynamic format that enables users to evaluate the performance of each of these organizations while gaining insights into the overall financial state of the GovCon marketplace.

Many companies demonstrated individual success in the midst of last week’s decline. With an increase of 4.28%, V2X was last week’s top gainer. Fluor Corporation achieved second place,  rising by 3.32%. Palantir (+3.09%) followed, and Boeing (+1.74%) claimed the fourth slot in the ranks. Fifth place was taken by RTX (+1.43%).

Though last week was characterized by general losses, GovCon Index rose from the ashes on Friday, when it grew by 1.12%.

Check out last week’s market reports to get a closer look at daily GovCon Index performance. Click here to view the complete list of tracked companies.

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NASA Names Trina Dyal Deputy Director of Langley Research Center
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NASA Names Trina Dyal Deputy Director of Langley Research Center

Trina Dyal, formerly director of NASA Langley Research Center’s Science Directorate, has been named deputy director of the Hampton, Virginia-headquartered research center.

“Dr. Dyal is a proven leader with broad experience and excellent technical skills, and I’m confident she will excel in her new role,” Clayton Turner, director of Langley, wrote in a LinkedIn post published Saturday.

Dyal has spent over two decades at Langley, taking on roles such as branch chief and deputy director of the Science Director and Flight Project Directorate.

Dyal succeeds Lisa Ziehmann, who has served as acting director of Langley and will return to her position as associate director.

“I also want to thank Lisa Ziehmann for serving as Acting Deputy Director and Dr. Kanama Bivins for serving as the Acting Associate Director here at Langley for the past several months,” Turner said.

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NREL Study Explores How 5G Could Support Microgrids
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NREL Study Explores How 5G Could Support Microgrids

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a 5G testbed in a replicated military microgrid and found that the newest generation of wireless technology could support distributed controls and improve security and resilience of power systems.

NREL said Friday the Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering funded the 5G research project under the FutureG program.

A microgrid controller crash and recovery, congestion from other network devices and unsecure foreign-operated network traffic were among the scenarios tested during the study.

“Our test scenarios were not only about controlling the power grid and microgrids for resilience but also about powering the 5G network itself. If we can keep the grid running for resilient power, that in turn keeps the communications network operational,” said Brian Miller, electric power systems engineering lead.

According to Miller, network traffic prioritization, private slicing and edge computing worked out when they evaluated 5G in the test microgrid.

“We could operate flawlessly with this network; for example, prioritization allowed us to preempt even when communication traffic was maxed out, so that it’s like having dedicated access to critical systems,” he added.

NREL researchers published their findings in a report titled 5G Securely Energized and Resilient.

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Mario Gaglioti Appointed COO of NSA’s National Integrated Radio-Frequency Operations
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Mario Gaglioti Appointed COO of NSA’s National Integrated Radio-Frequency Operations

Mario Gaglioti, a global security operations leader with two decades of military and government experience, has been appointed chief operating officer of the National Integrated Radio-Frequency Operations, or NITRO, at the National Security Agency, according to his LinkedIn post.

Prior to his appointment, Gaglioti was the senior collection manager of NITRO and chief operations lead for radio frequency, responsible for providing global oversight and management of the NSA’s fixed-ground collection and geolocation portfolio.

He started at the NSA in August 2017 as a senior operations officer. In this role, he led a cross-functional team of intelligence professionals and helped establish a joint threat warning initiative across the defense and intelligence communities.

Gaglioti served eight years in the U.S. Army, where he was an operations officer tasked with leading a national counterterrorism intelligence collection strategy.

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Maj. Gen. Chris Eubank: Army Initiates Action to Ensure Data, Network Security
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Maj. Gen. Chris Eubank: Army Initiates Action to Ensure Data, Network Security

Maj. Gen. Chris Eubank, commander of Network Enterprise Technology Command, said that effective June 11, soldiers and civilians will no longer be able to download data from the Army network to their laptops, cell phones and other devices through the commercial internet, Federal News Network reported Friday.

According to Eubank, the decision was influenced by basic cybersecurity and the maturity of the service branch’s virtual desktop initiative and overall network architecture.

“What we’re really going to shut down is the ability to go into the Army’s network and pull the information through the internet to your device, whether it’s a government furnished device or a personal device. What we’re doing is we’re going to cut off that access so you’ll still be able to get to those services, via your personal device using a Common Access Card (CAC) or from a government furnished piece of equipment using a CAC using the commercial internet, but it’s all going to be through virtual means,” Eubank told FNN in an interview.

“Using technologies in our bring-your-own-device, remote capable workforce portfolio like Azure virtual desktop, individuals will still be able to plug in via the commercial internet CAC enabled get to that information, but they will not be able to pull the information out of that environment. It will stay resident in in the cloud. When they disconnect their session, there’s nothing left behind [on the device]. It’s really about protecting both the network and our workforce,” the major general added.

POC - 2024 Army Summit

Attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Army Summit on June 13 to hear military officials, government leaders and industry executives share their most urgent priorities, strategies and solutions to their toughest challenges. Register here.

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Textron Delivers New Landing Craft Air Cushion Vehicle to Navy
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Textron Delivers New Landing Craft Air Cushion Vehicle to Navy

The U.S. Navy has received a new landing craft air cushion — or LCAC — vehicle built by Textron Systems that is designed to perform amphibious and on-shore payload transport operations.

Textron delivered the Ship to Shore Connector Landing Craft Air Cushion 109 to the service branch after the Board of Inspection and Survey completed acceptance trials verifying the landing craft’s readiness and capability to meet the program’s requirements, Naval Sea Systems Command said Friday.

The LCAC are designed to carry out over-the-beach transport of cargo, equipment, weapon systems and personnel with a payload capacity of 60 to 75 tons.

Textron is under contract to build LCAC 109 through LCAC 123 as part of the Navy’s SSC program.

“This advanced craft will significantly boost our operational capability, providing a critical link in our ability to project power and support joint operations across the globe,” said Capt. Jason Grabelle, program manager for Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs at Navy’s Program Executive Office Ships.

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