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Army Deploys New Contract Writing System to Additional Users
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Army Deploys New Contract Writing System to Additional Users

The U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement have deployed the service branch’s new contract writing platform to an additional 400 users across several locations outside of the continental U.S.

The service expects the total number of Army Contract Writing System users to reach over 500 by January, PEO EIS said Tuesday.

The military branch launched ACWS in August and since then, the contracting workforce has used the system to issue 123 contract awards worth $41 million combined.

Maria Dunton, procurement analyst and ACWS team lead with the ODASA(P), said the Army has conducted a dozen training classes for 379 individuals and considers the feedback received on the system and related training as a “huge success story” for the program.

“It demonstrates we are on the right track with our training strategy,” Dunton said. “We will continue to incorporate feedback from our users into our training and adoption management efforts.”

The Army expects to field the contract writing platform to an additional 2,000 users from various command sites that receive purchase requisitions through the General Fund Enterprise Business System.

Dr. Patrick Baker, Director of the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM, Joins the Panel at POC’s 10th Annual R&D Summit
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Dr. Patrick Baker, Director of the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM, Joins the Panel at POC’s 10th Annual R&D Summit

Dr. Patrick Baker has been with the United States Army since the late 1980s. For four decades, he has served in different organizations under the Army, specializing in engineering, research and development, and science and technology. Since December 2019, Dr. Baker has served as the Director of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.

 

Dr. Baker’s research and development expertise is a crucial addition to the Potomac Officer Club’s 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit on January 31, 2024. He is set to be one of the panelists for the annual event, joining a roster of defense leaders, researchers, experts, and decision-makers in the defense landscape.

 

Discover Dr. Patrick Baker’s professional life, making him one of the most prominent executives for defense research and development.

 

About Dr. Patrick Baker

 

Dr. Patrick Baker
Image from DEVCOM of U.S. Army

 

Equipped with over four decades of experience in different Army organizations, Dr. Patrick J. Baker earned a designation in the Senior Executive Service in May 2012. This has been crucial for landing his current role as the Director of the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory.

 

Dr. Baker’s demonstrated leadership is reflected in his pioneering research programs for scientific advancements in the Army. It also echoed through the approximately sixty publications and reports he authored or co-authored. Dr. Baker’s proven track record under various Army offices places him as a highly acclaimed executive for defense research and development.

 

Dr. Patrick Baker’s awards and achievements

 

Dr. Patrick Baker’s contributions haven’t gone unnoticed in the defense research and development field. He received numerous honors and awards, including:

  • Exceptional Civilian Service Award (2012)
  • Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2008)
  • The Technical Cooperation Panel, Distinguished Service Award (2018)
  • Army’s Greatest Invention Award (2008)
  • Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force – Propulsion Systems Hazards Subcommittee, Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award (2002)

 

Dr. Patrick Baker, Director of the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command

 

As the Director of the United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Dr. Patrick Baker manages all the research and development efforts of the Army’s premier laboratory. His command comprises basic and applied research of weapons, sensors, computational sciences, human engineering, and vehicle technology. 

 

Encompassing Dr. Baker’s authority of the DEVCOM are approximately 2,000 civilian and military employees. Under his leadership, the office handles the execution of the extramural basic research program for the Army’s science and engineering development. Dr. Baker manages an annual budget of over $1 billion.

 

Dr. Patrick Baker, Panel for the 10th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit

Annual Defense R&D Summit

Dr. Patrick Baker is one of the panel speakers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 10th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit. As the Director of the Army’s leading research laboratory, he is set to share the efforts his office develops to strengthen the nation’s weapons and technological capacities.

 

Speaking for the annual summit’s Panel B: The Great Power Competition, Dr. Baker is joined by other panelists and a moderator, namely:

  • Captain Jesse H. Black, Commanding Officer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
  • Brigadier General Scott Cain, Commander at the Air Force Research Lab
  • Dr. Randy Yamada, Vice President at Booz Allen

 

About the 10th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit

  • Organizer: Potomac Officers Club
  • Date: January 31, 2024 (7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. – ET)
  • Location: TBA
  • Sponsors: Ericsson, Nokia, Riverside Research, Ultra Intelligence & Communications, Digital Science, Oceus, Box, and Booz Allen

 

The 10th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit explores the joint efforts of the public and private sectors in creating cutting-edge technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense. Other notable executives joining Dr. Patrick Baker at the summit are Rear Admiral Tracy Farrill, Brigadier General John M. Cushing, Aditi Kumar, Jay Dryer, and more.

 

Key topics of interest the panelists are set to discuss include:

 

  • Panel A: Innovation to Implementation
  • Panel B: The Great Power Competition
  • Panel A: The New Virtual Battlespace
  • Panel B: Technological Overmatch
  • Panel A: Intelligent NetOps
  • Panel B: Unlocking potential for R&D results with AI

Join the 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit, organized by the Potomac Officers Club, to commence on January 31, 2024. Click this link to register early.

HHS Data Strategy to Expand Access to Necessary Cancer Research Information
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HHS Data Strategy to Expand Access to Necessary Cancer Research Information

A new data strategy published by the Department of Health and Human Services is prioritizing information accessibility for advanced cancer research as part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

HHS on Thursday unveiled the strategy’s main goals including cultivating talent, fostering information sharing, connecting human services data, making program operations data-centered and leveraging artificial intelligence.

The agency pledged to responsibly use AI to improve the quality, access and health and human services outcomes. It also delegated the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to oversee the interoperability of not only healthcare, but human services as well.

“Synthesizing the vast amount of data across the full spectrum of cancer research and clinical care will be our best bet for reducing the cancer death rate by 50% within 25 years,” said Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health.

DOE Office Introduces Vision to Advance Fusion Energy S&T Goals
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DOE Office Introduces Vision to Advance Fusion Energy S&T Goals

The Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences has released its new vision outlining DOE’s priorities to advance fusion energy by resolving fusion materials and technology gaps in the supply chain.

The Building Bridges plan aims to align the department’s FES program with the Biden administration’s Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, which is designed to build new technologies to enable fusion-pilot-plant designs to achieve clean energy goals, DOE said Thursday.

According to the document, FES seeks to collaborate with partners in the government, academia and the private sector on a staged approach to fusion energy development.

These partnerships will strengthen workforce development and sustainment, resolve research and development gaps and nurture plasma science and technology breakthroughs.

“As a part of these efforts, we will broaden and diversify program elements in FES, including emerging plasma concepts to reflect discovery plasma science and technology that could ultimately have a broad impact in society,” said Jean Paul Allain, associate director for FES at DOE.

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NASA Beams High Data Rate Video From Deep Space as Part of Optical Communications Demonstrator
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NASA Beams High Data Rate Video From Deep Space as Part of Optical Communications Demonstrator

NASA has transmitted an ultra-high definition streaming video from the Psyche mission spacecraft at a distance of 19 million miles from Earth.

The space agency said Monday that the transmission is part of its Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, which seeks to demonstrate a laser communication capability meant to transmit data from deep space at up to 100 times faster than the rates that state-of-the-art radio frequency systems can offer.

The video was beamed from the flight laser transceiver aboard the Psyche spacecraft to the Hale Telescope at the California Institute of Technology’s Palomar Observatory in the form of an encoded infrared laser with a bit rate of 267 megabits per second.

The video is a looped footage of a cat belonging to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee. The video shows the cat chasing a laser pointer while overlayed graphics show various types of information related to the Psyche mission.

After reaching Palomar, the video was sent via the internet to the JPL at a speed slower than its transmission from deep space, according to JPL’s Ryan Rogalin, leader of the project’s receiver electronics. The video had taken 101 seconds to travel from the Psyche spacecraft to Earth.

The transmission of high data rate signals will continue up to the farthest distance of Mars from Earth as the Psyche mission heads to its target asteroid between Mars and Jupiter.

CSIS Releases Report on Sensor Architecture for Hypersonic Missiles
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CSIS Releases Report on Sensor Architecture for Hypersonic Missiles

A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies underlined the need for advanced sensor architecture in countering missile threats and bolstering hypersonic missile defense.

The report released Monday is supported by companies including General Atomics, L3Harris, Leidos and Lockheed Martin.

The researchers noted that certain trade-offs in terms of sensors and Earth’s orbit are necessary, and outlined a schedule for building and deploying hypersonic missile sensors into space.

They also concluded that while the Department of Defense already conducting programs and technologies to implement sensor architecture, its components will still need to be aligned using a governing acquisition and systems engineering body.

Policymakers should be conscientious of the lifecycle of sensor architecture, taking into account its deployment phasing and projected time of degradation, CSIS said.

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OMB Releases Guidance on Use of Project Labor Agreements in Federal Construction Projects
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OMB Releases Guidance on Use of Project Labor Agreements in Federal Construction Projects

The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum providing agencies guidance on reporting on the use of project labor agreements, or PLAs, in federal construction projects and reporting on exceptions to PLA requirements.

OMB said Monday the guidance document was issued in accordance with a February 2022 executive order, which requires the use of PLAs in federal construction projects worth over $35 million as part of efforts to alleviate coordination challenges and minimize disruptions on large projects.

Under the guidance, agencies should carry out and document inclusive market research for all large construction projects and require PLAs unless an exception applies.

Agencies should also ensure that any exception is approved by the senior procurement executive and report PLA exceptions and activities with supporting explanations of exceptions to OMB.

An agency may determine whether a PLA is required at the contract level or on an order-by-order basis for indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts.

“If the IDIQ contract is intended to support one large-scale construction project, the agency must require a PLA for the entire contract (i.e., all orders of any size), unless an exception applies,” the OMB guidance reads.

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CISA to Streamline Approach to Cyber Threat Information Sharing
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CISA to Streamline Approach to Cyber Threat Information Sharing

Michael Duffy, associate director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s cybersecurity division, said CISA will launch a strategic effort in 2024 to modernize its approach to sharing enterprise threat information.

In a blog post published Monday, Duffy said the planned effort aims to drive improvements across the enterprise by streamlining the provision of cyberthreat information from CISA’s agency partners and commercial sources and building the agency’s platform around human-centered design principles.

CISA will consolidate customer-facing cyberthreat intelligence offerings to simplify the process as part of a new initiative called Threat Intelligence Enterprise Services, which will share information capabilities under a single platform.

The agency will also build on the successes and known challenges of the legacy Automated Indicator Sharing program.

“While CISA implements this transition over the next two years, the AIS program will remain available, and we encourage users to continue leveraging this capability and actively share indicators back with CISA,” Duffy said.

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Space Training and Readiness Command Designated as USSF Test & Evaluation Lead
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Space Training and Readiness Command Designated as USSF Test & Evaluation Lead

The U.S. Space Force has designated Space Training and Readiness Command, also known as STARCOM, as the service branch’s lead agency for testing and evaluating space systems and programs.

Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations, has signed a memorandum assigning STARCOM as the independent operational test agency for space programs to oversee the Space Force’s overall test and evaluation activities for space systems, techniques and capabilities, the command said Friday.

“By bringing OTA under STARCOM’s responsibility, we are not just streamlining processes but also equipping our space forces with credible, combat-ready capabilities at unparalleled speed,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba, commander of STARCOM.

Col. Sacha Tomlinson, deputy operational test authority — a.k.a. OTA — at STARCOM, said the designation validates the command’s capabilities to prepare and deliver warfighting technologies.

“We leverage lessons learned and best practices from our sister service OTAs with a focus on our service’s priorities and revolutionary developments like Zero Trust and Artificial Intelligence,” Tomlinson said.

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center has been the OTA for space operations since December 2019.

Space Training and Readiness Command Designated as USSF Test & Evaluation Lead

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit on March 5 to learn how new technologies, commercial investments and adversarial threats are shaping the future of space operations. Register here to save your seat!

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Carlos Del Toro: US Congress Should Take Urgent Action on Navy, Marine Corps Funding
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Carlos Del Toro: US Congress Should Take Urgent Action on Navy, Marine Corps Funding

Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the Navy and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said Congress should take immediate action to approve the Department of Defense’s annual budget to fund the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps to deter adversaries and ensure freedom of the seas.

In an opinion piece published Thursday in Federal Times, Del Toro noted that the Department of the Navy is operating “under a cloud of uncertainty due to the temporary nature of our appropriations,” preventing the department from responding to threats posed by China and supporting partners in Ukraine to counter Russian aggression, among others.

The secretary cited the impact of stopgap funding measure on DON.

“If any agency of the federal government remains under a continuing resolution come January, the Department of the Navy will face a $15 billion cut to the FY23 spending levels we are still operating under — well below what we need to man, train and equip our Navy and Marine Corps today,” Del Toro wrote.

He also mentioned the potential effect of sequestration on the acquisition of ships, munitions and aircraft, particularly on multiyear procurement contracts.

“We are a maritime nation, and Congress has a constitutional duty to resource our Navy and Marine Corps, ensuring we remain the world’s premier naval services,” Del Toro added.

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