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Maxar Books Army OTA for Phase 4 of Army’s One World Terrain Program; Susanne Hake Quoted
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Maxar Books Army OTA for Phase 4 of Army’s One World Terrain Program; Susanne Hake Quoted

Maxar Intelligence has closed an other transaction agreement with the U.S. Army to continue supporting the One World Terrain Program, a component of the service branch’s synthetic training environment, or STE, that works to deliver 3D global terrain capability.

Under Phase 4, the company said Tuesday it will deliver enhanced 3D terrain representation for STE training simulation software / training management tool modeling, simulation and training capabilities.

In the previous stage, Maxar improved the conflation of open-source geospatial data and focused on enhancing training areas.

Susanne Hake, the company’s general manager for U.S. government, commented, “Maxar is proud to play an important role in supporting the U.S. Army’s modernization initiatives through the One World Terrain program, a forward-leaning solution that enables more sophisticated modeling, simulation and training systems to optimize warfighter readiness.”

Maxar inherited the OWT contract through Vricon, which the geospatial intelligence provider acquired in July 2020.

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Google’s Aaron Weis & Baird’s Jean Stack Deemed First-Rate GovCon Influencers via Executive Mosaic’s 2024 Wash100
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Google’s Aaron Weis & Baird’s Jean Stack Deemed First-Rate GovCon Influencers via Executive Mosaic’s 2024 Wash100

Profiles in Executive Mosaic publications today highlighted the efforts and achievements of two of the government contracting industry’s most valuable members: Google Public Sector Managing Director of Technology Aaron Weis and Baird Managing Director Jean Stack.

Both leaders are multi-time recipients of the Wash100 Award, one of GovCon’s highest honors. The award is EM’s esteemed annual catalog of the 100 most powerful technologists, government officials and noted executives who are charting the course of the sector’s future. After the winners are announced every January, a popular vote is held until the end of April to crown a most beloved GovCon exec. Cast your 10 votes today!

2024 is Weis’ fifth time receiving the Wash100, and he particularly impressed EM over the last year with his smooth and impactful transition from government as chief information officer of the U.S. Department of the Navy to his current post at Google. Along the way, Weis has remained an adamant champion of zero trust cybersecurity, ethical AI usage and more cutting edge tech. Read about his fascinating career trajectory in his GovCon Wire profile here!

Stack is not far behind Weis, with four Wash100 Awards to her name. She earned her latest by dint of her “reputation as the ultimate networker is solidified by her consistent performance, by her strong online media presence and by Baird’s annual high-profile Defense Conference,” according to Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson. She also assisted Baird in its advisement and involvement in several high-profile M&A deals. Dive into all things Jean Stack in her ExecutiveBiz profile here.

The teams at Google Public Sector and Baird share this award with these executives. Congratulations to all!

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DARPA to Host Industry Day for Rubble to Rockets Program
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DARPA to Host Industry Day for Rubble to Rockets Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold an Industry Day on March 18 to provide potential vendors with information on a program that aims to establish design and production approaches that can accommodate widely variable materials to address current manufacturing limitations in supply chain-denied environments.

Under the Rubble to Rockets (R2) program, selected offerers will build a flexible, inexpensive platform to support the production of raw materials and use that platform to modify the structural design of a sounding rocket.

“Existing manufacturing approaches require stability. Building a framework that can enable the manufacture of structures out of anything, anywhere, and at many sizes would break the status quo for manufacturing in resource-contested environments,” said Hunter Martin, program manager for the R2 program at DARPA.

“We’re focusing on sounding rockets for proof of concept because they represent a single-use structure with multiple components and complex structural requirements, but anticipate broad applicability to a wide range of manufacturing use cases – from spare parts and infrastructure repair to system production,” added Martin.

The R2 program will also advance the use of material informatics and novel manufacturing and processing techniques.

Interested stakeholders should register no later than Wednesday, March 13.

Senate Bill to Expand Commercial Access to Mid-Band Spectrum
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Senate Bill to Expand Commercial Access to Mid-Band Spectrum

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D., have introduced new legislation to give commercial wireless users more access to mid-band spectrum.

The Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024 would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to identify at least 2,500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum that can be reallocated for commercial use and sharing in the next five years, including at least 1,250 megahertz in the next two years, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said Monday.

The bill would also renew the Federal Communications Commission’s congressional authority to run spectrum auctions and require that at least 1,250 megahertz of spectrum be auctioned for full-power use, including 5G, within six years of the bill’s passing.

Under the bill, the FCC would also allocate at least 125 megahertz of additional spectrum for unlicensed services.

“To dominate in next-generation wireless technologies, stay ahead of our adversaries, and advance strong economic growth, the U.S. must create a pipeline to expand commercial access to mid-band spectrum,” Cruz said.

“The Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024 meets those goals while promoting both consumer and national security interests,” he added.

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VA, DOD Deploy Federal Electronic Health Record System at Joint Facility in Illinois
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VA, DOD Deploy Federal Electronic Health Record System at Joint Facility in Illinois

The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization office have jointly installed a single, fully integrated electronic health record system at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois.

The Federal EHR system will enable Lovell FHCC to streamline the delivery of care to approximately 75,000 patients annually and support secure data sharing across multiple organizations, the VA said Saturday.

“A joint electronic health record system demonstrates the power of technology to improve health care delivery, and we look forward to continued collaboration with our VA partners,” said Lester Martinez-Lopez, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Bill Tinston, director of the Federal EHR Modernization office, said that the joint deployment at Lovell FHCC will “significantly advance interoperability” among joint sites that require shared tools to provide care effectively.

Lovell FHCC is the only fully integrated health care system jointly run by the VA and DOD.

DOD has completed this installation of the Federal EHR, which it refers to as MHS GENESIS, in all military hospitals and clinics worldwide.

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ODNI’s 2024 Intelligence Community Threat Assessment Highlights AI-related Risks
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ODNI’s 2024 Intelligence Community Threat Assessment Highlights AI-related Risks

Computer viruses created from artificial intelligence and the surge in commercial spyware were some of the highlights of this year’s threat assessment released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community also emphasized China as the biggest cyber threat to IT networks of the U.S. government, critical infrastructure and private sector, ODNI reported Monday.

According to the collective insights from intelligence experts, a minimum of 73 countries acquired commercial spyware to target journalists and dissidents between 2011 and 2013.

The report also warned of potential U.S. election interference from China, Russia and Iran by means of generative AI.

ODNI published an unclassified version of the document, which provides information on digital authoritarianism, chemical and biological weapon proliferation and transnational organized criminals resorting to cyber attacks such as ransomware.

The agency will be represented by Michaela Mesquite, acting group chief for augmenting intelligence using machines, at the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21. The event is still open for registration.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit
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Federal CISO Chris DeRusha, CISA’s Eric Goldstein Introduce Secure Software Development Attestation Form
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Federal CISO Chris DeRusha, CISA’s Eric Goldstein Introduce Secure Software Development Attestation Form

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Office of Management and Budget released a secure development attestation form for software companies.

The form reinforces secure-by-design principles in software development as well as other practices specified in the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, according to Eric Goldstein, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, and Chris DeRusha, OMB federal chief information security officer and deputy national cyber director.

Software producers that sign the attestation document essentially pledge to be transparent and accountable for security outcomes and to build their software defense goals into the foundation of their organizational structure.

DeRusha, a Wash100 inductee, said in a statement with Goldstein that the form enables the government to protect its critical information systems while ensuring that those resources come from vendors that prioritize such secure principles.

The Potomac Officers Club has opened registration for its 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6. Take advantage of this opportunity to interact with cyber experts and government officials looking into the future of digitalization in federal contracting.

POC - 2024 Cyber Summit
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DIU Announces Launch of New Joint Defense Innovation Office in Austin; Doug Beck Quoted
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DIU Announces Launch of New Joint Defense Innovation Office in Austin; Doug Beck Quoted

The Defense Innovation Unit, AFWERX and NAVALX have established a new Joint Defense Innovation office in Austin, Texas, to facilitate collaboration between government agencies and startups.

The new workspace located at the Capital Factory will stand next to the Army Applications Laboratory and other federal innovation organizations and seeks to reduce barriers for local technology entities looking to do business with the Department of Defense to support national security, the DIU said Friday.

“Catalyzing the DoD’s innovation entities into a community of impact provides an opportunity for greater synergy and impact, from the local to a national level,” said DIU Director Doug Beck.

“I’m thrilled by the teamwork and partnership represented by this step in building our presence together here in Austin,” Beck added.

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NOAA Appoints Michael Kruk as Deputy Director of Technology Partnerships Office
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NOAA Appoints Michael Kruk as Deputy Director of Technology Partnerships Office

Michael Kruk has been named deputy director of the Technology Partnerships Office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NOAA TPO said Monday that in his new position, Kruk will work to ensure efficient operations while carrying out the execution of the office’s strategic direction.

Kruk is experienced in conducting research on climate variability and change indicators and has led efforts to address natural resource management challenges by developing drought and environmental-derived products.

Prior to his appointment, Kruk was chief of the Coastal Science Branch of the Coasts, Oceans and Geophysics Science division within the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Kruk is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and holds a master’s degree in atmospheric sciences and meteorology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Chris Kraft Named Deputy CTO for AI & Emerging Technology at DHS
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Chris Kraft Named Deputy CTO for AI & Emerging Technology at DHS

Chris Kraft, formerly assistant administrator for financial systems at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been named deputy chief technology officer for artificial intelligence and emerging technology at the Department of Homeland Security.

“This role presents a remarkable opportunity to further contribute to the public sector’s adoption and leveraging of AI and emerging technologies. I’m looking forward to working with the amazing team at DHS, all of the DHS components, and many of you,” Kraft wrote in a LinkedIn post published Tuesday.

Kraft’s appointment marks his return to DHS, having previously served as the department’s deputy program manager for financial systems modernization.

Before starting his first stint at FEMA in July 2018, Kraft served as project manager at the Department of the Interior’s business center.

He also served as assistant director for financial systems at the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for U.S Attorneys.

Kraft also held leadership roles within the industry, including vice president of corporate solutions at Sirius XM Radio, senior consultant at BearingPoint and senior director of business process and systems at K12.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21 to hear more about cutting-edge AI innovations from Kraft and other government and industry experts. Register here.

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