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Christopher Scolese: NRO, USSF Collab Mission to Serve as ‘Watchdog’ in GEO Belt
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Christopher Scolese: NRO, USSF Collab Mission to Serve as ‘Watchdog’ in GEO Belt

Christopher Scolese, director of the National Reconnaissance Office and a four-time Wash100 awardee, said a joint satellite launch mission of NRO and the U.S. Space Force will serve as a “watchdog” to help identify potential threats to high-value assets in geosynchronous orbit, Defense One reported Monday.

The SILENTBARKER/NROL-107 mission was scheduled to launch on Tuesday, Aug. 29, aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket that will lift off from a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida but an impending tropical storm prompted the team to delay the launch.

“What SILENTBARKER is going to do is provide the indications and warnings so it can inform decisions about what we do or don’t need to do in terms of maneuver or awareness. So it’s a great increase in our understanding of what we’ll be able to do and will greatly improve our ability to determine future courses of action,” Scolese said.

The SILENTBARKER mission is expected to achieve full operational capability in 2026.

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Jimmy Hall on Top-Secret Cloud Strategy of State Department’s INR Bureau
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Jimmy Hall on Top-Secret Cloud Strategy of State Department’s INR Bureau

Jimmy Hall, chief information officer at the State Department’s bureau of intelligence and research, said the INR bureau’s first strategy to transition its top-secret network to the cloud provides a roadmap for modernizing information technology systems and achieving strategic objectives, Federal News Network reported Monday.

“We’re operating the AWS top secret cloud today and we’re in the process of refining our implementation plan. What I’ll do going forward is communicate that strategy and communicate our implementation plan to all the stakeholders,” Hall, who is also director of the bureau’s technology and innovation office, told FNN in an interview.

He discussed the bureau’s adoption of a multicloud approach and the move to expand the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System environment.

“We’ve adopted the international language for the JWICS as part of our fabric inside of the State Department. We call it the information network resource and information management system,” Hall stated.

He also talked about INR’s move to network segmentation and the importance of training its workforce responsible for managing cloud services.

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Marine Corps Systems Command Leads Acquisition Innovation Programs for Force Design 2030
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Marine Corps Systems Command Leads Acquisition Innovation Programs for Force Design 2030

Force Design 2030, the U.S. Marine Corps’ restructuring and modernization plan, has enabled the Marine Corps Systems Command and Program Executive Officer Land Systems to ramp up acquisition of next-generation technologies for naval expeditionary warfare.

MARCOSYSCOM and PEO Land Systems are collaborating with the acquisition community to foster innovation and facilitate fielding of new capabilities, which will equip the branch’s warfighters amid looming threats from China and other adversaries, the service branch said Thursday.

MARCOSYSCOM is investing in unmanned aerial and ground systems, human-machine teaming and anti-ship missiles to prepare for active engagement, such as the maritime territory conflicts in the Indo-Pacific region. 

The command is also upgrading technologies for small, distributed forces. For instance, its Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessel is being developed to represent the future of amphibious vessels, tailored for manned, unmanned and human-machine hybrid systems.

“The benefits of the LRUSV prototyping effort allows the Marine Corps to understand the concept, costs, and [Doctrinal, Organizational, Training, Materiel, Leadership and education, Personnel, Facilities and Policy] implications before the Service becomes fully invested,” said Col. Paul Gillikin, former program manager for fire support systems at MARCOSYSCOM.

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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Launching ‘Replicator’ Autonomous Tech Program
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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Launching ‘Replicator’ Autonomous Tech Program

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a three-time Wash100 awardee, said DOD plans to deploy thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains within the next 18 to 24 months as part of the Replicator program aimed at countering China’s military buildup.

“Replicator is meant to help us overcome the PRC’s biggest advantage, which is mass,” Hicks said Tuesday during her speech at a conference.

She said the attritable, autonomous platforms could serve as distributed, resilient systems in contested environments and will be developed in line with DOD’s ethical and responsible approach to artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

“But Replicator will galvanize progress in the too-slow shift of U.S. military innovation to leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap, and many,” Hicks noted.

The deputy defense secretary said she will oversee the Replicator initiative with support of the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of the Defense Innovation Unit.

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CGI Secures $159M DHS Task Order for USCIS Records Systems Modernization; Clay Goldwein Quoted
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CGI Secures $159M DHS Task Order for USCIS Records Systems Modernization; Clay Goldwein Quoted

CGI Federal has booked a potential five-year, $159 million task order from the Department of Homeland Security to optimize digital immigration records systems.

Under the award, CGI’s agile development teams will help the department’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advance its multi-year modernization plan by building, expanding and managing related technologies, CGI Federal shared with ExecutiveGov in an email sent Tuesday.

Clay Goldwein, senior vice president and national security and justice business unit lead at CGI Federal, said the organization is proud to broaden its longstanding partnership with USCIS and looks forward to expanding its support for federal missions through the digital transformation of U.S. immigration processes.

“CGI Federal’s ongoing innovation on behalf of USCIS ensures its systems and solutions meet current requirements and are ready for future growth and evolution,” he said.

Part of the Alliant 2 vehicle, the task order centers the streamlining and digitization of the current immigration benefits claim process. CGI’s efforts are expected to reduce processing times, protect resources and boost the accuracy of immigration claims through agile development systems integration and infrastructure services while also assisting USCIS with the accurate capture of records for preservation by the National Archives and Records Administration.

CGI’s previous work with USCIS has helped to connect agencies involved in the management of immigration processes. Most recently, the enterprise participated in a collaborative effort to deliver a technology that enables USCIS and the Department of State to electronically process Special Immigrant Visas and other digital tools for the border. For this work, the team was recognized with the USCIS Director’s Award for Ingenuity and Innovation in 2023.

The new task order follows multiple contract wins for CGI earlier this year. Last month, the company won a $49.7 million award from the U.S. Strategic Command for research and development support and sustainment services to improve its Global Integration Enterprise. CGI also won a $40 million contract from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March, under which it is providing continuous support for the commission’s financial management systems.

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Potomac Officers Club Announces Addition of AT&T’s Jill Singer to All-Star Lineup for Unmissable 9th Annual Intel Summit
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Potomac Officers Club Announces Addition of AT&T’s Jill Singer to All-Star Lineup for Unmissable 9th Annual Intel Summit

Potomac Officers Club is thrilled to announce that Jill Singer, vice president of defense and national security at AT&T Public Sector and a Wash100 Award winner, has been confirmed as an introductory speaker for the highly anticipated 9th Annual Intel Summit. The event is scheduled to take place on Sept. 21, at the beautiful McLean Hilton.

As the Vice President of Defense and National Security at AT&T, Singer brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. With her impressive background as the former chief information officer of the National Reconnaissance Office, her extensive experience and insights make her a valuable addition to the lineup of distinguished speakers at the summit. Register here; you don’t want to miss this!

Potomac Officers Club Announces Addition of AT&T's Jill Singer to All-Star Lineup for Unmissable 9th Annual Intel Summit

During the event, Singer will have the honor of introducing the industry icon and fellow Wash100 winner, Frank Whitworth, the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. With her deep understanding of the intelligence community, Singer is perfectly positioned to highlight the significant contributions made by a renowned figure like Whitworth.

Now in its ninth year, Potomac Officers Club’s Annual Intel Summit is universally recognized for its ability to bring together luminary representatives from various intelligence agencies. This exclusive, executive-only event serves as an unmissable opportunity for professionals to engage in high-level networking and gain unique insights from leaders in the field.

Attendees can look forward to thought-provoking discussions, invaluable knowledge-sharing sessions, and the chance to foster connections with key figures in the intelligence community. A complete list of speakers and sponsors can be found on the Potomac Officers Club’s official website.

“We are honored to have Jill Singer join our esteemed lineup of speakers for the 9th Annual Intel Summit,” said Jim Garrettson, President and Founder of Potomac Officers Club and CEO of Executive Mosaic. “Her inclusion further solidifies the event’s stature as a premier gathering for top-tier intelligence professionals dedicated to advancing the field.”

Singer and Whitworth, are joined on the event’s lineup by Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Dr. Stacey Dixon, the CIA’s Jennifer Ewbank, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Doug Cossa and Suzanne White and many more important figures.

Potomac Officers Club Announces Addition of AT&T's Jill Singer to All-Star Lineup for Unmissable 9th Annual Intel Summit
ARPA-H Invests in CUREIT Project Leveraging mRNA to Improve Immunotherapy
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ARPA-H Invests in CUREIT Project Leveraging mRNA to Improve Immunotherapy

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is investing up to $24 million in an Emory University-led project that specializes in the use of mRNA to treat cancer and other diseases that have limited treatment options.

ARPA-H on Wednesday debuted the Curing the Uncurable via RNA-Encoded Immunogene Tuning project, which is part of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

CUREIT, which is the first award funded through ARPA-H’s Open Broad Agency Announcement, will work toward an mRNA and gene modulation delivery toolkit for illnesses related to immune dysregulation. The technology is expected to activate immune cells to target tumors or diseased cells responsible for autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.

“CUREIT aims to develop entirely new tools and methods to improve therapies so that fewer families experience loss from cancer,” said Amy Jenkins, mission office director of ARPA-H. “The advances in programming immune cell function that may result from CUREIT could also be broadly applied to many other health conditions affecting Americans.”

DOE Devotes $126M to SBIR/STTR Phase II Clean Energy Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Devotes $126M to SBIR/STTR Phase II Clean Energy Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy is distributing $126 million in grants to small businesses working on clean energy research and development projects.

The funding will be divided among 106 awards involving 90 small businesses with initiatives focused on cybersecurity, grid reliability, nuclear nonproliferation, fusion energy and decarbonization, DOE announced Friday.

The agency is investing an average of $1.1 million over two years in individual Phase II R&D projects under the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. The studies are scattered across 27 states, mostly in California and Massachusetts.

Several DOE offices are involved, including the National Nuclear Security Administration; Office of Electricity; Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response.

“Small businesses tackle monumental issues all over the country, including climate change,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm remarked. “DOE’s small business grants help companies across the country to develop the technologies, products, and infrastructure we will need for the transition to clean energy.” 

Deborah Rosenblum: DOD Must Take Proactive Approach to Nuclear Modernization
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Deborah Rosenblum: DOD Must Take Proactive Approach to Nuclear Modernization

Deborah Rosenblum, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said her top priority is ensuring that the Department of Defense takes a proactive, integrated approach to nuclear modernization initiatives, DOD News reported Friday.

“This work is so important and so vital and is really a no-fail mission for us, we need to make sure that the senior-most leadership of the department remains focused on it, is actively working on it [and] is solving problems and challenges,” said Rosenblum, who additionally serves as executive secretary of the Nuclear Weapons Council.

She noted that DOD considers nuclear deterrence its top priority as the U.S. deals with the challenges posed by Russia and China.

Rosenblum also said positioning the Nuclear Weapons Council as the principal focus of implementing modernization is a key step in ensuring that senior DOD leaders have collective visibility to manage risks in a proactive manner.

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Interior Department Installs Stan Lowe as CISO
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Interior Department Installs Stan Lowe as CISO

The Department of the Interior appointed the role of chief information security officer to Stan Lowe, former CISO and chief privacy officer at Synchronoss Technologies, he announced in a LinkedIn post.

Lowe has more than 18 years of experience in information security, serving in both the private and public sectors.

He previously worked at the Interior Department from 2005 to 2007, formulating, implementing, and improving IT security policies and controls. He moved on to the Federal Trade Commission as chief information officer, and spent five years in various roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In December 2015, Lowe joined Booz Allen Hamilton as principal cybersecurity adviser, and two years later became global CISO of PerkinElmer. He was in a similar role at cloud security firm Zscaler.

Lowe holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Strayer University and a master’s certificate in program management, computer/IT administration and management from George Washington University.

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