DHS Advisory Council Approves Recommendations on AI Use, Workforce Development, Grant Program; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted
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DHS Advisory Council Approves Recommendations on AI Use, Workforce Development, Grant Program; Alejandro Mayorkas Quoted

The Homeland Security Advisory Council convened to discuss and approve three subcommittee reports, including the application of artificial intelligence to critical missions.

The council also added Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley to the team, reflecting an increased focus on fires as a threat, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday.

In its fourth in-person meeting, HSAC reviewed subpanel recommendations on the responsible use of AI, specifically in advancing the agency’s missions. The AI Mission Focused Subcommittee’s final report called for the establishment of a central AI office that can enforce policy and leverage DHS data systems and lakes to enhance operational efficiency.

The council also tackled funding for the Homeland Security Grant Program, looking into a subcommittee’s suggestions to amend threat risk methodology to improve finance allocation and coordination.

A third report, from the workforce subcommittee, proposed training changes and the adoption of a hybrid work set-up to make the agency a better place to work in and motivate employees to be more responsive to the needs of stakeholders.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas commented that the advisory council is essential in sustaining DHS’ ability to keep up with the evolving threat landscape faced by the country. “[The council’s] impact can be felt across DHS, including in our ongoing work to leverage the power of AI, streamline our service delivery, and support our workforce,” according to Mayorkas, a Wash100 awardee.

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CACI Subsidiary Wins Army Contract for Integrated Electronic Warfare System Prototype
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CACI Subsidiary Wins Army Contract for Integrated Electronic Warfare System Prototype

Mastodon Design, a CACI International company, has received an other transaction authority agreement from the U.S. Army to build and demonstrate a manpack version of the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team platform.

The TLS BCT is a tactical vehicle-mounted system that provides integrated electronic warfare, signals intelligence and cyber capabilities in support of multi-domain operations, the Army’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors said Friday.

Kenneth Strayer, project manager of EW and cyber for the Army, said the TLS BCT Manpack complements the multi-platform TLS family of systems, including the TLS Echelons Above Brigade, with a shared and open systems approach to addressing highly adaptive threats.

The prototype build and demonstration phase for the TLS BCT Manpack program is valued at $1.5 million and will run for nine months.

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William LaPlante Says Pentagon on Pace to Reach 100K Artillery Rounds Per Month by FY25
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William LaPlante Says Pentagon on Pace to Reach 100K Artillery Rounds Per Month by FY25

William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said the current manufacturing rate for 155mm artillery rounds stands at 28,000 shells a month and is on schedule to hit at least 57,000 rounds per month by spring 2024 and 100,000 units per month by fiscal year 2025, Defense News reported Friday.

LaPlante, a two-time Wash100 awardee, said production of such rounds is years ahead of schedule since the Department of Defense’s initial goal was to make 85,000 rounds each month by FY 2028.

At a think tank-hosted event, the defense acquisition chief called for a shift in behavior to avoid a boom-and-bust cycle when it comes to the demand for weapons systems.

LaPlante noted that the defense industrial base would benefit from expansion today as the U.S. works to support Ukraine’s efforts to counter Russian invasion and back the deterrence initiative against China.

According to the report, DOD’s funding measure in 2022 included approximately $1.5 billion to ramp up the Army’s manufacturing capacity for 155mm rounds.

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D&Z Federal Business Welcomes Former CIA Officials to Advisory Board
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D&Z Federal Business Welcomes Former CIA Officials to Advisory Board

Two senior Intelligence Community officials have joined Day & Zimmermann’s government services group’s advisory board.

As members, former CIA senior executives Robert Jenkins and Christopher Murray will offer strategic counsel on the company’s global operations for U.S. public and private sector customers with a specific focus on D&Z’s SOC LLC business, the company announced from Chantilly, Virginia last week.

“We are honored to welcome Mr. Murray and Mr. Jenkins to our team of advisors. This will help accelerate the expansion and diversification of our portfolio in support of U.S. Government mission-critical work,” said Doug Magee, president of government services at D&Z.

Collectively, he said, the company is maintaining its “strong focus on today’s complex security environment and the emerging and evolving threats of tomorrow.”

Jenkins brings over two decades of experience managing CIA operations, personnel and cyber programs to the board. Currently, he serves as CEO of strategic advisory firm Dark Forge Solutions LLC, and he has previously held intelligence, defense and cyber-focused executive roles at BAE Systems, NCI and Leidos. He also sits on the advisory boards of Cohere Technology Group, Atlas Tech Development and Black Badger Enterprises.

While with the CIA, Murray served as deputy director for support, where he reported to the agency’s director. In this position, he guided the creation of strategy and the provisioning of a multi-billion dollar global support operation portfolio that included logistics management, security, medical services, real estate management and human resources activities, among other areas. He is the founder and CEO of Infinite Reach Consulting, and is currently a member of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation’s board.

These appointments follow the selection of multiple other former CIA officials to the same board, where they advise the company’s technology, engineering and operations and security activities as it works to assist government clients with national security initiatives. Just over a month earlier, Magee was selected to lead the government services group as its president.

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Five Projects on Nuclear Data Benchmarking, Curation to Receive Funding From Department of Energy
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Five Projects on Nuclear Data Benchmarking, Curation to Receive Funding From Department of Energy

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is providing a total of $5.8 million to finance five research projects that aim to improve the benchmarking of nuclear data and the curation of data from experimental facilities.

The office says $2.8 million has been allocated for fiscal year 2023 while outyear funding will depend on appropriations made by Congress.

Commenting on the funding awards, DOE Associate Director of Science for Nuclear Physics Timothy Hallman said, “Nuclear data is important in both basic nuclear science and applications,” noting how the projects could result in “safer, more efficient, and more cost effective” applications.

The awardees were selected under the Nuclear Data Interagency Working Group Research Program. The funding opportunity announcement was issued this past February.

The beneficiaries involve researchers from a variety of institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Catholic University of America and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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HII Mission Technologies CFO Ashutosh Gokhale Talks Leadership Philosophy & Alion Acquisition
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HII Mission Technologies CFO Ashutosh Gokhale Talks Leadership Philosophy & Alion Acquisition

Ashutosh Gokhale currently serves as chief financial officer of HII’s Mission Technologies division, where he leads the organization’s financial and business management operations. He is also responsible for the integration component of acquisitions, most recently guiding Alion Science and Technology’s incorporation into the company.

In an interview with the Potomac Officers Club published on Thursday, Gokhale detailed his role in the Alion acquisition, shared his career background and discussed his leadership style.

Gokhale dives into his values as a leader in this excerpt from the interview: 

“A leader cannot exist without their team. It’s a symbiotic relationship – a leader shapes the team, and in turn, the team shapes its leader. When leading my team, I emphasize three things: ownership, support and recognition. When I assign a job to my team, I don’t micromanage, I trust that they can do the job. I give them freedom to choose the path to completion, while staying close so I can support them at the appropriate time if things show signs of going off track. When the task is successfully completed, I recognize the team and let them shine in the glory of success.”

To learn more about Gokhale’s leadership philosophy, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

Do you want to participate in your own Executive Spotlight interview? Potomac Officers Club members have exclusive access to this exciting opportunity and many other perks. To browse our membership options and discover which one is right for you, click here.

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Senate Committee Hearing Looks Into Federal AI Procurement Processes; Sen. Gary Peters Quoted
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Senate Committee Hearing Looks Into Federal AI Procurement Processes; Sen. Gary Peters Quoted

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, initiated efforts to explore how the federal government should amend acquisition policies to ensure the responsible development and adoption of artificial intelligence tools through a third Senate panel hearing conducted Thursday.

The Senate committee hearing highlighted the current processes for procuring AI systems, the factors that should be prioritized when assessing AI systems and how federal experts could help improve transparency and reduce potential risks associated with such technologies, the panel said Thursday.

“In order to successfully and effectively purchase and use AI tools, federal agencies have to be prepared to address issues like privacy concerns about the use of federal data to train commercial models and preventing bias in government decision-making,” Peters shared in his opening statement.

The lawmaker also discussed the need for continuous oversight when it comes to AI deployment and the capability of federal acquisition processes to shape responsible and transparent standards.

“Through federal procurement policy, the government has a unique opportunity to shape standards and frameworks for development and deployment of these technologies across the private sector more broadly,” Peters noted.

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NIST Releases Guidance on Zero Trust Implementation for Cloud-Based Applications
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NIST Releases Guidance on Zero Trust Implementation for Cloud-Based Applications

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released guidance on implementing a zero trust architecture model to protect enterprise applications in multiple cloud and on-premises environments.

Special Publication 800-207A outlines measures and guidelines for securing cloud-based applications by deploying a ZTA to enable safe access to resources located on-premises or in the cloud, NIST said Wednesday.

The guidance recommends that organizations formulate both network-tier and identity-tier ZTA policies and configure technology components to enable the deployment of different policies.

Organizations must also develop a comprehensive monitoring framework covering various tasks and use telemetry data to fine-tune access rights and enforce step-up authentication.

ZTA aims to protect enterprise data and resources by requiring secure authorization of users for accessing cloud-native resources.

NASA Makes Mark McInerney Director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Research; Bill Nelson Quoted
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NASA Makes Mark McInerney Director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Research; Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has appointed Mark McInerney as director of unidentified anomalous phenomena research in an effort to expand the agency’s contribution to government initiatives seeking to understand such unusual aerial sightings.

The agency said Thursday that it created the new role in response to an independent study, which calls for NASA’s increased involvement in investigating the origin and nature of UAP moving forward.

McInerney most recently served as the space agency’s UAP liaison to the Department of Defense. HIs new responsibility will be to lead the creation of a comprehensive database for future UAP evaluation.

“NASA’s new Director of UAP Research will develop and oversee the implementation of NASA’s scientific vision for UAP research, including using NASA’s expertise to work with other agencies to analyze UAP and applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to search the skies for anomalies,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained.

The independent study team, which consists of 16 UAP experts, had recommended that the agency help advance research and data collection by taking advantage of its resources, including open source systems, Earth observation and other technological assets, data analysis techniques, and partnerships with industry, as well as other government entities.

NASA is using the team’s report to formulate a roadmap for a more in-depth scientific approach to studying unidentified aerial or anomalous sightings.

Navy Appoints Members of DON Science & Technology Board
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Navy Appoints Members of DON Science & Technology Board

The Department of the Navy has named the members of a newly established federal advisory committee intended to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters and policies related to the service branch’s science and technology priorities.

Richard Danzig, former secretary of the Navy, has been appointed chair of the DON Science and Technology Board, while Howard Fireman, former chief architect of the Navy, was named vice chair, the Navy said Thursday.

“The board’s highest priority will be to work with leaders in the Department of the Navy to match new opportunities in science and technology with present service needs,” Danzig said.

DON STB comprises former national security leaders and experts from the industry and academia with expertise and background in science, technology, acquisition, manufacturing, logistics, medicine, climate and business management.

Members include Chris Inglis, former national cyber director, and Robert Work, former deputy secretary of defense and undersecretary of the Navy.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, will swear in the new committee members at DON STB’s first meeting on Sept. 22, which will also include discussions on scientific and technical topics.

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