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GAO: DOD Should Manage F-35 Engine, Cooling Modernization as Separate Acquisition Program
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GAO: DOD Should Manage F-35 Engine, Cooling Modernization as Separate Acquisition Program

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense direct the F-35 program office to reassess its comparative analysis after the service branches define their power and cooling requirements and oversee the engine and thermal management modernization effort as a separate program with its own performance baseline, cost and schedule.

GAO said Tuesday found that the program office has not fully defined the fighter jet’s cooling requirements.

“By obtaining this key information, DOD and the services would be more informed about the future performance, cost, and technical implications,” the GAO report reads.

The congressional watchdog called on the Pentagon to require the F-35 program office to report to Congress on cost differences between actual prices and original estimates for certain modernization capabilities and secure an independent cost estimate for all thermal management and engine modernization options.

According to the report, the program’s total procurement costs have climbed by $13.4 billion since the 2019 cost estimate.

GAO found that the Block 4 modernization effort continues to experience developmental delays and that the initiative’s costs rose to $16.5 billion in August 2021, up from $15.1 billion in June 2021.

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Acting CTO Don Yeske to Leave Department of the Navy CIO for DHS
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Acting CTO Don Yeske to Leave Department of the Navy CIO for DHS

Don Yeske, acting chief technology officer at the Department of the Navy’s office of the chief information officer, will step down from his current role on June 16 to assume a new position at the Department of Homeland Security, he announced in a LinkedIn post.

In January, he took over the position at DON CIO from Jane Rathburn, who was promoted to principal deputy CIO.

In his post on the social media platform, Yeske mentioned the information technology modernization initiatives his team has implemented.

“I’m also deeply proud of the work this team has done over the past year and a half, which includes things like laying out our full technology strategy, designating the very first DON-wide enterprise IT service (the Naval Integrated Modeling Environment), creating Naval Identity Services, and articulating a vision and strategy for transforming our legacy global networks into a modern, data-centric ecosystem,” he wrote.

Yeske joined DON CIO in October 2021 as chief solutions architect.

He previously served as head of the expeditionary enterprise systems and services division at the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic.

Prior to NIWC Atlantic, Yeske was head of future operations at the U.S. Marine Corps headquarters. He also served as a senior IT adviser at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The executive additionally held IT roles at SAIC and Northrop Grumman.

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Biden Eyes Gen. Eric Smith to Lead Marine Corps as Commandant
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Biden Eyes Gen. Eric Smith to Lead Marine Corps as Commandant

Gen. Eric Smith, assistant commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, is expected to be nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as head of the service branch, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Smith would succeed Gen. David Berger, who is set to retire after serving for four years as commandant of USMC, on the Joint Chiefs of Staff if confirmed by the Senate.

Sources familiar with the matter said the White House could disclose Smith’s nomination in the next few days.

Smith previously served as deputy commandant for combat development and integration and as senior military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense and secretary of defense.

He also served as head of Marine Corps Forces Southern Command, III Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Marine Division and Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

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Day & Zimmermann Selects Mike Bosco as SVP of Business Development for Government Services
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Day & Zimmermann Selects Mike Bosco as SVP of Business Development for Government Services

Mike Bosco has joined Day & Zimmermann as senior vice president of business development for government services.

The retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major will bring over 20 years of experience as a military and interagency leader to his new role, D&Z shared with ExecutiveGov in an email sent on Tuesday.

During his first of two decades of service in the Army, Bosco worked within the U.S. Special Operations Command and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and Special Operations Command Pacific. He spent the second half of his military career in a Special Missions Unit.

Throughout his time in the Army, he also served with a number of Intelligence Community organizations as the single Department of Defense representative to forward intelligence operations and special activities regarding Foreign Intelligence Services cooperation.

His service has been recognized with multiple military and IC awards, including the Director of National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation.

After retiring from the military in 2012, Bosco carried his national security work to the private sector, where he has held numerous executive roles. He most recently served as senior vice president of Army mission solutions and C5ISR at Sev1Tech, and earlier, he headed Akima’s Emerging Markets Group as vice president.

Bosco has held additional leadership positions at Ops Tech Alliance, Altamira Technologies and BAE Systems.

His appointment follows several executive transitions within D&Z this year, including the January selection of Doug Magee as president of the organization’s Government Services Group.

More recently, D&Z added four former Central Intelligence Agency officials to its advisory board to guide the company’s mission-critical, worldwide operations for both public and private sector clients. These officials include Jeanne Foster, Mark Kelton, Stephen Perron and Phil Reilly.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken Introduces First-ever Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken Introduces First-ever Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy

The Department of State has released the Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy, an initiative aimed at expanding international cooperation and responsible behavior in space activities while ensuring U.S. global leadership in the domain.

The document highlights three main pillars, including advancing space policy internationally, leveraging U.S. space activities, and strengthening the technical skills and knowledge of the department’s workforce to support the framework’s implementation, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.

To execute the framework, the State Department will continue interagency collaboration with NASA as well as the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation. It will also foster existing relationships with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Space Council, National Security Council, Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure diplomacy in space-based activities.

The U.S. government plans to share its capabilities, such as satellite applications, geospatial intelligence, and remote sensing satellite imagery to achieve foreign policy goals. Space diplomacy is expected to benefit initiatives and strategies related to climate change, international security and economic competitiveness, according to the framework.

“As near-earth space gets more crowded, the Framework will help maintain the rules-based international order and foster cooperation for long-term sustainability, commercialization, exploration, and space utilization,” stated Blinken, a Wash100 awardee.

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Brig. Gen. Scott Cain to Assume Command of Air Force Research Laboratory
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Brig. Gen. Scott Cain to Assume Command of Air Force Research Laboratory

Brig. Gen. Scott Cain will assume command of the Air Force Research Laboratory, succeeding Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle, who has served as the AFRL commander since June 2020 and is set to retire after 32 years of military service.

Cain joins AFRL from Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he was director for air, space and cyberspace operations, the laboratory said Tuesday.

In his new role, Cain will oversee an organization with over $3 billion in annual budget and a workforce of more than 11,500 service members, civilian personnel and contractors.

He will also lead technology research and development efforts across AFRL to address emerging warfighting needs.

Gen. Duke Richardson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, will host a change of command ceremony on June 5 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Hangar 2 to officially welcome Cain as the new AFRL commander.

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OSTP Launches RFI to Support Development of National AI Strategy
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OSTP Launches RFI to Support Development of National AI Strategy

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is soliciting information from individuals and organizations regarding the national priorities to help mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence.

In a request for information issued Friday, OSTP said the public input will help shape the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy to protect Americans’ rights and safety with respect to the technology.

The agency is interested in recommended standards, regulations, investments and practices to ensure that AI is used to preserve the public’s rights and safety. It is also fielding comments on the national security risks posed by AI, and how the technology can help identify and address cyber vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy will additionally include provisions connected to the Biden administration’s net-zero emission goal. Respondents are encouraged to share insights on AI’s impact on the net-zero strategy as well as other areas of environmental quality.

The RFI will close on July 7.

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NASA, Boeing Complete Checkpoint Review of Starliner Flight Test Preparations
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NASA, Boeing Complete Checkpoint Review of Starliner Flight Test Preparations

NASA and Boeing have completed a joint checkpoint review of the first crewed flight mission of the latter’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Ninety-five percent of the certification for the Crew Flight Test mission is complete, including approval of Starliner’s crew module batteries, and all Orbital Flight Test-2 anomalies are closed, NASA said Friday.

“In addition to the closeout of ongoing work, the team remains vigilant on tracking new technical issues as we complete certification for crewed flight,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The team is now preparing to fuel, roll out to the launch site and integrate the spacecraft with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

NASA and Boeing said emerging issues must be resolved before the team decides to fuel Starliner in June, including replacing a by-pass valve in the active thermal control system on the spacecraft’s service module.

Engineers are also evaluating if a tape used on the spacecraft to prevent wire chafing is acceptable for crewed flight missions.

DISA Initiates Efforts to Help Small Businesses Obtain Security Clearance
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DISA Initiates Efforts to Help Small Businesses Obtain Security Clearance

Carlen Capenos, director of small business programs for the Defense Information Systems Agency, said DISA is taking action to expand the utilization and participation of small businesses in defense contracts, including eliminating barriers to secure a facility clearance, Federal News Network reported Friday.

Capenos said DISA changed its participation plan “to include two companies who are small businesses that in the first year of the contract, should they win it, they will sponsor for the clearance.”

“We put our first solicitation out for that, and we got zero pushback. We got the names of the companies, they’re going to get the facility clearance, so we think that’s a win. Now, we’ll see how it goes,” Capenos said.

DISA, in collaboration with the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency, is also hosting a webinar on June 13 to help prepare small businesses for the facility clearance process.

In addition, the agency wants to ensure that prime contractors are meeting their subcontracting goals by requiring them to send a biannual report on their subcontractors’ performance.

“There’s always a reason why primes are not meeting their subcontracting goals. Ours is more of the question, what are you going to do about it? I think just making sure that our large businesses know that we are monitoring it, that we do want to know and that we’re willing to help them, is important,” Capenos said.

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DIU Seeks Commercial Tech to Help Automate Credibility Assessments
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DIU Seeks Commercial Tech to Help Automate Credibility Assessments

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking information on commercial platforms that could help automate credibility assessments used to vet new and existing Department of Defense personnel.

DIU said it is looking for a minimum viable product that comes with usable interfaces, automated scoring and new sensing tools under the Polygraph+ program.

Interested vendors should state in their solution briefs if they plan to provide prototypes for one or multiple lines of effort.

The program’s three lines of effort are non-invasive physiological or behavioral sensing for objective CA measurement; tools to automate data fusion and CA scoring, configurable for current and new data inputs; and usable, intuitive tools to aid evaluator decision making.

DOD is also interested in technologies that could apply natural language processing to CA.

Prototype development will be carried out in three phases and the initial phase will involve a benchmark of credibility assessment scoring and sensing tools. Phase 2 will deal with in-lab validation and iterative development cycles based on input from live testing, while Phase 3 will focus on network accreditation to ensure functionality and deployment on DOD platforms.

Responses are due June 5.

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