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Gen. Randy George Nominated as US Army Chief of Staff
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Gen. Randy George Nominated as US Army Chief of Staff

President Joe Biden has nominated Gen. Randy George, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, to serve as the military branch’s next chief, according to a nomination notice posted on U.S. Congress’ website Thursday.

George would succeed Gen. James McConville as the Army’s chief of staff if confirmed by the Senate, according to Defense News.

George “is a combat proven leader who is the right person at the right time and will guide the Army into the future,” McConville, who is set to retire in the summer of 2023, said in a statement to the publication.

Following a stint as the senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and commander of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington, he assumed his current post in August 2022.

He served as director of force management for the Army G-3/5/7 and deputy director for regional operations and force management in the J-3.

Subsequently, he took command of the 4th Infantry Division as deputy commanding general responsible for maneuver after serving as executive assistant to the head of U.S. Central Command and executive officer to the Army’s 33rd vice chief of staff.

George also served as a fellow on the Council of Foreign Relations and chief of the strategic policy division for the Pakistan-Afghanistan coordination cell on the Joint Staff.

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Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough on Tactically Responsive Space Capabilities
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Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough on Tactically Responsive Space Capabilities

Lt. Col. MacKenzie Birchenough, materiel leader for Space Safari within Space Systems Command, said the U.S. Space Force intends to deploy tactically responsive space capabilities “by the 2025 or 2026 timeframe,” Breaking Defense reported Friday.

Birchenough said during a panel discussion at a symposium that the service branch wants to bring assets into space within 24 hours following a request and is looking at two different missions when it comes to responding to on-orbit needs.

“The first is the ability to rapidly respond to any kind of on-orbit threats. And then the second is, if any of our current assets on orbit were to be degraded or destroyed, having the ability to augment that capability on a very short timeline,” she noted.

Space Force is testing the concept through demonstrations, including the first one conducted in June 2021, when the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket.

The service is preparing to launch another tactically responsive space demo in 2023 with the Victus Nox mission. Birchenough said the branch expects the trial to provide an opportunity to gain new lessons that would help inform future demonstrations.

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Alejandro Mayorkas Launches New DHS AI Task Force & 90-Day Departmentwide Sprint
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Alejandro Mayorkas Launches New DHS AI Task Force & 90-Day Departmentwide Sprint

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a Wash100 awardee, has established a new DHS task force focused on artificial intelligence and a 90-day sprint to counter the threats posed by China.

The newly created AI task force will pursue four key tasks, the first two of which are integrating AI into efforts to enhance the integrity of supply chains and the broader trade environment and leveraging the technology to counter the flow of fentanyl into the country, DHS said Friday.

The other two priority tasks are applying AI to digital forensic tools to help identify and rescue victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse and working with government, industry and academic partners to evaluate the impact of AI on the ability to ensure the security of critical infrastructure.

In a memo issued Thursday, Mayorkas directed Dimitri Kusnezov, undersecretary for science and technology at DHS, and Eric Hysen, the department’s chief information officer, to serve as co-chairs of the AI task force, which will develop a concept of operations and a progress report on the four initiatives within 60 days.

The departmentwide sprint will look at evolving threats in six key areas, such as defending critical infrastructure, protecting against China’s malign economic influence and advancing safety, security and economic prosperity in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific.

Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Funding for Disposal of China-made Comms Equipment; Sen. Deb Fischer Quoted
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Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Funding for Disposal of China-made Comms Equipment; Sen. Deb Fischer Quoted

A bipartisan Senate bill is proposing to redistribute unobligated COVID-19 relief funds to a Federal Communications Commission program to remove and replace purportedly risky network equipment made in China, the office of Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., announced Friday.

Sens. Fischer and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., led the introduction of the Defend Our Networks Act, which aims to pull out 24,000 Chinese-made communications systems across the United States to protect national security.

FCC’s Rip and Replace Program was established to reimburse small communications companies that dispose high-risk equipment made in the Asian nation. The project is experiencing a budget shortfall of $3.08 billion as of 2022.

The new legislation would use roughly 3 percent of unspent budget originally allocated for emergency COVID-19 relief efforts to finance the Rip and Replace initiative.

“The current program shortfall is preventing eligible carriers from accessing the resources they need to cover the costs of replacing dangerous network gear,” Fischer said. “I’m proud to introduce the Defend Our Networks Act with Senator Hickenlooper to prioritize protecting our nation from rising threats posed by the CCP and supporting our rural communities.”

President Biden Signs Executive Order on Community-Level Environmental Justice
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President Biden Signs Executive Order on Community-Level Environmental Justice

President Joe Biden signed an executive order that reinforces environmental justice initiatives, especially in tribal and overburdened communities.

The White House announced the EO on Friday, essentially creating the Office of Environmental Justice.

The presidential directive requires all executive branch agencies to embed environmental justice in their missions. This includes preventing and addressing uneven impacts of pollution and other climate-related factors on the health and ecosystems within communities.

Agencies are also directed to conduct tribal and other public consultations with regions that have environmental justice concerns. 

Under the EO, the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s National Science and Technology Council will have a new subcommittee that will oversee a coordinated strategy for identifying and resolving gaps in environmental justice research, data and science. The panel will work with government agencies to conduct cumulative impact assessments and ease public access to information about nature and health concerns.

In line with the signing of the EO, the Environmental Justice Scorecard was published by the Office of Management and Budget, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and U.S. Digital Service. The scorecard is based on recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, as well as sector experts, stakeholders and the public.

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FCC Names Kerry Murray Space Bureau Deputy Chief & Chief of Staff
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FCC Names Kerry Murray Space Bureau Deputy Chief & Chief of Staff

Kerry Murray, deputy chief of the satellite division of the Federal Communications Commission’s International Bureau since March 2015, has been appointed deputy chief and chief of staff of the FCC’s newly launched Space Bureau, according to a recent LinkedIn post.

In her new role, Murray will assist Julie Kearney, chief of the Space Bureau, in overseeing policy and licensing matters related to satellite and space-based communications.

The newly promoted exec previously served as an adviser to the chief of the satellite division on space and Earth station licensing and regulation, spectrum usage and satellite broadband services.

Murray joined the FCC in 1994 as a senior adviser in the telecommunications division of the International Bureau and left the agency three years later to join MCI Telecommunications as director of international regulatory affairs.

In 2004, Murray moved to Dell, where she served as director of global government affairs and public policy.

The FCC launched the Space Bureau earlier this month as part of the International Bureau reorganization effort.

SBA Adds New Outreach Centers for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
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SBA Adds New Outreach Centers for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration is investing in the development of veterans business outreach centers in seven new locations to expand entrepreneurial training and counseling services for veterans and military spouses who own and operate small businesses.

SBA said Friday it will award $3.5 million in grant funding to create the VBOCs in Alaska, California, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada and South Carolina to assist veteran-owned small businesses in business planning, loan application and marketing and outreach efforts.

Grants will support Boots to Business classes to help active duty service members transition determine whether entrepreneurship is a practical transition strategy.

“With this expansion of our veteran-focused network of small business centers, we can help more transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses start and grow their businesses and advance our economy,” said Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the SBA.

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CISA to Remodel & Repurpose UK’s Open Source Log Management Tool; Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA to Remodel & Repurpose UK’s Open Source Log Management Tool; Jen Easterly Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is planning to launch an updated version of the Logging Made Easy tool, an open-source log management platform developed by the U.K. National Cyber Security Center.

CISA said Thursday it’s interested in relaunching the LME project to provide the public and private sectors with access to a collection of security logs across deployed Windows-based devices.

“Given CISA’s continued focus on providing support to ‘target-rich/cyber-poor’ entities, LME is another great tool we can leverage to assist our partners,” said Jen Easterly, director of CISA and a 2023 Wash100 awardee.

NCSC-UK ceased support for the free software in order to divert resources to new initiatives designed to boost the nation’s cyber infrastructure.

“The project’s transition to oversight from CISA will mean that existing and new users of the tool will continue to reap the significant benefits that it provides,” said Lindy Cameron, CEO of NCSC-UK.

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DARPA Taps General Dynamics Subsidiary to Develop Submarine Propulsor Tech
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DARPA Taps General Dynamics Subsidiary to Develop Submarine Propulsor Tech

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has chosen a General Dynamics subsidiary to participate in a project aimed at developing propulsor technology for potential use in a submarine or an unmanned underwater vehicle.

Applied Physical Sciences won a one-year, $9.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract after a competitive acquisition process for DARPA’s Advanced Propulsor Experimental program, the Department of Defense said Friday.

DARPA began soliciting proposals for its APEX effort in 2022 in a bid to find innovations in classified and unclassified propulsor technologies that could help power underwater platforms.

The project initially had a 12-month base performance period, followed by two options with performance periods of nine months and three months, respectively, according to the broad agency announcement.

Applied Physical Sciences will perform contract work primarily in Connecticut. Other performance locations include California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The agency received three bids for the project and obligated $7 million in fiscal 2023 research, development, test and engineering funds at the time of award.

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Speaker Kevin McCarthy: House to Decide on Debt Ceiling Proposal This Week
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy: House to Decide on Debt Ceiling Proposal This Week

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he expects the lower chamber to vote this week on his proposal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $1.5 billion to prevent a default until the end of March 2024, Bloomberg reported Sunday.

“We will hold a vote this week and we will pass it,” McCarthy said of the proposal during an interview on Fox News.

The speaker’s measure seeks to generate $4.5 trillion in savings over a decade by reducing discretionary spending by $130 billion in 2024, according to the report.

CNN reported that McCarthy’s proposed “Limit, Save, Grow Act” would limit spending growth to 1 percent annually and bring back federal funding to 2022 levels. If enacted, the measure would spare the Department of Defense’s budget and set new work requirements for the Medicaid program.

However, the proposal would block green energy tax credits and new funding for the Internal Revenue Service as part of the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.

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