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Gen. Paul Nakasone on Implementation of US Cyber Command’s Service-Like Authorities
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Gen. Paul Nakasone on Implementation of US Cyber Command’s Service-Like Authorities

Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, on Tuesday appeared before Senate Armed Services Committee members to discuss the priorities and plans of USCYBERCOM in 2023 and beyond, including the implementation of service-like authorities to accelerate the delivery of priority capabilities.

Nakasone, who also serves as director of the National Security Agency, told lawmakers that the command will oversee the resources for the Cyber Mission Force operations and capabilities in fiscal year 2024 and that enhanced budgetary control would provide the command the ability to allocate resources.

“EBC will lead to better alignment between USCYBERCOM responsibilities and authorities for cyberspace operations,” he added.

The general discussed the expanding role of USCYBERCOM in acquisition, particularly in the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture.

According to Nakasone, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment is providing the command greater technical authority and responsibility with regard to the development, integration and deployment of capabilities related to JCWA.

“Included in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act is a provision directing the establishment of a Program Executive Office (PEO) within USCYBERCOM. This PEO would assume Service-like acquisition decision authority for JCWA program components by Fiscal Year 2027,” he told lawmakers.

In his posture statement, Nakasone also cited the Cyber National Mission Force’s efforts in the defense of the 2022 midterm election, cyberthreats posed by China, Iran and North Korea and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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US Lawmakers Reintroduce Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act
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US Lawmakers Reintroduce Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act

House and Senate lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would preclude government agencies from using facial recognition and other biometric systems to address civil liberties and privacy issues and concerns facing marginalized populations.

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would prohibit the use of federal dollars for biometric surveillance systems and information collected through biometric technology, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a statement published Tuesday.

“Law enforcement and government’s use of facial recognition technology has resulted in reports of discriminatory outcomes that have ripped innocent people away from their lives, locking them up in jail,” Merkley wrote.

In addition to prohibition on the federal use of facial recognition, voice recognition and other biometric systems, the legislation would provide a private right of action for people whose biometric data is used in violation of the Act and permit states and localities to implement their own laws with regard to the use of such technologies.

Merkley proposed the bill with Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

The legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; among others.

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Senate Bill to Develop Risk-Based Approach to Addressing Foreign Technology Threats
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Senate Bill to Develop Risk-Based Approach to Addressing Foreign Technology Threats

A pair of bipartisan Senate lawmakers has introduced legislation that would establish a risk-based approach to addressing threats posed by foreign technologies, including social media applications, telecommunications platforms and security software.

Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, and Mark Warner, D-Va, chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, seek to direct the Department of Commerce to create a risk-based process of identifying and mitigating foreign technology threats, Thune’s office said Tuesday.

The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act would prioritize ICT products used in critical infrastructure and national security missions.

“We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America, so we aren’t playing Whac-A-Mole and scrambling to catch up once they’re already ubiquitous,” Warner, a three-time Wash100 awardee, said.

Thune said a “holistic, methodical approach” is needed to address threats posed by products manufactured by foreign adversaries and ensure that ICT products used by consumers are secure.

The senator also highlighted national security concerns with applications made by Chinese developers including ByteDance’s TikTok.

“It is widely acknowledged that TikTok is a threat to our national security, which is why Congress took steps last year to ban the platform on government devices,” Thune said.

State Department Clears Potential $60M Javelin Missile Sale to Australia
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State Department Clears Potential $60M Javelin Missile Sale to Australia

The State Department has approved Australia’s request to purchase man-portable, anti-tank guided missile systems and related equipment from a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies under a potential $60.18 million foreign military sale agreement. 

Australia asked to buy up to 255 Javelin FGM-148F missiles to expand its anti-armor capability and support national security and regional deterrence strategies, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Tuesday.

Logistics, technical assistance and program support services are also included in the proposed FMS deal.

The Javelin Joint Venture will serve as the prime U.S. contractor on the deal, which does not require the deployment of contractor and government representatives to Australia.

Javelin is a “fire-and-forget” missile technology designed to reach targets such as bunkers, armored vehicles and caves.

Frank Kendall: Modernization Key to Maintaining Competitiveness
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Frank Kendall: Modernization Key to Maintaining Competitiveness

Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, has highlighted the importance of modernization across the service branch to stay ahead of China and other nations increasing in power and influence.

Speaking at the 2023 Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium, Kendall emphasized the need to update military capabilities and prioritize transformation to maintain global competitiveness, the Air Force said Tuesday.

“The operational risks we have against our pacing challenge are increasing over time. Emphasizing the current force over the force of the future is a road to operational failure. The good news is that we are maintaining our current force at adequate levels of readiness,” Kendall commented.

During his speech, Kendall also shared that the Air Force’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 would focus on the seven operational imperatives he laid out in March 2022. 

The forthcoming budget request will additionally prioritize “hardening our forward bases and with the support structure needed for Agile Combat Employment, without having to wait for a development program,” Kendall added.

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EXPANSIA Lands Air Force RSO Contract to Analyze Aircraft Platforms & Identify Candidates for AM Parts; Adam Jarnagin Quoted
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EXPANSIA Lands Air Force RSO Contract to Analyze Aircraft Platforms & Identify Candidates for AM Parts; Adam Jarnagin Quoted

EXPANSIA, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business that provides strategy and integration consulting services, has won a full and open competitive multi-million dollar contract from the U.S. Air Force to perform rapid comparison analysis of various aircraft platforms for the service branch’s Rapid Sustainment Office.

Contracted activities are intended to pinpoint potential candidates for additive manufacturing parts to boost supply chain efficiency and incorporate digital engineering programs, the Nashua, New Hampshire-based company said in an email to ExecutiveGov on Wednesday.

“EXPANSIA is humbled and honored to continue to help USAF RSO accelerate the mission of identifying operational efficiencies through digital transformation,” said CEO Adam Jarnagin.

He said that EXPANSIA’s focus is to provide engineering and integration expertise regarding next-generation additive manufacturing, which, according to Jarnagin, “holds tremendous promise” to support the Air Force’s goal of scaling AM, increasing cost savings and enhancing fleet readiness.

Under the contract, EXPANSIA will assess the KC-135, B-52, B-1 and E-3 aircraft. The organization’s rapid comparison analysts will test AM part viability and help identify use cases to determine AM part families for more efficient AM adoption at scale for polymer and metal printed parts.

EXPANSIA will also apply commercial airworthiness-certified printing processes, methods and procedures to assist with the development of an organic manufacturing capability expected to enable the complete use of material processing information and repeatability and create a roadmap for Air Force part assessment.

This contract win follows a full and open competition that secured EXPANSIA a partnership with the RSO, under which the enterprise is developing the Always Guaranteeing Operationally Ready Aircraft Digital Thread prototype for additive manufacturing.

The AGORA prototype currently uses product lifecycle management technologies and workflows that EXPANSIA is developing, integrating, testing and evaluating to streamline and improve different supply chain management systems and legacy databases. It is intended to simplify processes and minimize supply chain delays by allowing real-time cooperation between federal organizations and their industry collaborators.

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Matt Tait Shares 2 Key Lessons Learned from ManTech’s Zero Trust Implementation
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Matt Tait Shares 2 Key Lessons Learned from ManTech’s Zero Trust Implementation

Zero trust has emerged as the consensus best approach to cybersecurity in recent years as cyber threats continue to rise. However, the intangible nature of zero trust has left some organizations wondering how to best implement it, which tools to use and what zero trust success ultimately looks like.

2023 Wash100 Award winner Matt Tait, CEO and president of ManTech, is uniquely positioned to answer that question. ManTech developed zero trust architecture for the Department of Defense, and the company also helped the DOD set up labs for testing zero trust applications. 

Within the company, Tait personally led ManTech’s nine month zero trust implementation, and he emerged from the process with two key lessons learned. 

“The first one is leadership from the top. This really has to be top-driven to make it a success,” he said in an exclusive video interview with Executive Mosaic. 

“The second thing is, it’s less about the technology and more about the people — the change management, changing the behaviors of people are so important,” Tait added.

Beyond zero trust, Tait also discussed the emerging technologies he anticipates will have the greatest impact on national security in the next few years. However, while some technologies have great potential to be disruptive in the federal landscape on their own, Tait said, “I believe the future is around the combination of technologies.”

“We have something that we call ‘cognitive cyber’ and this is a combination of cyber, automation, AI and analytics. Having this together really helps solve a unique set of problems for us,” Tait explained.

Watch Matt Tait discuss ManTech’s next chapter, how cybersecurity and national security intersect and more in his video interview. 

DOD CIO John Sherman & Booz Allen EVP Steve Escaravage Celebrated for 2023 Wash100 Inductions
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DOD CIO John Sherman & Booz Allen EVP Steve Escaravage Celebrated for 2023 Wash100 Inductions

Today, Executive Mosaic praised the careers and contributions of two inductees to the Wash100 Class of 2023. Both John Sherman, chief information officer of the U.S. Department of Defense and Steve Escaravage, executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, were singled out in ExecutiveGov sister publications GovCon Wire and ExecutiveBiz for the qualities that led them to be given the Wash100 Award.

The Wash100 has for over a decade earned a status as the preeminent marker of success and promise in the government contracting world. Its recipients — CEOs, technology leaders, distinguished military personnel and more —  represent the most impactful figures working in GovCon and the federal sector. A discerning voting body sifts through hundreds of candidates to elevate those whose leadership, vision, innovation and reliability exceeds the rest.

Once the 100 awardees are announced, EM also holds a friendly (but intense!) popular vote contest every year from January through April to crown a fan favorite winner. Participate today at Wash100.com.

This year, Sherman secured his second consecutive Wash100 due to his stewardship regarding the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, a $9 billion initiative that expands and intensifies the DOD’s migration to the cloud with the help of major providers Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Oracle and Google. Sherman was additionally instrumental in helping to stand up and consolidate the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office in early 2022 and disseminate the Pentagon’s zero trust implementation plan in the latter part of the year.

Read about why Sherman was a major GovCon player in 2022 and the places EM foresees him going at GovCon Wire here.

Over in the private sector, Escaravage is similarly receiving his second Wash100 Award for a second year in a row. The over two-decade BAH executive is making waves for his innovative artificial intelligence work, partnering with companies such as C3 AI to try to amplify the company’s autonomous tools’ reach and utility to the government customer. Escaravage is working tirelessly to meet and satisfy the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s mandate to muster military AI readiness by 2025.

To learn more about Escaravage’s accomplishments and ambitions, read his profile at ExecutiveBiz here.

Comment Sought on Proposed FAA Policy on Disclosure of Transport Aircraft Design Changes
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Comment Sought on Proposed FAA Policy on Disclosure of Transport Aircraft Design Changes

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking public comment on its proposal to require the disclosure of planned aircraft design modifications in certification applications.

The draft policy is in compliance with the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, FAA said in a notice published Monday in the Federal Register.

The legislation was enacted in 2020 to boost FAA’s oversight of manufacturers and Congress’ supervision of their certification. It was also crafted to provide opportunities for aviation technology upgrades.

At the start of the application process for type certificate amendments, transport category aircraft applicants should report all new systems as well as current systems that will undergo modification, FAA proposed.

The agency will wait for public comments until April 3, before it finalizes the policy.

Senate Lawmakers Aim to Expand Minority Business Development Agency’s Reach
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Senate Lawmakers Aim to Expand Minority Business Development Agency’s Reach

A group of Senate lawmakers is urging the Department of the Treasury to expand opportunities for underserved and underrepresented small businesses and entrepreneurs nationwide by diverting funding to the Minority Business Development Agency.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and six colleagues sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to request the transfer of $200 million in technical assistance funding from the State Small Business Credit Initiative to support the MBDA’s Capital Readiness Program, Wyden’s office said Monday.

According to the lawmakers, there are nearly 3,000 organizations nationwide applying for CRP funding and the program’s current budget may not be sufficient to accommodate requests from qualified applicants.

“It is clear to us that $100 million in funding is not nearly enough to close the gap in access to capital, capacity building and network access for underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses,” the letter states.

The senators added that the repurposed funds from SSBCI would enable MBDA to expand its reach to more rural communities and expand its existing network of accelerators and incubators.

“Given the economic challenges of minority and underserved enterprises, we believe it is imperative that Treasury productively re-deploy the remaining $200 million of SSBCI technical assistance funding to MBDA for its Capital Readiness Program,” the lawmakers said.

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