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Former Army General John Murray to Help Vita Inclinata Serve DOD Customers as Board Advisor
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Former Army General John Murray to Help Vita Inclinata Serve DOD Customers as Board Advisor

Retired Army General John Murray, a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, has been added as a strategic advisor to Vita Inclinata’s board of directors.

The Broomfield, Colorado-based company said Tuesday that in his new role, Murray will be expected to share his familiarity and knowledge of Army purchases and defense technological progress with the widely revered board members.

“I’m committed to helping Vita disrupt traditional U.S. Government contract development by identifying solutions to ‘cross the valley of death,’” Gen. Murray remarked.

Murray’s four decades with the Army included positions as Army deputy chief of staff, G-8 and commander of the 3rd Infantry Division during Operations Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support. Most recently he was a four-star general heading up the Army Futures Command, from which he retired in December 2021.

The former general attested that a selling point for the company are products like the Vita Rescue System that he feels will aid in medical evacuation scenarios, making such missions safer and hopefully decreasing the death toll. Vita Inclinata’s specialties are aerospace and industrial stabilization technologies.

Additionally, Murray said he hopes to break Department of Defense customers from their reliance on traditional strategies that ignore up-and-coming solutions.

Caleb Carr, CEO of Vita Inclinata, deems Murray an ideal partner and consultant for VI in the company’s mission to “define and develop the defense innovation ecosystem” alongside Congress and the DoD.

The appointment of Murray comes after the recent Vita Inclinata board hire of retired three-star Army General Officer Paul Ostrowski as a senior advisor in March. Ostrowski is similarly focused on the customization and implementation of VI platforms like the Vita Rescue System and the Vita Sling Load system.

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NIST Publishes Planning Guide for Zero Trust Architecture Implementation
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NIST Publishes Planning Guide for Zero Trust Architecture Implementation

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a planning guide for federal administrators outlining an overview of how the NIST Risk Management Framework can be applied in implementing a zero trust architecture.

Scott Rose, a computer scientist within the wireless networks division at NIST’s Communications Technology Laboratory, detailed in the white paper risk management concepts for administrators and operators looking to deploy a zero trust infrastructure to safeguard their network assets against cyber threats, NIST said Friday.

Rose said the RMF lays out an approach that includes a set of steps and tasks integrated into enterprise risk analysis, planning, development and operations. These steps are grouped into seven actions: prepare, categorized, select, implement, assess, authorize and monitor.

“Administrators who normally do not perform the steps and tasks detailed in the RMF may find that they will need to become familiar with them as they migrate to a ZTA,” Rose said.

He noted that zero trust infrastructure implementation will depend on the workflow being analyzed and the resources used in performing that function.

“Zero trust is not a single technology solution, but a larger cybersecurity strategy and operational practice. A successful zero trust architecture requires the cooperation of cybersecurity planners, management, and administration/operations,” Rose added.

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Amentum Awarded $39M Army Contract for Research and Development; Jill Bruning Quoted
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Amentum Awarded $39M Army Contract for Research and Development; Jill Bruning Quoted

Amentum announced on Tuesday that the company has secured a potential five-year, $39 million to support the Combat Capabilities and Development Command Soldier Center’s (CCDC SC) as well as the Soldier Protection and Survivability Directorate (SPSD) for the U.S. Army. 

Under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center’s (DoD IAC) multiple-award contract (MAC) vehicle, Amentum will provide Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) services.

“One of the most impactful programs we can work on are those related to soldier survivability,” said Jill Bruning, president of Amentum’s IS4 Strategic Business Unit. “Our experts will help to explore a variety of ways to ensure combatants are well-protected and remain mission capable on the battlefield, improving outcomes in all types of military engagements.”

Amentum will collaborate with the SPSD at Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), also known as Natick Labs, under the contract to develop novel solutions and improved capabilities based on the needs of the warfighter. 

The two companies will focus on enhancing lethality through protection and survivability on current and future battlefields: sensor threats, environmental threats, ballistic and blast threats, chemical and biological threats, and directed energy threats. 

About Amentum

Amentum is a premier global services partner supporting critical programs of national significance across defense, security, intelligence, energy, and environment. Amentum draws from a century-old heritage of operational excellence, mission focus, and successful execution underpinned by a strong culture of safety and ethics.

NIST-FirstNet Authority Partnership Creates Testing Hub for Public Safety Tech Developers, Responders
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NIST-FirstNet Authority Partnership Creates Testing Hub for Public Safety Tech Developers, Responders

The First Responder Network Authority has collaborated with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish a facility where technology developers can test public safety equipment with emergency response personnel.

The Boulder, Colorado-based Public Safety Immersive Test Center features virtual and augmented reality headsets, a motion capture system and optical tracking cameras for first responders to perform missions such as search and rescue in a simulated environment, the FirstNet Authority said Monday.

Both agencies plan to offer the public safety community, including private and academic entities, free access to the 1,076-square-foot center as part of efforts to drive research, development, training and education in the area.

“In this new facility, users can walk or crawl throughout the space, physically touch walls and furniture, and pick up props like fire nozzles or dummies,” said Scott Ledgerwood, leader of the user experience/under interface group at NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research Division.

Jeff Bratcher, chief network and technology officer of the FirstNet Authority, said the facility was created to help first responders prepare for live-saving missions through an immersive virtual experience.

The partnership looks to equip the center with other technology such as 5G, haptics and edge computing platforms.

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EpiSci Wins Navy’s Drone Software Development Challenge
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EpiSci Wins Navy’s Drone Software Development Challenge

EpiSys Science has won an artificial intelligence-focused prize challenge sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the NavalX Midwest Tech Bridge.

ONR said Monday that as the winner of the AI for Small Unit Maneuvers contest, the California-based team could potentially have a cooperative agreement with the Department of the Navy to continue software development and come up with an operational prototype.

The AISUM Prize Challenge was initiated in an effort to gain help in developing hardware-agnostic software algorithms. It consisted of three phases: submission of white papers and virtual presentation; building of software algorithms for simulated scenarios based on a government-furnished virtual map; and installation of algorithms in actual drones and demonstration of area mapping and object identification capabilities as well as indoor maneuverability during a live exercise at NSWC Crane’s Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.

“We can use drones the Navy already has instead of buying new ones. We also can upgrade them or add capabilities by uploading multiple types of software to a single machine,” said Blake Busey, an AISUM technical lead.

The challenge was done over a 10-month period and spared $750,000 in total prize.

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US Chamber of Commerce Asks Lawmakers to Meet President’s Funding Request for TMF
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US Chamber of Commerce Asks Lawmakers to Meet President’s Funding Request for TMF

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to support federal information technology modernization efforts by exceeding or meeting the $300 million that the Biden administration requested for the Technology Modernization Fund in its fiscal year 2023 proposed budget.

The organization asked lawmakers through a May 6 letter “to provide flexibility to help ensure agencies can make progress on IT modernization, balanced with continued oversight from Congress to ensure accountability.”

The group cited the need for more funding to help federal agencies meet their cybersecurity goals and needs.

“Agencies are encouraged to either reprioritize funds internally or seek funding from alternative sources, such as the TMF. Additional funding should be made available for agencies that are just getting started on their zero trust journeys,” the letter reads.

The organization also called on Congress to come up with a new approach to improve cybersecurity, prioritize value, measure progress and streamline user experience with government platforms and services and back the approach with workforce training, enhanced partnerships, best-in-class tech adoption and assessment.

The letter was signed by Tom Quaadman, executive vice president for the Chamber Technology Engagement Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In late April, nine industry group also made the same call to lawmakers to provide funding for TMF.

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Biden Signs Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022
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Biden Signs Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022

President Biden has signed into law a bill that will authorize the administration to lease or lend military equipment to Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe through fiscal year 2023, DOD News reported Monday.

The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 would exempt the administration from certain law provisions that regulate the lease or loan of defense equipment to foreign countries.

One of those provisions is the five-year limit on the loan’s duration or the requirement that foreign countries pay all costs that U.S. incurred in leasing the military equipment.

“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool in our efforts to support the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight to defend their country and their democracy against Putin’s brutal war,” Biden said Monday at the Oval office.

“And the cost of the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly. That’s why we’re staying in this,” he added.

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Joint Tactical Networking Center Seeks to Establish Framework for Communications Tech Evaluation
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Joint Tactical Networking Center Seeks to Establish Framework for Communications Tech Evaluation

The Department of Defense’s Joint Tactical Networking Center has begun working with other DOD agencies and service branches to come up with a framework for assessing future and current communications products.

The framework seeks to establish a forum that would enable vendors to demonstrate their products that meet electronic warfare and resiliency requirements and provide government leaders, service users and program managers with readily available, searchable and trusted data on programs of record and commercial products, the U.S. Army’s acquisition support center said Monday.

JTNC created the resiliency sub working group to help come up with common processes and terminology to design, test and deploy tactical radio systems that can mitigate interception, detection, jamming and geolocation threats in compliance with the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

In 2017, the center established a framework to characterize tactical communication platforms and came up with 22 capability areas across five major product categories. Since the adoption of the framework, JTNC has identified more than 200 evaluation goals to help characterize product performance and features.

To date, JTNC has carried out 10 characterization events on tactical satellite communication routers, single-channel handheld commercial radios and other products.

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Report Examines Commercial Smallsat Industry’s Role in US Space Security
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Report Examines Commercial Smallsat Industry’s Role in US Space Security

An Atlantic Council report explores how the government can expand its relationship with the commercial small satellite industry to maintain operational security and superiority in the space domain.

The study, titled “Small Satellites: The Implications for National Security,” identifies possible measures for the Department of Defense, intelligence community and Congress to take advantage of technological advances in the space sector.

Nicholas Eftimiades, an Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow who authored the report, wrote that the U.S. should update its current approaches to defense acquisition, research, investment, regulation and data classification to compete in the future space ecosystem.

His recommendations for the White House and Congress include enforcing “buy commercial first” policies at DOD and IC agencies and funding research to identify industry-supported national security missions.

The report was based on 25 interviews with former and current leaders from the worlds of government, business and academia who have worked on commercial space or national security programs.

Report Examines Commercial Smallsat Industry's Role in US Space Security

If you’re interested in space innovation, join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2nd Annual Industrial Space Defense Summit on May 17 to hear from government and industry representatives as they share insight into the role of public-private collaborations in building the country’s space defense capabilities.

Register here and don’t forget to check out upcoming events for the GovCon community via the Potomac Officers Club website.

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Peraton Named a 2022 U.S. Best Managed Company for Excellence in Strategy, Corporate Culture; CEO Stu Shea Quoted
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Peraton Named a 2022 U.S. Best Managed Company for Excellence in Strategy, Corporate Culture; CEO Stu Shea Quoted

Peraton has been highlighted among an esteemed group of businesses as a 2022 U.S. Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and the Wall Street Journal.

A celebration of companies that achieve highly in strategy and execution and evince strong corporate culture and governance/financial performance, Peraton was one of just 51 organizations selected, the Herndon, Virginia-based company said Monday.

Stu Shea, Peraton’s chairman, president and CEO, detailed how the distinction proves the five-year-old company is “charting a sustainable course for long-term success.”

“We have put in place the right strategy, the right people and the right rules to stand alongside well-run companies spanning every major American business sector,” Shea, a six-time Wash100 Award recipient, added.

The U.S. Best Managed Company honor is bestowed to private American companies that are sophisticated strategic planners with a diverse and passionate workforce and robust financial reports. Peraton is distinguished as the only Virginia-based company as well as the sole national security-focused company among the group.

Peraton was founded in 2017 as the result of Veritas Capital’s acquisition of the government IT services arm of Harris Corporation, in combination the federal IT and mission support business of Northrop Grumman and Perspecta. Its first several years of business have been a steady climb of contract awards and consistent, public sector-focused work, resulting in a $7 billion national security partner.

According to Shea, Peraton saw a “seven-fold expansion in 2021.”

The company is already gearing up for another banner year. So far in 2022, Peraton has received several high-profile contract awards, including a $254 million State Department win for cybersecurity support and a $2.6 billion Department of Homeland Security win for data center and cloud services.

Shea was also recognized with his sixth Wash100 Award in the first quarter of the year.

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