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U.S. Army Awards BigBear.ai Contract for Force Management System Consolidation; Ryan Legge Quoted
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U.S. Army Awards BigBear.ai Contract for Force Management System Consolidation; Ryan Legge Quoted

BigBear.ai has won a nine-month, $14.8 million contract from the U.S. Army to repurpose and consolidate a group of the service branch’s preparation and training tools.

Through the sole-source contract award, BigBear will introduce the Global Force Information Management System, combining 14 legacy programs into one automated service aimed to strengthen the Army’s ability to man, equip, ready and resource, the Columbia, Maryland-based company said Thursday.

“This contract supports the continuation of BigBear.ai’s efforts to deliver on the Secretary [of the Army Christine Wormuth]’s goal of ensuring the Army embraces new technologies to become a more data-centric fighting force,” explained Ryan Legge, president of analytics at BigBear.ai.

Legge also described how the Army will now be able to make data-based, mission-critical choices regarding force structure, balance and readiness due to BigBear’s modifications and said the new system will impact Army leaders in a range of positions, “from senior leadership to combatant commanders.”

GFIM will be implemented across the service branch and gives users a window into the entire spread of its warfighters and participants and their roles. It delivers time-sensitive, of-the-moment information to a maximum of 160,000 endpoints and is designed to take into account risk in its reports.

Tasks that were previously manually entered such as unit readiness confirmation are now automated due to BigBear’s upgraded cloud architecture. GFIM additionally creates and pinpoints actionable mission data and is seen as potentially beneficial to the Deploy to Redeploy and Retrograde full lifecycle business transactions. This latter aspect is due to the system’s force administration isolated entry point.

BigBear is partnering with Palantir Technologies on this endeavor and received the contract due to the warm reception of its GFIM prototype, built during phase 1 of the initiative.

“Providing this critical combination of leading defense technology will drive a competitive advantage for the Army as it modernizes the most critical infrastructure supporting force planning and readiness,” enthused Bryant Choung, senior vice president leading federal business and defense technology at Palantir.

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FAA Releases Design Standards for Vertiports to Support VTOL Operations
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FAA Releases Design Standards for Vertiports to Support VTOL Operations

The Federal Aviation Administration has released design guidelines for vertiports that will support advanced air mobility aircraft capable of vertical take off and landing.

The document outlines several standards that designers and developers will need to follow in areas including markings, lighting and visual aids; safety-critical geometry and design elements; and charging and electric infrastructure, the FAA said Monday.

The guidance also includes information on the requirements for airports looking to add vertiports to an existing commercial airport and for developers that seek to build vertiports on top of existing structures.

“These vertiport design standards provide the foundation needed to begin safely building infrastructure in this new era,” said Shannetta Griffin, associate administrator for airports at FAA.

VTOL aircraft powered with electric motors will be used to transport cargo and passengers at lower altitudes in urban, suburban and rural areas.

Senate Bill to Require Foreign Funding Disclosure Reports From Think Tanks
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Senate Bill to Require Foreign Funding Disclosure Reports From Think Tanks

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced new legislation to require think tanks and nonprofit social welfare organizations to disclose funding they receive from foreign governments.

In a statement published Wednesday, Grassley said that public policy nonprofits secure significant amount of funding from foreign powers, including China, Russia and Qatar, for policy research, recommendations and expert testimony.

“Those foreign powers clearly have an interest in directing American foreign, domestic and security policy to their benefit. Congress, the executive branch, and the American people deserve to know who’s influencing research and public policy in our country,” Grassley said.

The Think Tank Transparency Act requires that think tanks and nonprofits that inform U.S. policy or influence public opinion submit disclosure reports to the Department of Justice within 90 days of receiving funds from foreign governments.

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

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Parry Labs COO Aydin Mohtashamian Talks Federal Acquisition, Talent Development & More With Potomac Officers Club
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Parry Labs COO Aydin Mohtashamian Talks Federal Acquisition, Talent Development & More With Potomac Officers Club

Parry Labs Chief Operating Officer Aydin Mohtashamian recently spoke with the Potomac Officers Club to share his thoughts on the hurdles that exist within the Department of Defense’s acquisition processes, the best strategies for developing talent within an organization and the values that steer his career. Mohtashamian served in the U.S. Army for over eight years, and he joined Parry Labs from Qinetiq U.S. where he served as president of C5ISR Solutions. 

In this excerpt from his Executive Spotlight interview, Mohtashamian outlines some of the challenges the DOD faces as it pursues promising technologies to support the country’s warfighters:

“Many of the thought leaders within DOD, like Ms. Heidi Shyu of OUSD R&E, and Mr. Michael Brown, former head of DIU, have highlighted the ‘valley of death’ for promising technologies. These technologies are usually being delivered by small, innovative companies. 

Although the DOD has been somewhat successful in demonstrating how innovative technologies can provide a clear warfighting advantage, there has been a great deal of difficulty in moving these technologies into programs of record. I believe one of the major hurdles is the DOD acquisition process. 

This process is focused on buying hardware-centric platforms with extended lifetimes. However, today’s advanced technologies are focused on network-centric software solutions with rapid production spins and limited lifetimes. The platforms and the hardware are still important, but without the network effect, there is not a ubiquitous connection of sensors to shooters for a maximum combined arms effect.”

Click here to read the full interview with Parry Labs COO Aydin Mohtashamian, and visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.

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GovCon Expert Mark Amtower: How Small Contractors Can Get Around Client Visibility, Credibility Issues
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GovCon Expert Mark Amtower: How Small Contractors Can Get Around Client Visibility, Credibility Issues

Mark Amtower, a managing partner of Amtower & Co. and a member of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Expert program, recently posted his latest feature via LinkedIn to discuss the challenge that small contractors have building familiarity and favorability with customers to drive company growth in the relationship-centric federal landscape.

“There are reasons some companies win more than others, and some may be beyond your control, like the size of some companies, or the number of feet they have on the street. And other internal resources,” GovCon Expert Mark Amtower explained.

He continued, “But large companies are not the only companies that win regularly. I’ve seen and work with mid-tier and small contractors that win regularly because they do several things right.”

Amtower also detailed that the first thing a contractor should do is define a critical area of expertise and begin generating content that truly showcases the company’s deep knowledge and team in that area of expertise.

“The content needs to be relevant to the agencies you seek to work with, so don’t produce content that is too broad or general,” GovCon Expert Mark Amtower. “If you produce good content, and reach out to the right people in the target agency, the problem of ‘the customer doesn’t know us’ starts to go away.”

Click here to read the full article from GovCon Expert Mark Amtower.

About GovCon Expert Mark Amtower

Since 2009, Amtower has been coaching GovCon companies and individuals on leveraging LinkedIn. It’s not about learning how to be “on” LinkedIn. It’s about learning how to more fully leverage LinkedIn to market the Federal government in ways that were never possible before.

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GAO: Cybersecurity, Service Procurement Among Challenges in Agency Cloud Transition
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GAO: Cybersecurity, Service Procurement Among Challenges in Agency Cloud Transition

The Government Accountability Office has identified four challenges that federal agencies should address as they move to the cloud and these are ensuring cybersecurity, procuring cloud services, tracking savings and costs and maintaining a skilled workforce.

When it comes to cloud acquisition, GAO found that some of the agencies did not always integrate key practices for service level agreements into their contracts for cloud services, such as specifying how networks and data will be managed and responsibilities for notifying the agency in the event of a security breach, according to a report published Wednesday.

GAO recommended that agencies create guidance that includes key practices for such agreements.

The congressional watchdog said most of the agencies continue to utilize cloud services that were not certified under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program.

According to the report, four of the major agencies GAO picked for a detailed assessment do not always include in their cloud security plans the required information and incorporate summaries of security control test results in security review reports.

GAO called on the Office of Management and Budget to hold federal agencies accountable for cloud service authorization via FedRAMP.

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Senators Cite Need for Senate-Confirmed Leaders at Social Security Administration
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Senators Cite Need for Senate-Confirmed Leaders at Social Security Administration

A group of senators called on President Biden through a letter to nominate a commissioner and deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration to help address the challenges facing the agency when it comes to delivering services to citizens.

The lawmakers said in the letter dated Tuesday more than 70 million individuals receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits on a monthly basis and “older Americans make up about four out of every five beneficiaries.”

The legislators also cited the need to have Senate-confirmed leaders at SSA to help address labor-management issues and falling employee satisfaction at the agency.

“Permanent, Senate-confirmed leadership at the agency will help improve this longstanding challenge for the agency and its employees,” they noted.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Tom Carper, D-Del., were among the letter’s signatories.

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UK Seeks to Deepen Defense Cyber Cooperation With US Through New Academy
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UK Seeks to Deepen Defense Cyber Cooperation With US Through New Academy

The U.K. defense ministry has announced a $54 million investment in an academy to support the training of cybersecurity professionals and share ideas and knowledge with the U.S. and other international partners in cyberspace operations.

The U.K. government said Wednesday the defense cyber academy will come up with domestic and international courses to further develop the country’s cyber profession and provide cybersecurity training for defense personnel to prepare for future NATO, multidomain and joint operations.

The academy will work with industry and academia to improve research and higher education programs and collaborate with international allies to develop and implement cybersecurity best practices.

Ben Wallace, U.K. defense secretary, said defense cooperation between the U.S. and the U.K. will continue to broaden in the coming decades and the cyber academy will build on that collaboration to help fight cybersecurity threats.

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USPTO Appoints 5 Federal Agency Leaders to Inclusive Innovation Council; Kathi Vidal Quoted
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USPTO Appoints 5 Federal Agency Leaders to Inclusive Innovation Council; Kathi Vidal Quoted

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has appointed five additional federal officials to serve as co-vice chairs of a multiagency council that aims to develop a national strategy that promotes inclusive and expansive innovation in domestic entrepreneurship.

Federal representatives of the Council for Inclusive Innovation will work with members who come from the academic, nonprofit and commercial sectors, USPTO said Tuesday.

Gina Raimondo, secretary at the Department of Commerce, serves as the group’s chair and USPTO Director Kathi Vidal is the vice chair.

“Our nation’s diversity is what makes us stronger and more competitive. A more inclusive and expansive intellectual property economy will create new jobs with higher wages and promote economic prosperity for all—from those in all socio-economic classes as well as veterans, youth, retirees, to those who identify as diverse,” Vidal said.

The newly appointed co-vice chairs are:

  • Alejandra Castillo, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development
  • Donald Cravins Jr., undersecretary of commerce for minority business development
  • Laurie Locascio, undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology, and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation
  • Shira Perlmutter, director of the U.S. Copyright Office
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CACI Receives DOD Recognition for Mentorship of Small Business Partner; Dan Cuviello Quoted
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CACI Receives DOD Recognition for Mentorship of Small Business Partner; Dan Cuviello Quoted

The Department of Defense has honored CACI International with the Nunn-Perry Award for its support and partnership with a small disadvantaged business that specializes in software development and information technology management services.

The recognition highlighted CACI’s team up with CDIT, a small business enterprise in Louisiana, under the DOD Mentor-Protege Program, the Reston, Virginia-based government contractor said Wednesday.

As part of the partnership, CACI worked with Morgan State University to provide CDIT with strategic planning and quality management training that helped the small business earn ISO 9001, ISO 27001, HUBZone and CMMI-DEV Level 3 industry certifications.

It has also driven growth at CDIT, which reported a 323 percent gain in annual gross revenues and a 188 percent increase in workforce this year.

In addition, the mentorship has helped the U.S. Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command boost global logistics delivery and quality of life support through expanded industrial base.

“CACI is committed to supporting the DOD’s critical missions and introducing them to new businesses that can help them achieve their goals,” said Dan Cuviello, senior vice president of business development at CACI.

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