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Intelsat Announces David Wajsgras as CEO
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Intelsat Announces David Wajsgras as CEO

Intelsat, operator of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial network, announced on Monday that David Wajsgras, aerospace industry executive of more than two decades as well as a six-time Wash100 Award recipient, has been named as the company’s next CEO, effective April 4th.

Wajsgras will succeed Stephen Spengler, who previously announced his retirement plans back in Oct. 2021. Lisa Hammitt, chairperson of the Intelsat Board of Directors, commented that Spengler made tremendous contributions to the company for 18 years and has greatly earned his rest following his accomplishments over his seven year tenure in the role.

“Intelsat has a leading position in the market and a strong, global team of professionals,” said Wajsgras. “While the company has made history over nearly 60 years, it’s Intelsat’s future that excites me most. With a focus on customers and a commitment to delivering on our promises, we’re ready to write the next chapter in the story of communications and connectivity.”

Wajsgras has two decades of experience at the senior executive management level and at the director level since 2020. Over the course of his illustrious federal career, Wajsgras has served in a range of significant senior leadership roles with multiple companies to provide operational, strategic and financial leadership in both the commercial and defense industries.

Most recently, Wajsgras served as president of Raytheon’s global, $7.5-billion, advanced-technology Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) business between March 2015 and April 2020. Before joining the company as its chief financial officer, Wajsgras was the executive vice president and chief financial officer at the Lear Corporation.

“Dave Wajsgras is a results-oriented leader with a great track record of performance throughout his career,” Hammitt explained. “He develops talent and builds teams, thinks and acts strategically, and engages positively with customers and other stakeholders to the benefit of the business. Dave is just the right person to lead Intelsat at this important time.”

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DHS Seeks Info on Crowdsourced Vulnerability Assessment Services for Bug Bounty Program
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DHS Seeks Info on Crowdsourced Vulnerability Assessment Services for Bug Bounty Program

The Department of Homeland Security is looking for companies that can help conduct crowdsourced competitions aimed toward scanning its systems for vulnerabilities in exchange for financial payments.

DHS will accept responses for its request for information on crowdsourced vulnerability assessment services in support of the recently approved Hack DHS program until March 17, according to a SAM.gov notice.

The agency plans to award an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to task a selected company to crowdsource for vulnerability discovery and disclosure services across networks, platforms and information systems.

The contract calls for six time-boxed challenges and two continuous challenges during the one-year base period, with up to 12 time-boxed and five continuous competitions during four one-year option periods, at its facilities and DHS offices in the Washington area.

According to the agency, crowdsourced services are part of a cybersecurity strategy to proactively protect its computer networks and systems.

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Next Phase of DHS University Engagement Program Scheduled for Spring; Kathryn Coulter Mitchell Quoted
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Next Phase of DHS University Engagement Program Scheduled for Spring; Kathryn Coulter Mitchell Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security’s  Science and Technology Directorate will launch the Hacking for Homeland Security program‘s fourth part this spring, in search of technologies that address specific security challenges.

Students at Carnegie Mellon University will propose technologies with the potential to help families reunite following the event of a natural disaster, in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, S&T said Friday.

The course will also challenge students to create an efficiency-boosting security baggage check technology for the Transportation Security Administration.

“H4HS taps into the energy and imagination of talented students to deliver forward-looking solutions to evolving security challenges facing the nation,” said Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, who serves as DHS’ undersecretary for science and technology on an acting basis.

S&T partners with BMNT Inc. and the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center to run H4HS as an educational partnership that engages with engineering, policy and business students.

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Vice Adm. Carl Chebi: Navy Needs Industry to Meet Integrated Tech Needs
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Vice Adm. Carl Chebi: Navy Needs Industry to Meet Integrated Tech Needs

Vice Adm. Carl Chebi, who leads Naval Air Systems Command, said at an event that government-industry collaboration is critical to addressing the Department of the Navy’s technology needs at an affordable cost.

Chebi talked about DON’s integrated capability requirements with other Navy officials at a panel discussion on Friday titled “One Team One Fight—Delivering the Warfighting Capability the Fleet Needs to Win, at a Cost We Can Afford,” NAVAIR said Friday.

The vice admiral said the fleet is now interested in integrated warfighting capabilities instead of single, disparate weapons, networks or platforms. These integrated capabilities should foster naval partnerships with systems commands, multiple programs, other service branches and industry companies, Chebi said.

He also noted that the Navy has additionally prioritized supplying the naval workforce with modern tools for hardware and software development.

NAVAIR Deputy Commander Tom Rudowsky; Steve Cricchi, executive director of Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division; Dan Carreno, executive director of Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division; and Roy Harris, Fleet Readiness Centers deputy commander, also spoke at the event.

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Bill Streilein Named Chief Technology Officer for JAIC
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Bill Streilein Named Chief Technology Officer for JAIC

Bill Streilein, formerly principal staff of the biotechnology and human systems division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, has joined the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center as chief technology officer.

He succeeds Nand Mulchandani, a technologist and serial entrepreneur who joined JAIC in 2019, the center said in a LinkedIn post.

In his previous role at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Streilein used his leadership and technical experience to advance the application of machine learning and AI to address national challenges in health, biosecurity and human performance.

He spent more than two decades at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he also served as head of the cyber analytics and decisions group and focused his research on cybersecurity, computer vision and passive network, among other areas.

Bill Streilein Named Chief Technology Officer for JAIC

Artificial intelligence will be the focal point of discussions at a March 10 in-person event to be hosted by ExecutiveBiz, sister site of ExecutiveGov. Click here to learn more about the forum, themed “Applying AI to Data for Cyber Hygiene and National Security.”

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Hawk Carlisle to Step Down as NDIA President & CEO; Arnold Punaro Quoted
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Hawk Carlisle to Step Down as NDIA President & CEO; Arnold Punaro Quoted

Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, a retired Air Force general, plans to step down from his dual role as president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association once the trade group identifies his successor.

NDIA said Friday its executive committee is working with Russell Reynolds Associates in efforts to find the most qualified candidate who can serve as the association’s next leader by April 1.

Carlisle has led NDIA since June 15, 2017 and was previously in charge of Air Combat Command at Langley AF Base in Virginia prior to his retirement from the military. The 39-year Air Force veteran logged more than 3,600 flying hours as a command pilot.

“His strong leadership helped grow our membership and further the strategic dialogue between the defense community and the legislative and executive branches even during COVID restrictions, when in-person events were canceled,” said Arnold Punaro, chair of the NDIA’s board of directors and a previous Wash100 Award winner.

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OMB Requests Supplemental Funding for Ukraine, COVID-19 Response Efforts; Shalanda Young Quoted
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OMB Requests Supplemental Funding for Ukraine, COVID-19 Response Efforts; Shalanda Young Quoted

The Office of Management and Budget has called on Congress to provide supplemental funding to deliver additional assistance to Ukraine and support ongoing COVID-19 response efforts in the U.S.

The Biden administration has given more than $1.4 billion in assistance to Ukraine since 2021 and is now requesting $10 billion to provide additional humanitarian, economic and security assistance in Ukraine and its neighboring region over the next few days, Shalanda Young, acting director of OMB, wrote in a blog published Thursday.

“Resources will also bolster regional efforts to counter Russian cyberattacks and disinformation, and strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s electrical grid by integrating it with the European Network of Transmission System of Operators,” Young noted.

OMB asked lawmakers to provide $22.5 billion in supplemental funding to help meet the needs for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, tests, invest in vaccine research and development and support global pandemic efforts.

The administration also urged Congress to provide full-year appropriations to help the departments of Defense and State, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies perform their missions.

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IARPA to Brief Proposers on Program for AI-Based Human Movement Data Analysis
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IARPA to Brief Proposers on Program for AI-Based Human Movement Data Analysis

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) has scheduled a virtual conference for March 22 to discuss an artificial technology development program with the goal of analyzing human movement data and identifying abnormal activity.

IARPA said Friday it looks to develop AI reasoning engines that can work to pick out unusual patterns across huge volumes of data and generate microsimulations of normal behaviors through the Hidden ActivitY Signal and Trajectory Anomaly Characterization effort.

The expects the HAYSTAC platform to help users create standards for the collection of information on individual movements while following expected privacy etiquette.

Interested offerors should register for the event before March 18 in order to join the discussion via the Webex video conference platform.

IARPA to Brief Proposers on Program for AI-Based Human Movement Data Analysis

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of ExecutiveGov, is scheduled to hold its first in-person event where government and industry representatives will offer insights on the applications of artificial intelligence in national security and cybersecurity. Visit the ExecutiveBiz site to learn more about the upcoming forum, themed “Applying AI to Data for Cyber Hygiene and National Security.”

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Sasha Baker on Integrated Deterrence in Upcoming National Defense Strategy
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Sasha Baker on Integrated Deterrence in Upcoming National Defense Strategy

Sasha Baker, deputy undersecretary for policy at the Department of Defense, said integrated deterrence will be at the core of the upcoming National Defense Strategy, which will integrate the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review, DOD News reported Friday.

“As directed by the president, the NPR has examined opportunities to reduce the role of nuclear weapons while maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent and a credible extended deterrence,” Baker said.

“In order to do so we will continue to sustain and modernize U.S. nuclear capabilities. And as we develop and implement integrated deterrence, nuclear weapons will continue to serve a unique role in our defense strategy,” she added.

Baker described integrated deterrence as a framework meant for operating across the spectrum of conflict and warfighting domains in collaboration with all national power components and U.S. allies.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein on System of Systems Integration Within Space Systems Command
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Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein on System of Systems Integration Within Space Systems Command

Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander of Space Systems Command, said “system of systems integration” will be his primary responsibility and that integration of platforms across the Department of the Air Force’s space programs will be a key priority, SpaceNews reported Friday.

“I want the entire command focused on the threat and countering the threat,” Guetlein said. He added that “unprecedented levels of integration and networking” are needed to fight the threat.

As system of systems integrator, SSC said Guetlein will serve as an adviser to DAF’s space milestone decision authorities with regard to the integration of space capabilities into the space enterprise and will oversee staffing, contracting, personnel management, security and budget execution activities.

His remarks coincided with the disclosure of details by Space Force leaders of the command’s reorganization. SSC’s new structure comes with five program executive offices: assured access to space; battle management command, control and communications; space domain awareness and combat power; communications and positioning, navigation and timing; and space sensing.

SSC said the five PEOs will focus on the lifecycle of U.S. space capabilities and would help inform requirements, budget and acquisition decisions.

The command also announced the formation of a space systems integration office to ensure a unity of effort across joint forces and mission areas. Claire Leon, former executive at Boeing and previous head of the national security space launch program, was tapped in January to lead the office.

Other offices recently formed within SSC as part of the restructuring effort are the international affairs, warfighting integration, commercial services and front door offices.

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