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Attorney John Coffey Confirmed by Senate to Become Navy Department’s General Counsel
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Attorney John Coffey Confirmed by Senate to Become Navy Department’s General Counsel

John Coffey, a partner of law firm Kramer Levin and former federal prosecutor, has received the Senate’s confirmation to serve as the Department of the Navy’s general counsel.

Coffey, a retired U.S. Navy captain, served as an active-duty naval flight officer in the Cold War and served as President George H.W. Bush’s personal military assistant while pursuing a law degree, Kramer Levin said Wednesday.

He most recently chaired Kramer Levin’s complex litigation group and handled a range of high-profile cases.

President Joe Biden nominated Coffey for the general counsel position in August 2021. Coffey’s return to public service grants him leadership over more than 800 civilian lawyers for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Coffey’s swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday.

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Pentagon Developing Integration Layer to Speed Up AI Development; Lt. Gen. Michael Groen Quoted
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Pentagon Developing Integration Layer to Speed Up AI Development; Lt. Gen. Michael Groen Quoted

The Department of Defense is working with unnamed commercial companies to build an integration layer where combatant commands can access data feeds for their artificial intelligence algorithms, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, director of the Joint AI Center, told Breaking Defense that the envisioned DOD-first environment would make the development of AI technologies easier for faster deployment across the force.

Groen, who was part of a National Defense Industry Association 2021 Expeditionary Warfare Conference panel, explained that such a layer would remove the need for COCOMs to look for sources of relevant information by themselves and curate each data stream separately.

“We need the ability to make application generation — the development of apps — very easy and quick by providing the background resources and link that you need to generate an application,” explained the general, also a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient.

He declined to reveal the exact funding the three-year layer development effort needed. The layer is part of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Initiative, which aims at helping COCOMs streamline their decision-making processes through AI technologies.

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GovCon Expert Jim McAleese: Secretary Christine Wormuth on Army’s Priorities
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GovCon Expert Jim McAleese: Secretary Christine Wormuth on Army’s Priorities

Consulting firm McAleese & Associates has issued a report on the U.S. Army’s priorities as discussed by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth at a virtual fireside chat event Tuesday.

Wormuth noted that the Army should be put “on a sustainable path” to implement multidomain operations and must be “data-centric” because “data will be the new ammunition on the battlefield,” Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese & Associates and a three-time Wash100 winner, reported.

She said cloud computing is foundational and that the Army should avoid data silos and facilitate data sharing by adopting common data standards.

She highlighted that the Army will serve as the “backbone of joint operations” in the potential fight against China and the “tip of the spear” in the potential Russia fight.

According to Wormuth, the military branch must make “hard choices” in the 2023-2027 timeframe and must advance the modernization of all six cross-functional team areas, including long range precision fires, future vertical lift and synthetic training environment.

To achieve survivability, Wormuth said each of the “31 + 4” modernization programs must be affordable and fieldable and must perform well.

During the virtual conversation, she also touched on the service’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, Integrated Visual Augmentation System, Project Convergence 2022, vaccine mandate and the newly released climate strategy.

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SEC Introduces Cyber Risk Management Rules for Investment Funds, Advisers; Gary Gensler Quoted
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SEC Introduces Cyber Risk Management Rules for Investment Funds, Advisers; Gary Gensler Quoted

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments and rules that would require registered investment advisers and funds to implement cybersecurity procedures and policies to protect fund investors and advisory clients from cyberthreats.

The proposal would direct advisers and funds to report major cyber incidents to the SEC using a new confidential form and publicly reveal in their registration statements and brochures those incidents and other cyber risks that happened in the last two fiscal years, the commission said Wednesday.

SEC also proposed recordkeeping requirements for investment companies and advisers in order to improve the availability of data and enable the SEC to facilitate inspection and enforcement operations.

“Cyber risk relates to each part of the SEC’s three-part mission, and in particular to our goals of protecting investors and maintaining orderly markets,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

“The proposed rules and amendments are designed to enhance cybersecurity preparedness and could improve investor confidence in the resiliency of advisers and funds against cybersecurity threats and attacks,” added Gensler.

The proposed rules will be open for public comments once published in the Federal Register or on the commission’s website.

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Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations
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Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations

Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, has approved nine advisory committees to resume operations after considering recommendations of a zero-based review of all advisory boards within DOD.

In February 2021, Austin directed the immediate suspension of all 42 advisory boards to make way for the review as part of a push to align the efforts of such panels with the National Defense Strategy and other critical strategic priorities.

The DOD advisory boards to be reinstated are the: 

  • Advisory Board for the National Reconnaissance Office
  • Army Education Advisory Committee
  • Board of Regents, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
  • Board of Visitors for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
  • Defense Innovation Board
  • Education for Seapower Advisory Board
  • National Security Agency Emerging Technologies Panel
  • National Security Education Board
  • Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Scientific Advisory Board

The Pentagon said it is still considering recommendations for other committees and will disclose the results in the next few weeks.

The move came after Austin approved 16 advisory boards to restart operations in September.

Lloyd Austin OKs 9 More DOD Advisory Boards to Resume Operations

Visit the Wash100 site to cast a vote for Lloyd Austin as one of your 10 favorite GovCon leaders who help shape the narrative and conversation surrounding the government contracting sector.

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White House Unveils Updated Critical and Emerging Tech List
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White House Unveils Updated Critical and Emerging Tech List

The White House has issued an updated list of critical and emerging technologies that are important to U.S. national security.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy led a deliberative process via the National Science and Technology Council and in coordination with the National Security Council to develop the updated CET list.

Technology areas cited in the list include advanced computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, biotechnologies, communication and networking technologies, directed energy, hypersonics, quantum information technologies, semiconductors and electronics, financial technologies, human-machine interfaces and space technologies and systems.

According to the document, the 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance has three objectives and those are safeguarding the security of U.S. citizens, expanding economic prosperity and opportunity and defending democratic values and the CETs in the updated list could help meet those objectives.

Each CET area includes a set of subfields. Under advance computing, for instance, subfields include supercomputing, edge computing, cloud computing and data storage.

Meanwhile, propulsion, aerodynamics and control, defense, materials and detection, tracking and characterization are the subfields of the hypersonics tech area.

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House OKs Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through March 11
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House OKs Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through March 11

The House on Tuesday voted 272-162 to pass a continuing resolution that would fund government operations at current funding levels through March 11 and provide time to address appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement published Tuesday the stopgap measure is a result of “bipartisan, bicameral negotiation to keep the government up and running.”

“We are very close to an agreement and I am eager to move this process forward. I have every expectation that we can finalize a framework in short order and then work together to fill in the details and enact an omnibus,” DeLauro added.

NPR reported that the legislation is now headed to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the upper chamber will work on the measure before the current continuing resolution expires on Feb. 18.

“While negotiations on a full-year funding agreement continue, we will in the meantime avoid a pointless and costly government shutdown,” Schumer said Tuesday. “This CR provides a little more time to reach a deal for a spending package. It is the responsible and prudent path forward that eliminates the risk of a shutdown.”

The House’s move marks the third time Congress has approved a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown since FY 2022 started in October.

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USAF Contracts Battelle for Research on Warfighter Safety and Health; Dr. Nicole Brennan Quoted
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USAF Contracts Battelle for Research on Warfighter Safety and Health; Dr. Nicole Brennan Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has awarded research and development contractor Battelle a five-year, $17 million contract to perform research for causes related to warfighter health in combat situations.

The contract aims to produce information about occupational and environmental exposures to USAF’s servicepeople through Batelle’s scientific and technological programs, the Columbus, Ohio-based company said Wednesday.

“Battelle brings a rare combination of world-class military force health protection experts, research, development, test and evaluation experts and specialized facilities to tackle this important work,” said Dr. Nicole Brennan, head of the public and military health division at Battelle.

The personnel Brennan mentions will, via the contract, be expected to provide Air Force planners, commanders, team leaders and healthcare officials with the data and findings critical to creating safe and health-conscious working conditions for airfighters.

The contract is a function of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Airman Readiness Medical Research rollout, which enumerated eight research goals. Battelle’s assignments attempt to undertake three: airman exposure health, cognitive and physiological performance and space exploration research.

Research and development efforts will take place in the 711th Human Performance Wing of the Airman Systems Directorate, under the auspices of the Biosciences Division. Batelle has a 15 year history doing health protection work at this location.

Force Health Protection Solutions Architect and S&T Integrator Paul Pirkle says this work has been beneficial to USAF warfighters in the past, in effect “bolstering readiness, enhancing combat lethality, and protecting the health of forces that project air power.”

Battelle is currently working under another contract from the U.S. Air Force focusing on computational and experimental chemistry and computer modeling procedures. That contract was announced in December 2021.

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Army Research Laboratory, JHU APL Conclude MEDE Material Science Research Program
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Army Research Laboratory, JHU APL Conclude MEDE Material Science Research Program

A 10-year basic research program on material science led by Johns Hopkins University has concluded, with a virtual culmination event co-hosted by Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory.

Twenty-five universities and research organizations from 13 states and three foreign nations composed the Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments Collaborative Research Alliance, whose materials-by-design strategy has resulted in computational design codes and protective materials for armor, the U.S. Army said Feb. 2.

Patrick Baker, ARL’s director, said MEDE achieved its goal by emphasizing the basic research elements of relevance, team and science.

MEDE academics and DEVCOM ARL researchers have produced  478 peer-reviewed articles, which have been cited more than 8,000 times. The effort’s findings in materials research have supported weight reduction and material performance.

MEDE’s culmination event virtually gathered over 180 individuals including those from U.S. Army Futures Command, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

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Air Force Seeks Sources of E-3G AWACS Aircraft Replacement
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Air Force Seeks Sources of E-3G AWACS Aircraft Replacement

The U.S. Air Force has released a request for information on aircraft that could replace its Boeing-built E-3G Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.

According to a sources sought notice on SAM.gov, the Air Force is looking for companies that can deliver at least two production representative prototype command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft before 2030.

The service branch wants potential replacements to feature the same capabilities as its existing AWACS fleet, including an on-board battle management command and control system, line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications, air refueling technology and an airborne moving target indication radar.

Interested companies can submit their responses to the Air Force on or before March 10, ahead of a planned contract award in the fiscal year 2023.

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