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Department of Veterans Affairs Announces 6 New Advisory, Executive Appointments; Denis McDonough Quoted
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Department of Veterans Affairs Announces 6 New Advisory, Executive Appointments; Denis McDonough Quoted

The Department of Veterans Affairs has made six new appointments to fill roles related to the areas of health, benefits, policy, information technology and enterprise integration.

Julia Cardozo, formerly an assistant state’s attorney for Maryland-based Montgomery County, has been appointed to serve as special assistant for policy under the VA secretary’s office, the department said Wednesday. She will support VA’s coordination with other federal agencies and the White House on policy-related efforts.

Kurt DelBene, formerly a Microsoft executive, will oversee VA’s digital transformation and IT assets as the department’s assistant secretary for information and technology. DelBene’s notable works include his contributions to the deployment of the Healthcare.gov website in 2013.

Guy Kiyokawa, formerly deputy director of the Defense Health Agency, will serve as VA’s assistant secretary for enterprise integration. He will advise the VA secretary and agency leadership on enterprise-related matters including risk management, strategic planning, policy, governance, interagency collaboration and data analytics.

Linda Torres, formerly a critical care nurse for the U.S. Army, has been named special assistant to the Veterans Health Administration’s undersecretary for health. She will provide advisory support to VHA’s senior leadership.

Maria Carolina Gonzalez-Prats will also perform an advisory role as special assistant to the Veterans Benefits Administration’s undersecretary for benefits. Her professional career of over two decades includes military service to the U.S. Army, as well as work for nonprofit and private sectors.

Julia Romero Gusse, formerly the director of Arizona State University’s Veterans Upward Bound program, will serve as a senior adviser to the undersecretary for benefits. She formerly served as a cryptologic technician for the National Security Agency.

The six newly appointed executives join VA as Jenny Wang and Shawn Turner step down from their roles at the agency.

“We want to thank Jenny Wang who served as director of mission operations and Shawn Turner who was the senior adviser for strategic engagement,” said Denis McDonough, VA secretary.

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OPM Grants Agencies Authority to Hire PWDs Amid Infrastructure Law Requirements
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OPM Grants Agencies Authority to Hire PWDs Amid Infrastructure Law Requirements

The Office of Personnel Management is allowing agencies to hire people with disabilities in response to workforce requirements imposed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

The law, which aims to modernize U.S. infrastructure, requires agencies to hire climate scientists, civil engineers and other workers necessary to achieve its goal.

OPM has granted agencies the use of an excepted service Schedule A authority, which enables PWD hiring, to fill temporary positions for up to a year. The authority is not applicable to roles with existing direct hire authorities and is effective only through Sept. 30, 2027.

IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, seeks to update the country’s roads, transit and rail systems, bridges, seaports, airports, internet and water systems.

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NRO Launches NROL-87 Reconnaissance Payload on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket
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NRO Launches NROL-87 Reconnaissance Payload on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

A National Reconnaissance Office national security payload has reached space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable rocket during the agency’s first launch in 2022 and eighth in 24 months.

The NROL-87 mission placed a classified spacecraft into an orbit that would provide support U.S. overhead reconnaissance operations, the intelligence agency said Wednesday.

The satellite and Falcon 9 lifted off at Vanderberg Space Force Base in California, with the rocket’s reusable booster landing safely at the facility’s Landing Zone 4.

The mission is the first Falcon 9 launch service NRO procured from SpaceX from the National Security Space Launch acquisition contract 

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DARPA Deputy Chief Peter Highnam to Set for UK Research Agency CEO Role
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DARPA Deputy Chief Peter Highnam to Set for UK Research Agency CEO Role

Peter Highnam, deputy director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is set to leave the U.S. on May 3 for the U.K. to lead Britain’s new inventions organization.

Highnam will serve as the inaugural CEO of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, which is tasked to invest in high-risk innovation and discovery projects to benefit the U.K., the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

The U.K.-born official brings to the British agency experience holding leadership positions at DARPA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency, as well as working with the Department of Health and Human Services.

“His appointment as CEO from DARPA is emblematic of the strong partnership between our two countries, and I look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with ARIA,” noted Heidi Shyu, DOD undersecretary for research and engineering and a previous Wash100 Award recipient.

Partly modeled from DARPA, ARIA is funded using over $1 billion in investments from the U.K. government, according to a report.

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Army Material Command Chief to Discuss $16B Industrial Base Modernization Plan With Service Leaders
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Army Material Command Chief to Discuss $16B Industrial Base Modernization Plan With Service Leaders

Gen. Ed Daly, head of Army Materiel Command, is set to brief U.S. Army leaders on a $16 billion plan of modernizing the service branch’s organic industrial base, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

He told reporters at a Defense Writers Group roundtable that the Army needs to invest in updating its mostly World War 2-era depots, arsenals and ammunition plants to support the military’s 21st-century requirements.

According to the general, the strategy would span 15 years and address various issues such as supply chain vulnerabilities caused by domestic and offshore production and an outdated organic industrial base personnel.

He noted that one obstacle facing the plan is balancing the industrial base to support Army warfighting needs while undergoing modernization.

Following the briefing with Army heads, Daly said he will then discuss the strategy with lawmakers in Congress.

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DHS Establishes Cyber Safety Review Board
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DHS Establishes Cyber Safety Review Board

The Department of Homeland Security is creating a new board that will assemble after major cyber incidents to review and respond to such events, CyberScoop reported Wednesday. DHS is establishing the Cyber Safety Review Board in accordance with the cybersecurity executive order issued in May 2021.

The CSRB may provide information, advice and recommendations for the DHS secretary to help improve cybersecurity and incident response policy and practices, according to a Federal Register notice published Thursday.

The board will consist of no more than 20 members appointed by the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Members will include at least one representative from DHS, CISA, National Security Agency, departments of Defense and Justice and the FBI.

“CSRB members will also include individuals from private sector entities to include appropriate cybersecurity or software suppliers,” the notice states.

Rob Silvers, the undersecretary for strategy, policy and plans at DHS, will serve as the inaugural chair of the board for a two-year term.

According to CyberScoop, the board seeks to imitate the National Transportation Safety Board, a federal agency that reviews and investigates civil aviation accidents.

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Heidi Shyu Announces Pentagon’s National Defense Science & Tech Strategy
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Heidi Shyu Announces Pentagon’s National Defense Science & Tech Strategy

Heidi Shyu, undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said her office will spearhead a new science and technology strategy that will serve as a roadmap for the U.S. military to strengthen its technological advantage over strategic competitors.

Shyu wrote in the Tuesday memo that the DOD strategy will be structured around the pillars of mission focus, foundation building and succeeding through teamwork and informed by the 2022 National Defense Strategy.

She said there are 14 critical tech areas that are key to maintaining U.S. national security. These tech areas have been classified into three categories: seed areas of emerging opportunity, effective adoption areas and defense-specific areas.

“By focusing efforts and investments into these 14 critical technology areas, the Department will accelerate transitioning key capabilities to the Military Services and Combatant Commands,” Shyu wrote in the memo.

The seed areas of emerging opportunity category includes biotechnology, quantum science, future generation wireless technology of Future G and advanced materials, while directed energy, hypersonics and integrated sensing and cyber are under the defense-specific areas.

The effective adoption areas category covers trusted AI and autonomy; integrated network systems-of-systems; microelectronics; space technology; renewable energy generation and storage; advanced computing and software; and human-machine interfaces.

Shyu said her office will develop and rapidly prototype critical technologies and advance joint experimentation to facilitate the delivery of capabilities to warfighters while supporting reforms to DOD’s resource allocation processes and pursuing “novel mechanisms and alternative pathways to rapidly field technologies.”

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OSTP Seeks Input to Inform Update to AI R&D Strategic Plan; Lynne Parker Quoted
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OSTP Seeks Input to Inform Update to AI R&D Strategic Plan; Lynne Parker Quoted

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is soliciting input from interested stakeholders as it plans to revise a strategic plan to reflect and include updated priorities related to artificial intelligence research and development efforts.

OSTP is updating the National AI Research and Development Strategic Plan in accordance with the requirements of the National AI Initiative Act of 2020 that became law in January 2021 as part of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, according to a request for information published Wednesday.

Strategic aims under the 2019 strategic plan include making long-term investments in AI research, developing effective methods for human-AI collaboration and understanding and addressing the ethical, legal and societal implications of AI.

Interested stakeholders could suggest changes to the plan’s strategic aims and recommend AI R&D focus areas that could develop platforms to address equity, health care, climate changes and other societal issues.

OSTP will also welcome feedback on how AI research could help “address the underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in the AI workforce” and insights on strategic directions with regard to international cooperation on AI research.

“The pace of AI innovation today means that an AI R&D strategy from just a few years ago can rapidly become out of date,” said Lynne Parker, director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office.

“Establishing a regular cadence of updates to the AI R&D strategic plan will ensure that Federal investment priorities keep pace with the rapidly evolving technical environment and drive U.S. AI innovation to new heights,” Parker added.

Responses to the RFI are due March 4.

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Sancorp to Support DOD AI Endeavors Under $250M BPA; President Frank Sanchez Quoted
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Sancorp to Support DOD AI Endeavors Under $250M BPA; President Frank Sanchez Quoted

Sancorp Consulting has landed a spot on a potential five-year, $250 million blank purchase agreement from the Department of Defense to administer test and evaluation support.

The Falls Church, Virginia-based company said Wednesday that it is under agreement to offer artificial intelligence-based services, including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision and robotics, among others.

Sancorp founder and President Frank Sanchez said the company is excited to build on their support of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and the DoD more broadly via AI T&E.

“We look forward to this continued partnership with the DoD to support our warfighters and ensure that the U.S. smartly leverages AI to outperform our adversaries,” Sanchez said.

The current award follows a previous JAIC and DoD award for Sancorp, announced in April 2021. That contract is a $100 million Artificial Intelligence Talent BPA that funds work with cognitive and systems engineering, operations research and user experience design.

The services Sancorp routinely provides to DoD clients include counterintelligence and security, in addition to insider threat and identity operations. They have working relationships with the U.S. Army, the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and the DoD Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Sancorp has recently formulated a Solutions Lab that is primed for work on artificial intelligence projects such as the work mandated by their recent BPAs.

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GAO Reviews VA EHR Data Migration Initiative
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GAO Reviews VA EHR Data Migration Initiative

The Government Accountability Office has found problems with the quality of electronic health data migrated to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ new records system that could pose risks to patient safety and jeopardize the accuracy, appropriateness and accessibility of information.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday VA transferred health data from its legacy systems to Cerner’s new electronic health records system as part of its EHR modernization program but risks to patient safety were identified during the initial deployment of the new system due to incomplete data migration.

The challenges were, in part, due to a failure to establish performance measures and goals for migrated data quality.

“Until VA uses such measures and goals to better ensure the quality of migrated data, the department could deploy a new EHR system that does not meet clinicians’ needs and poses risks to the continuity of patient care,” the report reads.

Moreover, VA started maintaining reporting capabilities and delivering new ones from the new system without identifying and engaging all key stakeholders.

The congressional watchdog has recommended that VA set performance measures and goals to ensure data quality and use a stakeholder register to improve the identification and engagement of all relevant stakeholders.

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