Court Rejects Biden Administration’s Motion to Lift Order Against Vaccination Mandate
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Court Rejects Biden Administration’s Motion to Lift Order Against Vaccination Mandate

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has rejected the Biden administration’s request to lift a court order to temporarily block the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, Bloomberg Law reported Friday.

The Department of Justice filed a motion for an emergency stay to pause a preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court judge in Kentucky arguing that the order will cause irreparable harm to the government’s ability to work with federal contractors in the three states.

In September, President Biden signed an executive order mandating federal workers to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued the injunction against the vaccine requirement on Nov. 30 and declined a similar request to lift the stay on Dec. 10, prompting the Biden administration to appeal to the Sixth Circuit.

Judge R. Stan Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia also ruled to halt the implementation of the vaccination mandate for federal contractors across thecountry, stating that the president likely exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act.

The Biden administration has a pending request at the Atlanta-based Eleventh Circuit to dismantle the nationwide injunction against the mandatory inoculation rule. The White House has set a Jan. 4th deadline for federal contractors to comply with the requirement.

The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment requires Department of Defense components to submit weekly reports about federal contractors who have refused to sign a contract clause to implement the mandate.

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BAE Systems Awarded $101.2M Navy Contract for USS Mitscher Modernization
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BAE Systems Awarded $101.2M Navy Contract for USS Mitscher Modernization

BAE Systems has been awarded a one-year, $1.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy for maintenance and modernization on the USS Mitscher (DDG 57), a guided-missile destroyer. If all options are exercised, the docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract award could reach $101.2 million.

The defense contractor said Thursday that it will dry-dock the ship in its Norfolk, Virginia shipyard from March 2022 to April 2023. BAE will then perform underwater hull preservation work, support the Navy’s restoration of the ship’s Aegis combat system as well as its command and control equipment and refurbish living spaces for the ship’s 285 crewmembers.

There are over 1,100 personnel on hand at BAE’s Norfolk, Virginia shipyard, which Vice President and General Manager of BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair Mike Burneau anticipates as an asset to the process.

“With our subcontractor teammates and Navy personnel alongside, we will apply our experience with the DDG class to ensure this ship returns to the fleet mission-ready and fully capable to support our national security,” Burneau said.

USS Mitscher was commissioned in 1994 and named after Admiral Marc Mitscher, commander of the Navy’s main striking force during the second half of World War II.

In June 2021, BAE Systems was tapped to perform maintenance and modernization on the USS San Diego (LPD 22), an amphibious transport dock.

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Small Businesses Secure DOE Funds to Pursue Renewable Energy Tech Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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Small Businesses Secure DOE Funds to Pursue Renewable Energy Tech Projects; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy has issued $35 million in funding awards to 158 small business-led projects that will focus on developing technologies designed to promote clean energy and limit climate change impacts. 

DOE said Thursday the grants will come from the department’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs to support studies in areas such as plastic recycling, engineering simulation, carbon capture and hydrogen energy storage.

Birch Biosciences secured $256,492 to develop a synthetic biology-based closed-loop process to recycle plastic materials.

Novoreach Technologies aims to create a carbon capture system under a $200,000 grant and ExMat Research will work on a phosphorus monitoring sensor with its $250,000 award.

“Supporting small businesses will ensure we are tapping into all of America’s talent to develop clean energy technologies that will help us tackle the climate crisis,” said DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

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Mark Andress on NGA’s Cloud, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity Efforts in 2022
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Mark Andress on NGA’s Cloud, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity Efforts in 2022

Mark Andress, chief information officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said NGA is set to undergo several technology shifts in cloud, machine learning and cybersecurity in 2022 and one of the developments is the agency’s transition of workloads from the Commercial Cloud Services program to the intelligence community’s Commercial Cloud Enterprise contract, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

In November 2020, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle won spots on the C2E contract awarded by the CIA. Andress said the shift to the new contract “presents huge opportunities.”

For ML and artificial intelligence, he said his office is setting out the information technology infrastructure to support the integration of the technologies. He noted that the adoption of natural language processing has enabled NGA to “eliminate countless man hours” through the automation of GEOINT processing and dissemination.

Andress talked about NGA’s shift to zero trust approach.

“Where we have got a lot of work to do, and I know this is going to take a lot of time, is really getting at that relationship in zero trust between an individual and a data element,” he said at an event Thursday. “And how you scale that at the enterprise level? Trust no one for any piece of knowledge unless that connection has been validated. So that’s going to be where we focus a lot in the near term.”

He also mentioned the agency’s planned deployment of a “common operating environment,” release an updated software strategy and plans to harness commercial GEOINT products and services.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla Nominated to Lead Central Command
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Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla Nominated to Lead Central Command

Lt. Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Army’s 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as head of Central Command, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Kurilla, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, would be promoted to four-rank general and succeed Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie to oversee military operations in the Middle East if confirmed by the Senate.

Kurilla previously served as chief of staff at CENTCOM. His military career included time as commanding general of the 82nd airborne division, deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism at the Joint Staff and assistant commanding general at Joint Special Operations Command. He also served in the Gulf War and as a battalion commander in Mosul, Iraq.

His nomination comes as the current administration deals with the effects of U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence.

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Jane Pinelis Promoted to JAIC Chief of AI Assurance
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Jane Pinelis Promoted to JAIC Chief of AI Assurance

Jane Pinelis, formerly head of test and evaluation at the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, has elevated to the role of chief of AI assurance at JAIC.

She will bring to the role and JAIC’s Responsible AI portfolio her knowledge, leadership and experience in research and statistical analysis as DOD works to field trusted and ethical AI platforms, the center said in a LinkedIn post published Thursday.

In January 2020, Pinelis joined JAIC to serve as the center’s first chief of test and evaluation.

Prior to JAIC, she spent nearly four years at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where she served as director of test and evaluation of algorithmic warfare. She held various roles at the Institute for Defense Analysis, U.S. Marine Corps and CNA.

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Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual 2022 AI Summit on Feb. 16 to hear notable executive leaders within the GovCon sector discuss key AI advancements achieved over the past year and cutting-edge development strategies for 2022 and beyond.

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New NSWC Dahlgren Organization to Focus on High-Power Microwave Tech
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New NSWC Dahlgren Organization to Focus on High-Power Microwave Tech

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division has established a new division that will focus on high-power microwave weapon systems for the U.S.’ directed energy requirements.

The new NSWCDD HPM Weapons System Division was created from the former Integrated Engagement Systems Department in an effort to spur the continued growth of t to focus on the growth and development of high-power microwave technologies, Naval Sea Systems Command said Wednesday.

The new organization, led by longtime U.S. Navy high-energy lasers official Kevin Cogley, joins NSWCDD directed energy studies partner Air Force Research Laboratory as the two only military facilities in the U.S. with a dedicated division for HPM.

“The Dahlgren mission to deliver warfare systems to the fleet includes bringing forward new technical solutions like DE in general and HPM specifically, offering great promise to meet these goals,” explained Frank Peterkin, Navy senior technologies for directed energy.

The HPM Weapons System Division is part of a recent organization that saw the Integrated Engagement Systems Department split up into two organizations each for high-power microwave and high-energy lasers.

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USCYBERCOM to Virtually Announce New Academic Partners in Workforce Development Effort
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USCYBERCOM to Virtually Announce New Academic Partners in Workforce Development Effort

U.S. Cyber Command will run a virtual event to present the 84 newest member institutions of its Academic Engagement Network, an effort to fortify a workforce of cyber professionals.

The event, which is scheduled to occur on Thursday, will inform the new partners on program implementation plans covering the next nine months.

Faculty members and students will also receive access to specific program and planning information. USCYBERCOM’s academic partner network consists of 69 universities, four military service academies, four military war and staff colleges, nine minority-serving institutions and 13 community colleges.

“Cyber Command’s goal for the AEN is to strengthen our relationships and communication with these participating institutions,” said David Frederick, the command’s executive director.

USCYBERCOM aims for AEN to bolster efforts in the areas of future workforce, applied analytics, strategic issues and applied cyber research.

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David Spirk: DOD Eyes Expanded Data Partnerships to Improve Military Operations
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David Spirk: DOD Eyes Expanded Data Partnerships to Improve Military Operations

David Spirk, Department of Defense’s chief data officer and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, has revealed plans of speeding up information flow for military operations through expanded data partnerships between his organization and U.S. allies, FCW reported Wednesday.

Spirk told reporters during a Defense Writers Group event that he has been calling on allied data organizations to join an existing international council of chief data officers and has been in talks with NATO for improved data management collaborations.

According to the official, proper data organization brought on by partnerships would enable information workflows from the tactical edge to decision-making board rooms that will help senior leaders keep up with the competition.

Gen. James Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted in a separate event that partnerships would allow allies to gather a diverse set of data he said U.S. adversaries do not possess.

Meanwhile, Ellen Lord, DOD’s former acquisition chief, pointed out in an Atlantic Council event that any expanded data alliance would first require an improved and interoperable National Technology Industrial Base.

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Cyberspace Solarium Commission to Continue as Reformatted Group; Mark Montgomery Quoted
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Cyberspace Solarium Commission to Continue as Reformatted Group; Mark Montgomery Quoted

The Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which stood up in 2019, will soon shut down but then revive as a nonprofit this year, Defense One reported Wednesday.

Mark Montgomery, the commission’s executive director, told FCW that the revived group will consist of existing commissioners excluding Chris Inglis, who is currently the national cyber director.

Montgomery added that his team will also need to hire appropriate people to build the future nonprofit’s required workforce.

The commission’s life span of over two years resulted in almost a hundred cybersecurity recommendations for Congress. Its work has influenced cyber-focused policies including those related to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

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