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Jacobs JV Wins $8.3B DOE Contract for Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup; Karen Wiemelt Quoted
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Jacobs JV Wins $8.3B DOE Contract for Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup; Karen Wiemelt Quoted

Jacobs has secured a potential ten-year, $8.3 billion Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract to perform environmental clean-up services in support of the Department of Energy’s mission.

The new indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract was awarded to United Cleanup Oak Ridge, a joint venture between Jacobs, Amentum and Honeywell, and it will replace the East Tennessee Technology Park contract Jacobs received in 2011, the company said Thursday.

Environmental clean-up work will be performed at Oak Ridge Reservation locations including the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Karen Wiemelt, senior vice president and general manager of energy, security and technology for Jacobs said the contract represents a continuation of the company’s long-standing relationship with the DOE and demonstrates Jacobs’ values of sustainability and positive community impact.

“Jacobs has supported the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) mission at Oak Ridge since 2003 to support the clean-up of the ORR and our commitment to creating and preserving more than 2,000 high-quality jobs in the area,” Wielemt explained.

Under the contract, UCOR and its team of pre-selected small businesses, which includes Environmental Alternatives, RSI EnTech, Strata-G and Longenecker & Associates, will perform clean-up support services such as designing, constructing and operating a new Environmental Management Disposal Facility as well as maintenance and operational activities at ORR sites.

Recently, Jacobs was also awarded a spot on a $1.14 billion Army Munition site cleanup contract to help the service branch address and mitigate munition-related environmental and public health risks.

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Gen. John Hyten on Integrated Air and Missile Defense, China’s Hypersonic Weapon Test
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Gen. John Hyten on Integrated Air and Missile Defense, China’s Hypersonic Weapon Test

Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, said he was “probably” going to green-light “today or tomorrow” a new Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) requirement, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.

IAMD is one of the components of the Joint Warfighting Concept that is key to all-domain operations and emerged from a capability gap assessment that sought to inform the Missile Defense Review.

Hyten noted that China has conducted “hundreds” of hypersonic weapons tests in the past five years, while the U.S. has carried out nine of such tests.

He also shared his insights on challenges facing the Department of Defense when it comes to developing hypersonic weapons, missile defense technology and other defense platforms.

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S2MARTS OTA Now Accommodates Both Research & Prototyping Projects
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S2MARTS OTA Now Accommodates Both Research & Prototyping Projects

The Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) contract vehicle now has the authority to execute research projects outside of an existing prototyping agreement.

The S2MARTS other transaction agreement can now accommodate both prototyping and basic, applied or advanced research projects through the 2371 authority, NSTXL, which manages the OTA, said Wednesday.

“Adding the 2371 authority is really exciting because this gives our clients the unique ability to advance from research to production all under one OTA vehicle,” said Brooke Pyne, director of S2MARTS.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division strategically consolidated research and prototyping into a single program to allow for a natural transition between the two phases.

NSTXL is offering free memberships under the S2MARTS research program to interested innovators, including new ones.

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OMB Releases Memo on Financial Assistance Transparency Reporting Requirements
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OMB Releases Memo on Financial Assistance Transparency Reporting Requirements

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a memorandum outlining new reporting requirements meant to improve transparency of financial assistance data in compliance with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act.

Shalanda Young, acting director of OMB, wrote in the Tuesday memo that the document seeks to guide agencies on additional financial data that should be reported to and posted on USAspending.gov. 

For competitive discretionary grants and cooperative agreements, agencies must report to USAspending.gov the data element funding opportunity number and funding opportunity goals text, starting Oct. 1, 2023.

Starting April 4, 2022, agencies should also report the data element GRM indirect cost federal share amount for cooperative agreements and competitive discretionary grants.

OMB also directed agencies to report all assistance listings and related funding for each federal financial assistance award and report the revised period of the performance end date for cooperative agreements and grants. These two requirements took effect Oct. 1st.

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DLA Uses Flexible Contracting Method to Meet Unique Customer Needs
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DLA Uses Flexible Contracting Method to Meet Unique Customer Needs

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is using specialized contracts to procure weapon system components, engineering and support services tailored specifically for the customer, DOD News reported Wednesday.

The captains of industry/supplier capabilities contracts (COI/SCCs) can accommodate various adjustments based on a customer’s unique needs. The agency can use COI/SCCs as umbrella contracts for multiple procurement models including direct delivery and performance-based logistics. 

COI/SCCs can apply various contract types and funding lines depending on customer requirements. This contracting approach addresses the U.S. Army’s need to streamline how the service buys blades for Chinook helicopters.

George Scheers, director of procurement operations at DLA Aviation, said the Army will transition from a performance-based logistics approach to the COI/SCC model following a collaboration between the agency and the service.

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LMI’s Karen Britton Appointed to George C. Marshall International Center Board of Directors
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LMI’s Karen Britton Appointed to George C. Marshall International Center Board of Directors

Karen Britton, chief digital officer and vice president of communications and marketing for LMI, has been appointed to the George C. Marshall International Center board of directors. LMI recently congratulated the new board member on her appointment in a LinkedIn post.

The George C. Marshall International Center is a Leesburg, Virginia-based non-profit organization which operates the historic house museum of Dodona Manor as part of its mission to develop visionary leaders on a global scale.

Britton, a certified Project Management Professional, joins the Center’s board with more than 25 years of experience delivering program management, customer relationships and strategic technology consulting services to organizations across public, private and non-profit sectors.

Prior to her role at LMI, Britton served as the White House chief information officer, under the Obama Administration, where she led a staff of 400 employees, oversaw a $46 million budget and spearheaded White House cybersecurity initiatives including Agile software development, cloud computing strategies and open-source approaches.

The newly appointed board member also previously served as deputy command information officer for Naval Sea Systems Command and taught as an adjunct faculty professor at the University of Maryland.

Additionally, Britton is a recipient of multiple recognitions including the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award as well as the National Women of Color in Technology Award.

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SAIC Raises $385K to Set New Company Record During Hunger Action Month; CEO Nazzic Keene Quoted
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SAIC Raises $385K to Set New Company Record During Hunger Action Month; CEO Nazzic Keene Quoted

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) announced on Thursday that the company raised more than $385,000 to combat food insecurity in the United States, which is the equivalent of more than $3.8 million meals for those in need, during September’s Hunger Action Month. 

Employees of SAIC contributed over $205,000 through a variety of fundraising activities and direct donations, with the remainder of the total amount coming from company contributions. 

“Not only did SAIC’s employees set new records for financial contributions, teams of employees across the country donated their time and energy to engage and give back to their communities,” said SAIC CEO and four-time Wash100 Award recipient Nazzic Keene. 

The total represents the most raised by the company in the eight years it has partnered with Feeding America to help provide meals to people in need, address food waste, and raise awareness of the issue of hunger.

“Food insecurity in America continues to present difficult challenges across the country and has been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Keene added. “I am grateful to all of the SAIC employees who went the extra mile to help people in need.”

Feeding America’s mission has taken on additional urgency this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated hunger in America and around the world. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 38 million Americans – including nearly 12 million children – face hunger in America.

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Shift5 Wins USSOCOM Contract for Weapons System Cybersecurity; Josh Lospinoso & Joe Lea Quoted
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Shift5 Wins USSOCOM Contract for Weapons System Cybersecurity; Josh Lospinoso & Joe Lea Quoted

Shift5 has secured a contract with the United States Special Operations Command to monitor the cyber health of weapons systems on U.S. Air Force operational aircraft.

Under the contract, the company will integrate its commercial hardware and software products, Shift5 Intake and Shift5 Engine, to provide the Air Force with real-time onboard cyber intrusion detection and monitoring services, the company said Thursday.

Josh Lospinoso, Shift5 CEO and co-founder said this contract represents important strides forward in the military’s cybersecurity capabilities and will allow the company to help the Air Force address mission obstacles.  

“Shift5’s solution provides cyber-enabled air superiority,” Lospinoso said. “Defending our air dominance in the cyber domain is perhaps the most critical national security challenge facing the Air Force today.”

Additionally, Shift5 will integrate a defensive software toolkit, which will enable Air Force Special Operations Command’s Mission Defense Teams to conduct cyber threat hunting and provide incident response on weapon platforms.

President of Shift5, Joe Lea noted that U.S. adversaries continue to develop advanced cyber capabilities, and this contract will enable Shift5 to equip MDTs with mission-critical tools to improve and increase visibility into mission-critical weapon systems.

This contract continues Shift5’s support of AFSOC MDTs, following the testing and configuration of the company’s cyber intrusion detection product from June 2020 to August 2021 through the Small Business Innovative Research contract vehicle.

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Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner: DISA Considers Command and Control a Top Priority
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Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner: DISA Considers Command and Control a Top Priority

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), said DISA’s new strategic plan has five lines of effort and the first one focuses on prioritizing command and control, the agency said Wednesday.

Skinner said prioritizing C2 capabilities and systems will enable DISA to secure a “high ground” advantage over external threats and near-peer competitors.

“The No.1 area in my eyes continues to be command and control. As a combat support agency, we cannot fail in our ability to deliver C2 to our senior leaders to the tactical edge,” he said Wednesday at a conference.

Skinner noted that DISA must facilitate across future battlefields the distribution of via Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), which will help streamline C2 initiatives by linking sensors from various service branches into a single network.

“DISA is at the heart of C2 and the heart of JADC2. That is why we are prioritizing command and control,” he said. “We have to organize the battlespace to ensure 100% is secured.”

Skinner also discussed at the event the strategic plan’s other lines of effort through fiscal year 2024: driving force readiness through innovation; leveraging data as a center of gravity; harmonizing cybersecurity and user experience and empowering the workforce.

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DOE to Provide $209M for Electric Vehicle Battery Research; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE to Provide $209M for Electric Vehicle Battery Research; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy (DOE) has committed $209 million in funding to 26 national laboratory projects that are aimed at improving advanced lithium batteries for connected and electric-powered vehicles.

The awardees will research ways to reduce the cost and size of lithium batteries, enable full charging in less than 15 minutes, prevent energy grid impacts on electric vehicles, streamline car-to-car communications and reduce power consumption, DOE said Wednesday.

According to the agency, the projects will help strengthen the domestic battery supply chain of the U.S., which currently relies mostly on advanced components built in other countries.

“By developing smarter vehicle batteries, we can make these technologies cheaper and more accessible, while positioning America to [become] a global leader of EV infrastructure production and clean energy jobs,” explained Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

The funding comes at the same time as the launch of Li-Bridge, a public-private partnership by the agency’s Argonne National Laboratory with a goal of bridging gaps in the U.S. supply chain.

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