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DOD Officials, Industry Leaders Discuss Challenges in Hypersonic Weapons Development
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DOD Officials, Industry Leaders Discuss Challenges in Hypersonic Weapons Development

Top officials from the Department of Defense have hosted a virtual round-table meeting with chief executives of 14 U.S. defense companies to discuss challenges facing the development of hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons systems.

Defense Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, a Wash100 Award recipient, chaired the industry round-table meeting where industry executives discussed issues in hypersonic weapons development, such as constraints in supply chain and production capacity, access to test facilities, talent shortages and government acquisition barriers, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The U.S. military lacks wide-open spaces on its missile test ranges for a thorough evaluation of new hypersonic weapons and is in need of upgraded modeling and simulation systems to test future adversarial threats, according to a private report from DOD’s test office obtained by Bloomberg News.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, joined the meeting, which included a question-and-answer session with CEOs moderated by Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and a fellow 2022 Wash100 awardee.

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SAIC Exec Gabe Camarillo Receives Senate Confirmation as Army Undersecretary
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SAIC Exec Gabe Camarillo Receives Senate Confirmation as Army Undersecretary

Gabe Camarillo, currently of SAIC and a former assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, has been named undersecretary of the U.S. Army.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Camarillo’s position in a session on the evening of Wednesday February 2, 2022, Camarillo announced in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.

“I’m honored and humbled to serve with our Soldiers and Army civilians in my second tour at the Pentagon. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” Camarillo wrote in the statement.

Camarillo has worked in senior-level military and defense-adjacent positions for over a decade. However, he began his career in the political arena, as a legislative assistant for House Rep. Calvin M. Dooley.

He then went on to work as an attorney for a number of years, before assuming a role as principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for the acquisition, logistics and technology department.

At SAIC, Camarillo entered as vice president of strategy and planning for the defense systems group and is now senior vice president of the company’s army business unit.

Undersecretary is the second-highest-ranking civilian official in the Department of the Army and reports to the secretary of the Army. These two positions are considered the senior leaders of the U.S. Army, along with the Army chief of staff and vice chief of staff.

Camarillo will succeed Christopher Lowman in the position, who has been acting under secretary since January 20, 2021. President Biden nominated Camarillo for the position in July 2021.

In April 2021, Camarillo sat down for an interview with ExecutiveBiz that touched on new strategies in SAIC’s business unit, as well as making strides and modernization efforts for the service branch, among other topics.

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Former Army Ammunition Chief Al Abramson Joins National Armaments Consortium as Customer Engagement VP
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Former Army Ammunition Chief Al Abramson Joins National Armaments Consortium as Customer Engagement VP

Al Abramson, former head of the U.S. Army’s armaments and ammunition joint program office, has been appointed as vice president of customer engagement by the National Armaments Consortium.

NAC said Thursday the retired Army brigadier general will be responsible for implementing a customer engagement strategy, managing relationships with current and potential customers, leading outreach programs and communicating with lawmakers.

Abramson will provide over three decades of military expertise to help the consortium in providing more than 950 companies access to ordnance, missile and energetics-related other transaction agreements with the Department of Defense.

“He brings unparalleled experience and leadership to the table, and he has a deep understanding of the armaments needs of our military and warfighters,” noted James Miller, chairman of NAC’s executive committee.

Abramson joined the consortium from Patricio Enterprises, where he worked as the management consulting company’s vice president of strategy and plans.

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Pentagon Issues Memo on Continuous Authorization to Operate
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Pentagon Issues Memo on Continuous Authorization to Operate

The Department of Defense has released a memorandum to provide defense agencies with guidance to enable their information systems to achieve a continuous authorization to operate as part of efforts to advance innovation while countering evolving cyber threats.

The memo states that there are three competencies the authorizing official should demonstrate to reach cATO: adoption of an approved DevSecOps reference design; ability to carry out active cyber defense to facilitate real-time cyberthreat response; and ongoing visibility of cyber activities within the system boundary and continuous monitoring of risk management framework controls, according to the memo.

The document highlighted the importance of having a continuous monitoring strategy to facilitate monitoring and assessment of all security controls within the security baseline of the information system and how the strategy relates to achieving a cATO.

For active cyber defense, a system should demonstrate its ability to field countermeasures to block cyber adversaries and authorizing official should maintain communications with cyber service providers, U.S. Cyber Command and other operational compoents to facilitate information sharing and take measures.

Although cATOs do not have an expiration date, such authorizations may be canceled due to changes in risk tolerance, poor cybersecurity posture, or a cyber incident that resulted from poor compliance with cyber practices, according to the memo.

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Executive Order Seeks to Minimize Disruptions on Federal Construction Projects
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Executive Order Seeks to Minimize Disruptions on Federal Construction Projects

President Biden on Friday is set to sign an executive order that would require the use of project labor agreements in federal construction projects worth over $35 million as part of efforts to alleviate coordination challenges and minimize disruptions on large projects.

The EO could affect federal construction contracting worth approximately $262 billion and help improve job quality for nearly 200,000 workers, The White House said Thursday.

The order would require the departments of Labor and Defense, along with the Office of Management Budget, to oversee a training strategy for 40,000 contracting employees to help implement the policy.

Through the EO, the current administration intends to improve the standards for bidders on federal contracts through PLAs, reduce uncertainty in the contracting process through the standardization of dispute settlement processes, work rules and compensation costs.

“The Order will only apply to provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that are direct federal procurement, which excludes construction projects financed through grant dollars to non-federal entities,” the White House fact sheet reads.

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DOD, GSA Begin Market Research for Carbon-Free Electricity
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DOD, GSA Begin Market Research for Carbon-Free Electricity

The Department of Defense and the General Services Administration are seeking information on vendors with capabilities to provide carbon-free electricity for the federal government.

The request for information from DOD and GSA came a month after the signing of an executive order that directs the federal government to consume 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions from federal operations and procurement by 2050, the agencies said in a joint release published Thursday.

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of defense and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said DOD has been one of the country’s largest energy users and adopting carbon-free electricity will not only help the department address climate change but also national security as it works to protect U.S. competitiveness in rapidly evolving energy markets. 

“The RFI we released today sends a clear signal to the market that the Department of Defense is well underway in our efforts to support President Biden’s Executive Order to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035,” added Hicks.

“Powering the federal government with 100 percent clean energy will mean more clean jobs in communities, more clean energy sources in the market, and a cleaner planet for everyone,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.

The agencies issued the RFI to ask industry for potential approaches to achieving the targets in the Federal Sustainability Plan, understand the industry’s capability to provide carbon-free electricity on a 24/7 basis and show intent to achieve targets set by the executive order using whole-of-government approach.

Responses to the RFI are due March 7.

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Maxar to Share Satellite Imagery with Europe, Africa, Middle East in Continued Partnership; EVP Tony Frazier Quoted
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Maxar to Share Satellite Imagery with Europe, Africa, Middle East in Continued Partnership; EVP Tony Frazier Quoted

Maxar Technologies has opted to extend its partnership with European Space Imaging and Space Imaging Middle East in a new five-year agreement to share satellite imagery.

The deal sees that the company will furnish the affiliated imaging partners with high-resolution imagery that will enable government and commercial use, the defense, space and geospatial intelligence services provider said on Thursday.

The imaging companies will then farm the satellite data out to users, who will implement it for purposes such as border security, disaster response and agriculture.

Tony Frazier, Maxar executive vice president and a five-time Wash100 Award winner, said the company is looking forward to opening access to their WorldView satellite imaging constellation to customers in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East.

“This agreement ensures European and Middle Eastern customers will have access to the highest quality satellite imagery and innovative products, such as our 15 cm HD imagery,” added Frazier, who is also general manager, public sector of Maxar Earth Intelligence.

Maxar has collaborated with the two companies for 11 years. In the new agreement, European Space Imaging has a reserved spot on the company’s WorldView satellite constellation at their ground station access point in Germany.

The deal will also fund upgrades to the ground station so that it can interface with Maxar’s next-gen WorldView Legion satellites.

Recently, in December 2021, Maxar secured over $100 million in deals that will help finance the company’s mission to impart satellite imagery to the international defense and intelligence sectors.

An aspect of those deals entails gaining access to the WorldView Legion satellite for which European Space Imaging is performing upgrades.

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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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