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DCSA Unveils 5-Year Strategic Plan
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DCSA Unveils 5-Year Strategic Plan

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has released an updated strategic plan that will serve as its roadmap for the next five years as a provider of integrated security services in alignment with national and Department of Defense priorities.

3 Strategic Priorities

DCSA said Tuesday the 2025–2030 Strategic Plan outlines the agency’s three strategic priorities.

Those priorities are moving the agency to full performance and integration in each mission, anticipating and preparing DCSA for the future by equipping the agency to confront an evolving threat landscape in 2040 and raising the level of understanding and recognition of DCSA as the premier provider of integrated security services for the federal government with external stakeholders.

Each of the three priorities comes with specific objectives.

To move DCSA to full performance, objectives include meeting mission requirements, fostering an elite workforce, formalizing integration and improving agency decision-making.

“With a focus on quality and efficiency, we will expand our capabilities and capacity, streamline our processes, integrate cutting-edge technologies, and build greater agility to adapt and scale in times of national need,” DCSA Director David Cattler said in his opening letter in the document.

“Through this evolution, we will be true to our vision as the nation’s premier provider of integrated security services for the Federal Government,” Cattler added.

Underpinned by DOD, National Priorities

Building on the 2022–2027 Strategic Plan, the updated document is underpinned by DOD and national priorities focusing on restoring trust through effective stewardship of taxpayer dollars; achieving strength through direct support to the defense industrial base; and reestablishing deterrence through lethality, accountability, meritocracy, standards and readiness.

The new strategy also details DCSA’s mission areas, including personnel security, industrial security, counterintelligence and insider threat, security training, and field operations.

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DIU Awards 3 Contracts for AI-Powered Financial & Project Management Tools
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DIU Awards 3 Contracts for AI-Powered Financial & Project Management Tools

The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded contracts to three commercial artificial intelligence providers to develop prototypes for advanced AI tools designed to streamline budget execution and project management.

DIU said Tuesday it selected CORAS, GovSignals and Pryzm Dynamics to develop the AI-powered platforms as part of the agency’s Enterprise Workflow and Reporting Platform, or eWARP, project, launched in February.

Utilizing AI to Streamline DIU Operations 

The project is in response to the current issues experienced in integrating technologies into the Department of Defense. Existing systems don’t have the necessary integration and transparency for tracking milestones, managing contracts and monitoring performance.

To address these challenges, the agency aims to enhance the efficiency of its program and financial management tasks by optimizing its operations and minimizing the need to perform manual tasks. Furthermore, the project aims to boost leadership visibility and financial reporting.

The three companies chosen to proceed to the prototyping phase of the eWARP project will develop different AI-powered platforms. CORAS will focus on creating a centralized system with AI-driven, configurable no-code components for integrating financial tracking, milestone oversight and vendor management into a single financial management tool.

GovSignals will work with Unstructured to develop an intuitive platform designed to process diverse data formats, support different enterprise personas, enhance data-sharing and adapt to dynamic mission requirements. Pryzm Dynamics will develop an AI-enabled centralized platform to enhance financial, contract and project management while facilitating collaboration and providing project status updates.

Jaime Fitzgibbon, AI program manager and contractor, said, “The goal of this project is to transform insight gathering from manual spreadsheet drudgery into an intelligent, responsive system. By harnessing AI and large language models, we’re deploying a solution that not only accelerates the discovery of insights but also establishes accountability through automated precision.”

Register now to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 AI Summit on March 20 and learn from some of the most esteemed AI experts in the industry.

DIU Awards 3 Contracts for AI-Powered Financial & Project Management Tools
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Nicholas Chaillan: DOD Should Enable DIB Innovation Through Commercial Tech Adoption
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Nicholas Chaillan: DOD Should Enable DIB Innovation Through Commercial Tech Adoption

Nicolas Chaillan, founder and CEO of Ask Sage, said the Department of Defense should promote innovation in the defense industrial base, or DIB, by advancing the adoption of proven commercial technologies such as generative artificial intelligence tools.

In a commentary published Tuesday in Federal News Network, Chaillan wrote that Federal Acquisition Regulations 12 directs agencies to buy commercially available products instead of building their own platforms.

“Beyond regulatory requirements, DoD and the nation benefit when the commercial partners are incentivized to advance technology innovation, and DoD stays true to its mission to invest in these efforts while continuing to strengthen public-private collaboration,” he noted.

Disincentivizing Defense Startups Impacts Innovation

In this piece, the chief executive cited concerns associated with the department’s adoption of NIPRGPT, a generative AI platform launched by the Air Force in June 2024.

“Advancing NIPRGPT offers an instructive test case on how building in-house when proven commercial options are available can disincentivize the defense industrial base from investing in the technologies, processes and manpower required to bring innovation to market,” Chaillan wrote.

“Defense startups with proven generative AI products lose first-mover advantage when they invest significant financial and human resources in technologies the DoD needs (and communicates they need), only to get burned when an agency opts to build rather than buy,” he added.

According to the former Air Force chief software officer, advancing the use of an inferior in-house platform could set back the adoption of the entire technology and drive users to use ‘shadow AI’ tools that operate outside secure networks.

“Government employees using unauthorized AI applications may unintentionally share or upload confidential information, increasing the damage that data leaks or breaches would do,” Chaillan noted.

Chaillan will be part of a panel discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit on April 24. Hear his insights and other experts’ views on modernization in the defense field. Register now to save your spot!

POC - 2025 Digital Transformation Summit
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NCCoE Seeks Input on Draft Guidance for 5G Cybersecurity
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NCCoE Seeks Input on Draft Guidance for 5G Cybersecurity

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence within the National Institute of Standards and Technology is soliciting public comments on a draft of its initial recommendations providing guidance on securing 5G networks. 

NCCoE is developing the 5G Cybersecurity Practice Guide in collaboration with communications and cybersecurity partners, NIST said Tuesday. The deadline for submitting comments on the guidance draft is on April 15.

The center’s initial recommendations are contained in a 10-page draft executive summary with two key proposed guidance based on the center’s observations using NIST’s testbed on current 5G standards and cybersecurity practices. 

Communication systems developer COMSovereign is one of the institute’s 5G cybersecurity guide-setting partners under a 2021 cooperative research and development agreement.

Cloud Technology Stacks’ Design

The first recommendation in the draft guide focuses on integrating cybersecurity and privacy principles in 5G systems’ cloud technology stacks. One approach the draft cited is the inclusion of trustworthy design elements to help ensure configuration integrity in the stacks’ hardware, firmware and software. Such safeguards in support infrastructure will help ensure 5G networks’ protection against advanced cyberattacks, according to the NCCoE document.     

The second recommendation in the center’s draft guidance calls for enabling cybersecurity and privacy capabilities specified under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project established in 1998 for 3G mobile standards development. Regardless of variations in their technical implementation, all 5G networks have many cybersecurity and privacy protection features available to users, NIST noted.  

The institute said NCCoE is documenting a second NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide Volume B for additional 5G guidance. A white paper series is also in the pipeline for further details on 5G cybersecurity and privacy capabilities, NIST added.

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DARPA Invites Small Businesses to Join Colorado ‘Spark Tank’ Event
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DARPA Invites Small Businesses to Join Colorado ‘Spark Tank’ Event

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is calling on small businesses, startups and other interested parties to participate in the Microsystems Technology Office Spark Tank, which will be held on July 24 and 25 in Aurora, Colorado.

The event provides an opportunity for organizations working on transformative advances in microsystems to engage with MTO leadership and program managers, DARPA said Tuesday.

Briefing Industry on DARPA’s Mission Priorities

MTO Spark Tank will provide insights into the office’s mission priorities, such as developing dual-use design technologies to bolster national security and disrupting current ecosystems by using differentiated microsystem manufacturing tools and strategies. It will also host one-on-one meetings with MTO program managers to explore research alignment and collaboration opportunities. In addition, the event will make it easier for first-time proposers to work with DARPA.

According to MTO Director Whitney Mason, the government will engage with new and non-traditional performers through the upcoming event and advance ideas that could “transform our microsystem-powered world.” She added that MTO Spark will serve as a venue “for fresh perspectives and groundbreaking concepts.”

Potential Funding for Short-Term Exploratory Projects

During the event, MTO will allow select participants to propose their concepts directly to program managers for potential funding of up to $400,000 for short-term exploratory efforts. The initiative intends to accelerate the evolution of innovative ideas into future DARPA programs.

For the project, MTO seeks revolutionary ideas that align with its core technical interests, such as unconventional computing to improve processing capabilities and developing electronic microsystems that integrate biological principles for superior sensing and computation capabilities.

Registration for MTO Spark Tank will commence on April 10 and will run until June 30.

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Bipartisan Congressional Group Introduces Bill to Protect Nuclear Assets
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Bipartisan Congressional Group Introduces Bill to Protect Nuclear Assets

A bipartisan group composed of U.S. Representatives Susie Lee, D-NV, Mark Amodei, R-NV, Seth Moulton, D-MA, and Chuck Fleischmann, R-TN, has introduced bicameral legislation aimed at strengthening the security of nuclear assets and facilities.

Congresswoman Lee said Tuesday the Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense, or NEDD, Act is intended to enhance the protection of the National Nuclear Security Administration and other nuclear assets and facilities under the Department of Energy against unmanned aerial systems.

Core Provisions of the NEDD Act

The bipartisan legislation aims to address the current lack of security measures for nuclear facilities against drones. It is meant to empower DOE to develop and deploy systems capable of defending the assets and facilities from drones. The NEDD Act would also authorize the department to safeguard a wider array of nuclear assets, including facilities and vehicles used for nuclear weapons. Furthermore, it enables the DOE to procure advanced UAS technology for enhancing counter-UAS systems.

“Unauthorized drones pose a serious threat to America’s nuclear resources related to national security, including at the Nevada National Security Site where we maintain America’s nuclear weapons ecosystem,” said Lee. “Our bipartisan NEDD Act bill will give the Department of Energy the tools it needs to defend all its nuclear and national security assets from unauthorized enemy drones,” she added.

“At present, the Department of Energy lacks the authority to intercept these drones and investigate their origins and intentions, allowing them to freely gather sensitive data for malign purposes,” said Amodei. “This bill empowers us to counter these threats in real-time and ensure they are not equipped to undermine our national security,” he added.

“As Chairman of Energy and Water Appropriations and Co-Chair of the Nuclear Security Working Group, it is my priority to ensure that our entire nuclear enterprise is protected throughout all stages of production,” said Fleischmann.

“Our adversaries should not be able to fly a drone over anywhere in this country that makes part of a nuclear weapon,” remarked Moulton.

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NOAA Seeks Info on Commercial Space Environmental Data
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NOAA Seeks Info on Commercial Space Environmental Data

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has started soliciting industry input on commercial satellite environmental data and related observational capabilities that are currently or planned to be launched into orbit from fiscal year 2026 through FY 2032.

According to a notice published Friday, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, or NESDIS, will accept comments and questions regarding the request for information through March 27.

Capability statements are due April 15.

According to NOAA, NESDIS will use the RFI responses to inform the commercial data program of industry capabilities for commercial weather data pilot projects, operational data purchases and other applications in the space and terrestrial weather areas.

Scope of Requested Information

According to the RFI, NOAA intends to reinforce current capabilities with commercially provided space-based data. It is interested in product areas listed in the NESDIS Level Requirements document, such as atmospheric temperature, tropical cyclone characteristics, fires, ionosphere and magnetosphere.

The agency is also interested in Global Navigation Satellite Systems, or GNSS, radio occultation capabilities, particularly in low latency, highly accurate GNSS RO-derived ionospheric products such as scintillation and total electron content. It intends to collect these data from various orbits and local time windows.

The notice states that NESDIS acquires GNSS-RO data through the Radio Occultation Data Buy 2, or RODB-2, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract vehicle.

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Mary Beth Morgan Appointed as New DSCA Deputy Director
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Mary Beth Morgan Appointed as New DSCA Deputy Director

Mary Beth Morgan has been appointed as deputy director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, bringing over two decades of expertise and experience in federal government service.

Morgan has served at the Department of Defense for more than 18 years and held several high-level positions, the DSCA said Friday. In her new role, Morgan will oversee the agency’s various programs and work with stakeholders to synchronize DSCA activities with foreign policy and national security objectives.

Morgan’s Career Highlights

Morgan was the deputy assistant secretary for homeland defense integration and defense support of civil authorities within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she developed and implemented the DOD’s homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities plans and programs.

Earlier, the new appointee served as the principal director for East Asia in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, where she advised senior DOD leaders on formulating and executing defense strategies and bilateral security relations for the East Asia region.

Before her stint with the Defense Department, Morgan was director for Korea and Taiwan affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. She worked to enhance market access to U.S. industries and ensure partner compliance with bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

Morgan earned a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University. She also holds a master’s in national security strategy from the National War College.

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Defense Logistics Agency Is Working to Advance AI Adoption
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Defense Logistics Agency Is Working to Advance AI Adoption

The Defense Logistics Agency now has over 55 artificial intelligence models in various phases of production, testing and use and is expected to further advance AI adoption. 

Established in June 2024, the AI Center of Excellence within DLA Information Operations oversees efforts to explore how AI technologies could improve processes.

Ruksana Lodi, AI officer at DLA, said her team is developing AI guidance, standardizing processes and prioritizing use cases that support the agency’s strategic goals.

Creating a Unified AI Ecosystem

According to Lodi, her team is helping DLA streamline its use of AI to establish a unified AI ecosystem to achieve efficiency while preventing duplication.

“If you go out and find a tool on your own and buy it, and then I do the same, we would end up with many tools that may have the same functionality,” she said.

She noted that her team is also working to ensure the interoperability and security of AI tools.

“The goal is to ensure that AI-driven decisions don’t compromise security, quality or operational efficiency, ultimately protecting both the agency and the warfighter,” Lodi said.

Potential AI Use Cases

In the business decision analytics field, Lodi’s team is exploring a collection of AI models that could perform tasks like evaluating supplier risks.

One of the AI tools automates the identification of companies that could potentially supply overpriced or counterfeit items by examining past performance, supplier behaviors and patterns of fraudulent activity.

Lodi noted that such assessments help DLA avoid unreliable suppliers and reduce the likelihood of defective components being used on critical defense platforms.

DLA Eyes Clean Financial Audit With AI

In November, Shawn Lennon, deputy chief financial officer at DLA, announced that the agency is exploring ways to harness AI to advance its efforts to achieve a clean financial audit.

According to Lennon, DLA aims to collect data from its business systems and use AI to help detect errors, glean insights and propose measures to improve data quality and financial reporting.

“We’re also looking at using AI to reconcile DLA’s inventory in the Warehouse Management System with our financial records,” he said.

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 20, and hear from industry luminaries, government officials and other experts as they discuss cutting-edge innovations and trends in the field. Register now!

POC - 2025 Artificial Intelligence Summit
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Young Bang Has Left DOD—Now He Wants to Talk Candidly About AI
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Young Bang Has Left DOD—Now He Wants to Talk Candidly About AI

Young Bang is an established name in the world of artificial intelligence. A former U.S. Department of the Army executive, he spearheaded a number of successful emerging technology initiatives in his nearly three years at the Pentagon. Bang has also been a reliable and noted private sector innovator, with a significant portion of his career spent leading the development and testing of new technologies within industry.

Thus, Bang knows both sides of the government contracting equation well and can break down federal concepts and processes for an industry audience and vice versa. He’s a legendary public speaker and will bring that finesse to the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 AI Summit this Thursday, March 20! Be sure to grab one of the final remaining tickets so you can hear Bang’s remarks and engage with him in Q&A.

Bang’s Credentials

After attending West Point for college, Bang spent five years as a captain in the Army, firmly laying a defense foundation for the rest of his career. He then spent time in telecommunications, before making a real name for himself in the consulting world: a year as a solution architect at KPMG followed by over a decade and a half at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Booz Allen is the lead platinum sponsor of the AI Summit and will be hosting a panel session on “The Impact of AI on National Security and Economic Growth” featuring, among others, the acting chief technology officer of the Navy. Don’t miss out!

He concluded his time at Booz as a senior vice president with work in AI, data science, machine intelligence, and immersive tech like virtual reality and augmented reality, and parlayed the immense progress and expertise he amassed at the company into his work as principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. He was appointed to the latter position in early 2022.

AI Initiatives at the Army

#DefendAI

In his time with the service branch, Bang helped institute it as the first military component to write an AI program of record into its five-year budget. He told the Warrior Maven publication in fall 2024 that he set in motion a 100-day AI risk assessment activity and a 500-day project as a follow-up to further deepen AI proliferation. This initiative is dubbed “#DefendAI” and it’s geared toward producing AI algorithms that can be utilized by the Army and broader DOD to complete defense goals.

SBIR Funding

Bang’s work and enthusiasm for AI has helped juice funding via the Small Business Innovation Research initiative for AI. The branch projected over $105 million in AI funding for fiscal year 2025.

Bang’s New Venture

Earlier this month, Bang made his first post-Army maneuver: an appointment as chairman of the strategic advisory board at Safe Pro Group, an AI maker. He is expected to facilitate dialog between the industrial base, integrators and government clients regarding the company’s flagship Safe Pro Object Threat Detection—a.k.a. SPOTD—product. We’ll surely hear about this new venture in his keynote address at the 2025 AI Summit on Thursday, March 20 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Register now to learn more!

Young Bang Has Left DOD—Now He Wants to Talk Candidly About AI
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