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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: March 22, 2019
A DoD AI expert is coming — and that could mean big things for directed energy
(C4ISRNET) A vacant Pentagon position on artificial intelligence will be filled “quite soon,” with a focus on cross-cutting artificial intelligence through various technologies, according to undersecretary of research and engineering Michael Griffin. Griffin, speaking to the Directed Energy Summit March 20, was asked about how AI can be applied to directed-energy weaponry, which elicited him to say, “What I know about AI can be written on the back of a tiny postage stamp.” Read More
’20 Budget Targets Army Modernization
(FEDweek) The Army would invest $57 billion of this year’s proposed budget in a five-year plan that would bolster modernization and other programs. Undersecretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy outlined the plan during a March 14 speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Read More
The Air Force wants to start a new $35M offensive cyber program
(Fifth Domain) The Air Force wants to start a new program to develop a series of offensive cyber tools, according to the White House’s budget request for fiscal year 2020. This project will provide advanced cyber warfare capabilities to the Air Force’s cyber mission force personnel, who work on projects for U.S. Cyber Command. In the service’s budget books, the program is named Cyber Mission Force Foundational Tools. Read More
Another Defense Agency Migrates Data to Amazon Cloud
(NextGov) The Defense Health Agency, which supports the delivery of health and medical services to millions of Army, Navy and Air Force personnel worldwide, is Amazon’s newest cloud customer. Amazon Web Services will now host DHA’s Armed Forces Billing and Collection Utilization Solution in GovCloud U.S. West region, a cluster of data centers built specifically to host some of the government’s most sensitive data. Read More
Trump Administration Outlines How the OPM-GSA Merger Would Work
(Government Executive) The Trump administration this week provided additional details about how it will implement its proposal to integrate the functions of the Office of Personnel Management into the General Services Administration, Defense Department and the Executive Office of the President, although much remains contingent on Congress approving legislation. Read More
OPM Looks to Expand Pilot Programs That Teach Federal Employees New Skills
(Government Executive) Acting Office of Personnel Management Director Margaret Weichert said Thursday that as the federal government enters the second year of implementing President Trump’s management agenda, she hopes to find ways to expand successful pilot programs related to hiring employees faster and reskilling workers to enter cybersecurity and IT jobs. Read More
Army preps for high-tech radio upgrade
(FEDweek) The Army’s Network Cross Functional Team plans to significantly expand its modernization efforts over the next 12 months. As part of the service’s 10-year network modernization plan, the Army Network Cross Functional Team will begin pushing solutions for its integrated tactical network starting in fiscal 2020 with deliverables beginning in 2021. Read More
OMB sets goals for category management
(FCW) The White House is tasking federal agencies with deliverables and reporting requirements to institutionalize category management practices across the government. In a March 20 guidance memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies, Margaret Weichert, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, wants agencies to show progress under the category management regimen. Read More
Shutdown to Worsen Cyber Workforce Shortage, Report Says
(FEDweek) The recent partial shutdown will have make even more difficult the government’s struggles to recruit and retain employees in cybersecurity positions, according to a report by the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a cybersecurity think tank. Read More