People

Culture, leadership are keys to continuing DOD telework post-COVID

Peter Ranks, the Defense Department's deputy chief information officer for information enterprise, said continued leadership on flexible telework policies were needed to create a "new normal."

People

Senate passes 2021 NDAA with veto-proof majority

The Senate passed its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and the bill now heads to conference.

Acquisition

Sustainment issues plague F-35’s logistics IT backbone

Questions remain about the replacement for the F-35’s logistics infrastructure, Autonomic Logistics Information Systems, which has been riddled with errant alerts and corrupted data transfer.

Cybersecurity

DOD's cyber chief to exit this month

The Pentagon’s lead cybersecurity expert, Jack Wilmer, is leaving his post for an industry role at the end of July.

Modernization

Army re-orgs tech directorate

The Army has a new strategic operations directorate under the department's management office, an organization said to be a "precursor" to the upcoming CIO reorganization.

Cybersecurity

House passes NDAA with TikTok ban

The House of Representatives passed a defense bill for 2021 that authorizes $731.6 billion in defense spending, includes cyber, workforce, acquisition provisions and a ban on the popular social media app Tik Tok on government equipment.

Cybersecurity

Spy chief sees 2020 election security as 'number one goal'

Gen. Nakasone's remarks come as a group of former senior officials seek funds to counter the "extraordinary challenges" posed by coronavirus pandemic and foreign interference to state and local election administrators.

People

Outgoing Army tech chief: CIO split was 'right decision at the right time'

Army CIO/G6 Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford said the move will allow the new CIO to focus more on big data, cloud migrations.

Cybersecurity

DISA leans in on zero trust

The Defense Information Systems Agency is teaming up with the National Security Agency to deliver the first zero trust reference architecture guidance later this year.

People

Army stands up its first software factory

Army Futures Command announced it has launched its first software factory at its headquarters in Austin, Texas. The entity is expected to hit initial operating capacity in early 2021.

Digital Government

House panel advances FY2021 DOD spending bill

The House Appropriations Committee passed its 2021 defense spending bill along party lines, 30-22, including funding for COVID-19 procurement and support for cyber workforce recruitment.

People

DOD CMO boasts $11B in savings as Congress moves to cut position

The Defense Department has saved $11 billion in the past two years thanks to reform efforts, said Lisa Hershman, DOD's chief management officer.

Modernization

WH CTO to take over DOD's top research role

Defense Secretary Mark Esper names U.S. CTO Michael Kratsios to be acting undersecretary of defense for research and engineering after Michael Griffin's resignation from that post took effect July 10.

People

Navy, Marines look to boost virtual ‘sailorization’ for recruits

Wwhile recruits are under restricted movement orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19 , the Navy and Marine Corps are using a distributed learning environment where lessons to recruits are pushed to wireless devices.

People

How DOD's executive exodus could affect tech modernization

Back-to-back resignations raise concerns about how things will be run without permanent leadership in key areas from policy to tech development.

Acquisition

Defense contractors pressure White House, DOD for more pandemic stimulus funds

Major defense company executives are pushing the White House and Pentagon for additional financial relief due to increased costs caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Modernization

JADC2 tops Pentagon’s artificial intelligence efforts

The Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is focused on overlaying AI tools on the military’s mega information-sharing platform effort, called Joint All Domain Command and Control.

People

VA secretary touts department's telework, telehealth efforts

Secretary Robert Wilkie also discussed the electronic health care records rollout and VA's need to pay more for certain essential hires.

Cybersecurity

NDAA could require closer tracking of DOD researchers

A provision added to the House version of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act raised privacy concerns, but security considerations won out.

Digital Government

House panel advances NDAA with labor protections, spectrum rules

The House Armed Services Committee unanimously passed its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act; tech provisions include spectrum sharing restrictions targeting Ligado 5G networks and new artificial intelligence initiatives.