July 14 2023

VA opposes new EHR regs, CIOSP3, Broadcom-VMware deal okayed, NGA NSES follow on, DOD acquisition plan, FAA NOTAM system, Why govcon contractors grew in 2022

QUICK HITS

  • NITAAC extends CIO-SP3 contracts: In the meantime, it'll be tackling protests against a potential 10-year, $50 billion follow-on contract.

  • Breaking down controlled unclassified information & new compliance requirements: What do they mean to contractors?

  • On embattled NOTAM system, FAA looks to private industry for more help: So far 22 vendors have submitted proposals.

  • House supports a 5.2% pay raise in its draft Defense policy bill: But it’s slashing diversity initiatives.

TRIVIA

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

DOD officials highlight risks to force posed by Senate nomination hold.

As many as 265 general and flag officer nominations have been delayed in the Senate as a result of the hold. The Secretary of Defense underscored the risks to national security posed by the ongoing blanket hold on confirmations in a brief phone call. Should the hold remain in place, as many as 650 critical leadership positions could be vacant by year's end. Read more

A shakeout looms in the space space (we meant to say it like that).

The booming space business is headed into some turbulence now as private companies navigate through crumbling international supply chains, a scarcity of skilled talent, and warfare between Russia and Ukraine, both home to key suppliers for rocket ventures worldwide. Read more

Does the Pentagon need an AI acquisition plan?

While the Pentagon is spending billions on AI, the deputy in charge of accelerating data and AI adoption said that it might not be necessary to have department-wide guidance to inform its AI acquisitions. “Let’s not overcentralize, mmkay?” Read more

ICYMI Snippets

Defense Contract Awards

Follow the Defense Leaders

Defense Job Openings

INTEL COMMUNITY

Math and Music: There’s always room for another voice in cryptanalysis at NSA.

Cynthia W. was job searching in 2003 when she came across an opening on NSA.gov. “No specific major is targeted for cryptanalysis,” the site read. “NSA hires people with technical and non-technical degrees, ranging from mathematics to music, engineering to history, and computer programming to chemistry.” Read more

IARPA launches WRIVA program to develop photorealistic virtual models.

The Walk-through Rendering from Images of Varying Altitude (WRIVA) program seeks to produce innovations that will advance 3-D site modelling capabilities far beyond today’s state of the art, giving personnel virtual “ground truth” with unrivaled insights into locations that would be difficult, if not impossible, to view. Imagine if the Intelligence Community (IC), law enforcement, first responders, military, and aid workers could virtually drop into a location and familiarize themselves before their feet even hit the ground. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

  • RFI: NGA issues its NSES follow-on contract requirements.

  • Are you bidding on DHS PACTS3? This report might be helpful!

  • Declassified: NRO unveils its connection to the Manned Orbiting Laboratory.

  • HII awarded $84M to support NGA's enterprise cloud migration.

  • Eqlipse announces new VP of Proposal Operations.

CIVILIAN

VA opposed to new EHR requirements, open to acquisition review.

Officials from the VA have pushed back against legislation that would impose strict requirements on the department’s beleaguered electronic health record modernization program but voiced support for a proposal to increase oversight of major acquisition projects moving forward. Read more

Getting govt. to accomplish National Cybersecurity Strategy goals requires a roadmap.

The White House has released the first version of its multiyear implementation plan for the National Cybersecurity Strategy, setting into motion a significant overhaul of how the federal government will regulate digital security issues. Read more

Is Alliant 3 tilted too much toward small & very large contractors?

There are growing concerns that based on GSA’s draft request for proposals, “medium-sized” firms will be locked out of the Alliant 3 vehicle, further impacting the industrial base and forcing firms to sell to large companies. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

Civilian Contracts Awards

  • Indian Affairs Bureau selects 11 for program management, consulting services IDIQ.

  • NASA awards Peraton $330M Sounding Rocket Operations IV contract.

  • VA awards Veteran Technology Partners (a SDVOSB) $4M operation data centers infrastructure and connectivity task order.

  • DHA awards Agile Decision Sciences a $5M MHS GENESIS revenue cycle support services task.

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

M&A CORNER

Broadcom-VMware deal cleared by European Commission.

The European Commission has approved Broadcom‘s proposed $61B acquisition of multi-cloud services provider VMware following the completion of an in-depth review. Broadcom said the two companies believe combining their operations would not hamper cloud market competition and could provide enterprise customers with more options for workload management. Read more

Vector Capital closes Riverbed purchase.

Private equity firm Vector Capital has completed its purchase of Riverbed Technology for an undisclosed sum. Riverbed provides unified observability and acceleration platforms designed to help public sector organizations advance digital transformation, improve IT security and user experiences, support hybrid workforces, and meet other missions. Read more

LINKEDIN POST

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

Can bar napkin math get the military across the technology valley of death?

DOD leaders, technology developers, and self-proclaimed innovators are obsessed with the apparent lack of adoption and slow speed of integrating new technology into the military. There are many reasons that defense “innovators” can point to for this lack of adoption, and many leaders and innovators incorrectly focus on increasing the transition rate of new technology into military operations. Read more

Can space governance keep up with space sustainability?

The rapid growth in the number of space objects, caused by the rise of satellite constellations as well as debris-generating events like anti-satellite tests and collisions, is testing the international governance model for space activities developed in the early years of the Space Age that many in the industry believe can no longer keep up. Read more

How can agencies rebuild trust in the federal government?

Information the government shares should continue to reinforce openness and honesty. Moving forward, the government should keep focusing on meaningful transparency that conveys information about performance in accessible and useful ways. Read more

TRIVIA ANSWER

C. Sets requirements about enrollment and graduation.

Enrollment and graduation details are left up to every state to determine for themselves. All the Dept of Ed can do is identify education issues and make recommendations to state and local organizations. (Source)

What states have the highest graduation rates? Iowa and West Virginia lead the way, at 92%. New Mexico and Arizona have the lowest graduation rates. (Source)

According to the DOE, 33.3% of students at public colleges graduate after four years. At private colleges, that number goes up to 52.8%. (Source)

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