Quick Hits

New bill introduced to ensure resiliency of federal data centers.

A group of bipartisan senators have introduced legislation to establish baseline cybersecurity requirements and new protections against catastrophic weather-related disasters for federal data centers across the country. The Federal Data Center Enhancement Act of 2022 tasks the OMB with establishing standardized cybersecurity requirements for the federal facilities, which host some of the nation’s most sensitive information technology and cybersecurity infrastructure. Federal data centers like Social Security and credit card information are only two critical areas that should be protected, the bill’s introducers noted.
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Air Force-sanctioned gaming program brings young and old together

No need to put down that gaming device when you start work. Now, you can even justify chug-a-lugging Mountain Dew at 2 a.m., during an all-night gaming session. In part through the power of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Discord chat, a grassroots movement of airmen and air guard members ultimately became, in 2020, an AF-sanctioned gaming program. The program is an unlikely vehicle to bring airmen and guardians who are both young and old through various ranks, and it could help the USAF find models for talent management.
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White House seeks to scrap two nuclear programs

As the U.S. shrinks its nuclear warhead inventory, the White House is trying to defund two nuclear programs in the FY23 budget. The Senate’s version of the 2023 NDAA calls for dropping the atomic bomb on the B83 megaton gravity bomb until the Senate receives a report on alternatives for striking “hard and deeply buried targets.” Meanwhile, a House version of the FY23 NDAA or FY23 calls for $45 million in research and development funding, the House Defense appropriations bill, backed by the White House, calls for defunding it.
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Also you don’t want to miss: 

• A partisan brawl breaks out over Schedule F. Repubs have identified 50,000 federal employees that might be on the chopping block, while Dems are working to propose legislation to block Schedule F.
• Bid protest! GAO dismisses bid protest brought over $2B defense health IT contract. Deloitte and ManTech brought the protest to the GAO offices over the award of the contract to Peraton subsidiary Perspecta.
• Al Quada leader killed in US drone strike.  (An unmanned aerial vehicle launched two Hellfire missiles for the successful attack.)

Top Defense & Aerospace

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Top Intel Community

Intelligence Community struggling to create sophisticated online enterprise data tools.

While businesses have developed tools to analyze online data, including social media, the Intelligence Community has not yet come up with common standards for structuring the data, in part resulting in an inability to develop tools to analyze online data and existing silos within and between the 18 IC agencies. In fact, 80-90 percent of IC data is unstructured. a Federal News Radio commentary asserts. Tear down the wall!
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Space Force officially creates cryptologic service component for NSA.

The Space Force established its own cryptologic component. The director for ISR, S2, will serve as the service cryptologic chief, with the S2 staff serving as the cryptologic staff. Each military service now has a cryptologic component that is responsible to the NSA and Central Security Service. Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, the current S2, is the first Space Force service cryptologic chief.
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Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone about this secret network contract extension.

To better secure the Pentagon’s communications network for secrets, DISA officials extended their Thunderdome cybersecurity contract with Booz Allen Hamilton for six months. In the July 28 announcement, DISA officials said they would include the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network, or SIPRNet, in the zero-trust program and the “complete development, testing and deployment planning for the original unclassified prototype,”
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Top Civilian

Legal defense fund launched for former SBA CIO.

A fundraising page has been set up in support of a former SBA IT leader who is appealing his dismissal from the agency. Keith Bluestein, who was hired in June 2020 as SBA’s chief information officer, was put on temporary leave in late January 2022 and officially fired this summer. According to Bluestein’s LinkedIn page, he officially left the agency in June and began working as a principal at Deep Water Point. Bluestein is appealing his dismissal with the Merit System Protection Board, an independent panel that rules on federal personnel issues—including claims of inappropriate termination—according to a fundraiser set up on GiveSendGo asking for donations to assist with legal fees. As of Aug. 1, the fund had raised over $25,000, with a goal of $75,000.
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US Digital Service calls for outdated organ transplant system’s shakeup.

In a move that will hopefully save hundreds of thousands of lives, the U.S. Digital Service recommended the $248 million contract for an organ transplant system be bid separately from one for policy management because the current holder has denied nearly 100 federal requests to audit source code. USDS identified three alternatives to the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing’s Organ Procurement Transplant Network (UNOS) — which mostly operates from a local data center, rather than in the cloud, hindering efficiency and automation, according to a report. UNOS has denied federal government requests to audit code despite its system crashing for a total of 17 days since 1999, according to the report. On average 22 of the approximately 106,000 people waiting for kidneys, livers and hearts die daily with several doctors telling The Post that UNOS is at least partly to blame for refusing to coordinate organ transport, in addition to its system requiring manual data entry, reprioritizing certain patients due to a programming error and sometimes taking a year to reflect updates.
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Congress approves bill to provide more care to vet, grow VA workforce.

A measure to expand benefits offered to veterans who became sick after exposure to burn pits while on active duty is set to become law after the Senate approved the bill on Tuesday, which will also authorize sweeping new authorities to hire and keep employees to handle the resulting uptick in usage of the government health care system. The bill also authorizes leases for 31 new medical facilities at VA to help accommodate the expected surge in patients, which is expected to cost nearly $1 billion. The bill will authorize the department to buy out the contract of health care professionals to recruit them to VA, so long as they make a four-year commitment to the department. VA will have $40 million per year for the buyouts. VA’s health care employees will be eligible for pay boosts worth 50% of their base salaries, up from the current cap of 30%.
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GovCon M&A Corner

SES acquires DRS Global Enterprise Solutions.

SES and its wholly owned subsidiary SES Government Solutions (SES GS) announced the completion of the acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES) from Leonardo DRS for $450 million after obtaining all the necessary regulatory approvals. The new organization will comprise a cross-functional workforce with deep technical expertise and a proven ability to integrate and manage multi-orbit geostationary and medium earth orbit (MEO) services as well as multi-operator network solutions.  The combined business will continue to serve US Government customers under the direction of the SES GS Proxy Board of Directors.
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Booz Allen makes its EverWatch case

As his company faces an anti-trust lawsuit from the Justice Department, Booz Allen CEO Horacio Rozanski defends his company’s proposed $440 million acqusition of EverWatch, a Reston, Va.-based DoD contractor. Washington Technology takes a look at BAH’s July 22 response to the DOJ lawsuit and Rozanski’s quarterly earnings call comments.
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Lockheed looks for startups to invest in as it doubles it’s venture fund $400 Million.

Lockheed has doubled its venture capital fund to $400 million as it screens more start-up technology companies to invest in. “The success of our venture capital investments to date is a testament to our strategy and allows Lockheed Martin to continue to deliver innovative solutions across all domains,” Jay Malave, the company’s CFO, said. The ventures fund was stood up in 2007 with $50 million and since then has invested in more than 70 companies, including 11 so far in 2022 that are working in areas such as sensor technology, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing and space services. The fund was eventually increased to $100 million and then in 2018 to $200 million.
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Follow the Leaders

• Garrett Yee has joined GDIT as VP and GM of its Army sector.
• Marie Russell joins Maximus as VP of Federal Alliances.
• Dr. David Massaro has been appointed by the VA as the champion for the EHRM rollout.
• Robert Kennedy has taken on a role as CIO/Area Manager at the VA.
• Tom Kennedy tapped as Axonius Federal Systems VP

Follow the Job Openings

• Bureau of ATF CISO is leaving the agency. Put in your application now!
• The VA is looking for a Deputy Network Director, VISN 20.
• FDA ODT is hiring an enterprise software engineer
• Raytheon Intelligence & Space is hiring a Senior Proposal Manager

Contract Awards

GDIT wins prime spot on $10B DHA contract.

Cha-Ching! This is a big one. GDIT has won the Omnibus IV Medical Research and Development contract by the DHA. This multiple-award IDIQ contract has a total ceiling of $10 billion with a 5-year base period and one 5-year option. The DOD uses Omnibus contracting vehicles for discovery and evaluation of innovative medical solutions and supports DHA’s medical research and development initiatives. GDIT was awarded a position to compete for task orders in all four market segments: research and development; research and development support services; regulatory processes; and translational science support and services.
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HII wins $826M DOD tech innovation contract.

Huntington Ingalls Industries has won the Decisive Mission Actions and Technology Services task order under the GSA One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services multiple-award contract vehicle. This task order has a ceiling value of $826 million with performance of a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods. As part of this work, HII’s Mission Technologies division will support all Defense Department service components, component research labs, components of the DOD Fourth Estate, national intelligence agencies and combatant commands.
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DMI wins 5 year NIH contract.

DMI has been awarded a 5-year task order to continue supporting the NIH’s Intramural Database enterprisewide system. The contract focuses on the system that facilitates annual report data collection for NIH’s Intramural Research Program, as well as a collection of data in several areas required by Congress.
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But wait! There’s more!

• Army awards $6.5 million to five small businesses for network tech, AI/ML, and electronic warfare. The five companies are Aptima, Aspect Consulting Group, Intelligent Fusion Technology, Perceptronics Solutions, and MZA Associates Corporation.
• Navy awards 9 companies a $1.3B Navy Training Systems Support IDIQ. The companies include 7 large businesses and two small businesses. Winners include: BGI and Aero Simulation JV, CAE, Valiant Integrated Services, Delaware Resource Group of OK, Fidelity Technologies Corp., FlightSafety Defense Corp, and LB&B Associates. Engineering Support Personnel and LTSS JV are the small business awardees.
• Northrop Grumman wins $3.28B contract for US MDA’s GWS program.
• L3Harris and Air Tractor team win $3B SOCOM aircraft production contract.

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