The Defense Logistics Agency says its supplier base shrunk 22% between 2016 and 2022. DLA leadership released supply chain data at the Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition in Richmond earlier this month. Tara Murphy Dougherty, Chief Executive Officer of Govini and former Chief of Staff for Global Strategic Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, describes how data can help the department shore up its supply chain.The Air Force will follow the zero trust strategy the Defense Department released recently. That strategy is supposed to be fully operational by 2027. Wanda Jones-Heath is the Principal Cyber Advisor of the Air Force. In a highlight of my exclusive conversation with her on this week’s Fed Gov Today TV show, I asked her about the factors that drive the evolution of the threat landscape. The Secretary of the Air Force says his service, and the rest of the military, needs timely appropriations to deliver effectively on its mission. Frank Kendall explained why on Fed Gov Today TV last week; you can watch that episode on demand at FedGovToday.com. Before the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary Kendall, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, and Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman answered a question from Committee Chairman Congressman Mike Rogers about the impact of a continuing resolution on the priorities the services laid out in the FY24 budget request.Photo: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman listen to opening comments while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee for the Department of the Air Force fiscal year 2024 budget request, Washington, D.C., April 27, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)

Today is day three of Public Service Recognition Week. Part of the observation of that week each year is the release of the finalists for Service to America Medals. Max Stier, President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, outlines what goes into choosing the finalists each year, and some of the great stories of the work this year’s finalists do. The Defense Information Systems Agency says its big cybersecurity project is ready for prime time. The Director of DISA, Lieutenant General Robert Skinner, says his agency will scale Thunderdome after a successful prototyping phase. In this highlight of my exclusive conversation with General Skinner on this week’s Fed Gov Today TV show, he gave me an overview of Thunderdome. The Defense Innovation Unit is spreading the word about what it can do - and can’t do - for the Defense Department and industry. It was doing just that at Tech Net Cyber last week. Johnson Wu, Cyber Commercial Executive for the Cyber Portfolio at DIU, explains why even though DIU has been around since 2015, there are still a lot of misconceptions about it.Photo: Defense Innovation Unit headquarters; DIU photo.

The Chief Information Officer of Space Systems Command, Col. Jennifer Krolikowski, says she’s “cautiously optimistic” about generative artificial intelligence. DefenseScoop reports military services are just one part of the government deciding how they want to use the technology. CDR Juliana Vida (USN ret.), chief strategy advisor at Splunk and former Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Navy, reviews how generative AI snuck up on people, and how tech leaders can stay ahead of the curve.The Internal Revenue Service will get what it calls a “historic opportunity” to modernize its operations through the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency’s IRA Strategic Plan details what, and who, it will spend the money on. Danny Werfel, Commissioner of the IRS, tells you how many people he can hire, what they’ll do, and what technology the agency can transform with the IRA money.Photo: IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel on Fed Gov Today TV, April 30, 2023

The Office of Personnel Management’s new data strategy includes four goals. OPM says those four goals will push the agency toward becoming “the nation’s premier employer and provider of human capital data.” Robert Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Gov Navigators and former Associate Director at the Office of Management Budget, tells you what to look for as OPM works to deliver on the strategy.A deep transformation is coming for the Space Force, according to the Secretary of the Air Force. That transformation is necessary because of China’s priority in space. On Sunday’s episode of Fed Gov Today TV, the 26th Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, explained why he focused on space transformation at the recent Space Symposium. He also detailed his request to Congress to allow his service to start work on programs before funding is in place.AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Fed Gov Today TV, April 30, 2023

The National Cybersecurity Strategy is part of the Biden administration’s preparation for cyber attacks against the federal government and the private sector. Former Federal CIO Tony Scott, now CEO of Intrusion, calls them “cyber shocks” in a new presentation in collaboration with the IBM Center for the Business of Government and the National Academy of Public Administration. He joins me to talk about steps governments should take to prevent cyber shocks, and deal with them when they happen.The Thrift Savings Plan has plans in place to analyze and treat potential risks to its operation and its participants. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, discusses how the TSP formulates and executes those plans, and how it decides which risks need the most attention.AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Thrift Savings Plan logo, courtesy Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Interos and Carahsoft.April is Supply Chain Integrity Month. The theme this year is “Supply Chain Risk Management: The Recipe for Resilience.” Devin Lynch, Director of Supply Chain and Technology Security in the Office of the National Cyber Director, wrote a blog post about the recipe, and joined me to dig deeper into it.Federal agencies have a two-sided challenge with supply chain integrity. They’re working on internal-facing, and external-facing, supply chain issues. Jennifer Bisceglie, Chief Executive Officer of Interos, discussed how agencies can manage both at the same time.Devin Lynch covered some of the ingredients in the “Recipe for Resilience” that forms the theme of Supply Chain Integrity Month. And he called out the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as one of ONCD’s partners in the effort. Jack Cable, senior technical advisor at CISA, helped me understand his agency’s role.You’ve heard my guests talk about the role of the intelligence community in the integrity of the supply chain. Jeanette McMillian, Assistant Director of the Supply Chain and Cyber Directorate at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, reviewed what the IC has to offer the supply chain integrity effort.Photo: Supply Chain Integrity Month graphic courtesy of CISA.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee will review the new edition of the Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List Wednesday. GAO publishes an updated list every two years; the newest list came out last Thursday. Michelle Sager, Managing Director for Strategic Issues at GAO, reviews what’s new about this year’s list.The Coast Guard is expanding its cyber work, and the size of its cyber workforce. It’s growing its offensive cyber capabilities and building new paths for people to do that work. Rear Admiral Jay Vann, commander of Coast Guard Cyber Command, describes how his service is approaching that workforce challenge, and dealing with the unique cyber position the Guard occupies.AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Rear Admiral John “Jay” Vann, courtesy U.S. Coast Guard.

The Air Force is on the hunt for a new Chief Information Officer. Lauren Knausenberger will leave that job June 2nd. She’s been in that post since August 2020. Lauren is my guest for the entire show today, to discuss zero trust, the cloud, and her other priorities and achievements as she prepares to wind down her service as Air Force CIO.Photo: Lauren Knausenberger, Department of the Air Force chief information officer, holds a communications and cyber all-call during a visit to Kadena Air Base, Japan, Oct. 3, 2022. Knausenberger toured the installations’ cyber infrastructure and spoke with personnel from the 18th Communications Squadron about their mission, equipment, innovation and capabilities in the region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Savannah L. Waters)

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by SAIC.The Air Force calls its Cloud One offering a multi-cloud, multi-vendor ecosystem. Cloud One hosts more than 100 applications. Maj. Andrew Beckman, Program Manager for Cloud One, introduces you to some of his team, and explains how Cloud One’s multi-cloud environment drives mission success for the Air Force. The Air Force’s multi-cloud environment is just one example of that approach in the federal government. More and more agencies are taking that approach for the reasons Major Beckman laid out. Bob Genter, president of the Defense and Civilian Sector of SAIC, says that approach works for several key reasons.Most cloud practitioners refer to the cloud “journey” when they discuss the concept. Every agency is in a different place on that journey. Noell Rebellez, Federal lead for Cloud Services in the Office of the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Labor, updates you on where his agency is on its cloud journey, and where it’s going.

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Carahsoft and Hitachi Vantara.The Fleet C4I and Readiness Department at Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic is responsible for what it calls three thrust areas. The Department lists cybersecurity; innovative culture; and high velocity learning as those three thrusts. Greg Lancaster, head of the Fleet C4I and Readiness Department, tells me more about his department, and its mission.The Navy will use data to help it make arguments to Congress about which ships to decommission. ADM Daryl Caudle, Commander of US Fleet Forces Command, tells Defense News having that data could make the decommissioning process easier. Phil Fuster, Chief Revenue Officer at Hitachi Vantara Federal, says one of the biggest challenges he heard about from military leaders at Sea-Air-Space is managing mission data.The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is headed to Phase III of its Service Life Extension Project. The Guard lists the Polar Star as one of its ships operating in the Pacific Area. VADM Andrew Tiongson, Commander of the Pacific Area and Commander of Defense Force West for the Coast Guard, discusses presence in his area of responsibility.AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: VADM Andrew Tiongsen, USCG at Sea Air Space

4/14/23: The Best Places to Work in the Federal GovernmentNASA is the Best Large-Agency Place to Work in the Federal Government again this year, according to the Partnership for Public Service. This year’s rankings include some big moves in both directions for agencies - for a lot of reasons. Max Stier, President and CEO of the Partnership, reviews the new numbers, and recommends action for agencies to reverse the downward trends of the last several years.AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Max Stier, by T.J. Kirkpatrick for the Partnership for Public Service

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Carahsoft and Dell.The new National Strategy for the Arctic Region takes a 10-year view of that region of the world. The strategy says it will be “a framework to guide the U.S. Government’s approach to confronting the new challenges and opportunities in the Arctic.” CDR Casey Gon, Director of the National Ice Center, and Commanding Officer of the Naval Ice Center, says his command, and its work in the Arctic, is a collaboration of the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The importance of cloud technology to the future fight is moving beyond technology leaders in the military. Leaders at every level list edge computing as a key component of warfighting tools like JADC2. Manny Yusuf, Chief Cloud Architect at Dell Technologies, tells me warfighting isn’t the only use for the cloud in the military.Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic will use results from a recent communications experiment to contribute to the development of JADC2. The exercise included manned and unmanned ships at Sullivan’s Island, SC. I asked Pete Reddy, Executive Director of NIWC Atlantic, about his organization’s mission.ACT-IAC Climate Change Summit, April 17, 2023AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Pete Reddy, NIWC Atlantic Executive Director, with Francis Rose at Sea Air Space

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Carahsoft and Salesforce.Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command features six major commands. One of them is Fleet Weather Center Norfolk. Capt. Erin Acosta, Commanding Officer of Fleet Weather Center Norfolk, says her command is a sister command to Fleet Weather Center San Diego.Readiness is still top-of-mind for the military, including the sea services. Leaders from each of the services referenced readiness in remarks at Sea Air Space 2023. Aaron Duchak, Regional Vice President for Salesforce, says industry can help the services with their readiness challenges.The Coast Guard says its new Unmanned Systems Strategic Plan will drive change in three areas. The Guard lists mission execution improvement; defense against unlawful use of unmanned systems; and establishing and enforcing a regulatory framework for using unmanned systems and automation in the Marine Transportation System safely and lawfully. VADM Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander and Commander of Coast Guard Defense Forces East, says A-I is a topic everyone should be interested in.ACT-IAC Climate Change Summit, April 17, 2023AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: VADM Kevin Lunday, USCG with Francis Rose at Sea Air Space

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Carahsoft and Nightdragon.The Commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Linda Fagan, says her service is in a race for talent. RDML David Barata, Commander of the Coast Guard’s Personnel Service Center,tells me how the Coast Guard competes for that talent.Industry will play a bigger part than ever in solving problems for the sea services, according to leaders at Sea Air Space. Industry leaders say they’re ready to contribute. Dave DeWalt, Founder and CEO of Nightdragon, tells me he sees a lot of that collaboration happening now.The Navy is reviewing results from its first-ever Naval Space Summit. The Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, convened the Summit at the end of March. VADM Jeffrey Trussler, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare N2/N6 and Director of Naval Intelligence, tells me his key message is the importance of space capabilities to distributed maritime operations.ACT-IAC Climate Change Summit, April 17, 2023AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Vice Admiral Jeffrey Trussler USN with Francis Rose at Sea Air Space

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Carahsoft.The U.S. Naval Observatory says its mission is to “define and apply the physical environment, from the bottom of the ocean to the stars.” The Observatory is only a few years away from its 200th birthday. At Sea-Air-Space 2023 this week, Geoff Chester, Chief Historian of the Naval Observatory, tells me about the unique place the Observatory holds in naval history.Two common themes run through the comments leaders of the sea services made at Sea-Air-Space this week. All of the service chiefs mentioned modernization and people in the Chiefs Panel I hosted to kick off Sea-Air-Space on Monday. Mike McCalip, Vice President for Government Programs & Strategy at Carahsoft, lists the topics he heard the most about from the military leaders in attendance.The Coast Guard is dealing with the same recruiting and retention challenges as the other military services. The Commandant of the Coast Guard says her service is investing in finding new people. In an exclusive conversation with Fed Gov Today at Sea-Air-Space 2023 this week, Admiral Linda Fagan calls the Guard’s personnel situation a race for talent.AFCEA DC 2023 Tech Summit, April 11, 2023AFCEA International TechNet Cyber, May 2-4, 2023Photo: Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan at Sea-Air-Space with Francis Rose

The Chief Information Officer of the Defense Department says the Pentagon now has enterprise cloud computing capabilities at all three security levels. John Sherman told Congress last week that capability will be a key tool in implementing its zero trust strategy. Brig. Gen. Paul Fredenburgh (USA ret.), Executive Vice President for the National Security and Defense Engagement Department for AFCEA International, former deputy commander of Joint Force Headquarters DoDIN, and former Director of C4 for IndoPaCom, tells you how the Pentagon, DISA, and Cyber Command will strategize their cyber future at TechNetCyber next month.The Thrift Savings Plan is cutting the cord on the legacy system its new Converge record keeping system replaced. And the TSP will look at new choices it may be able to give you soon. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs for the TSP, updates you on the Converge transition, how the TSP is handling your PII, and how it’s examining options a new law provides for.The Department of Veterans Affairs is rethinking how it provides care to veterans. That rethinking includes how it will modernize and restructure its infrastructure. Sharon Silas, Director of the Health Care team at the Government Accountability Office, reviews work her team has released, looking at how VA is planning that rethinking.Photo: VA Medical Center, North Las Vegas, NV; photo courtesy Nellis Air Force Base.

Government leaders should - and can - move faster to deploy artificial intelligence solutions, according to a group of industry leaders. Those leaders tell me generative AI will enable government to do a lot more than it’s doing today. Angela Sheffield, Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence at Raft, and former Senior Program Manager for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the National Nuclear Security Administration, tells you how the government can fully realize the potential of AI.New budget guidance from the Biden Administration outlines how it will align the money it’s asked Congress for with its President’s Management Agenda. It’s titled “Delivering a High Performance Government.” Chris Mihm, Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and former Managing Director for Strategic Issues at the Government Accountability Office, explains what agencies should look for as Congress and the administration work toward a FY24 budget.The Defense Department is operating in a “war for talent”, according to the Defense Business Board. The Board says the Pentagon’s talent acquisition process has to change in a number of ways. Deborah Lee James, Chair of the Defense Business Board, 23rd Secretary of the Air Force, and author of “Aim High, Chart Your Course and Find Success”, reviews the findings of the Board’s work on the civilian talent pipeline at DoD, and what the department should do next.Photo: Cover of the new Defense Business Board talent pipeline report.

This program is sponsored by Carahsoft and NVIDIA.The Director of the Office of Personnel Management will release a cyber talent management plan soon, according to testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee. That commitment is one of several Kiran Ahuja made in testimony that you heard in part on Fed Gov Today recently. Angela Bailey, founder and CEO of Anandalife, former Chief Human Capital Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, and former Chief Operating Officer and Associate Director for Employee Services at OPM, offers both an agency perspective, and an OPM perspective, on what CHCOs in government need from OPM, and what it can deliver.The Department of Defense is reviewing results from 12 flight tests that used artificial intelligence to fly the aircraft. It’s just one example of how advanced AI tests are getting in the government. Margaret Amori, head of Nvidia Inception North America, tells me at Nvidia GTC 2023 the questions government is asking about AI today are a lot different than they were five years ago.The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the Department of Health and Human Services is prepping for two industry outreach sessions in April. It’ll conduct a vendor engagement session April 11th, and an “office hours” session for 8A companies April 13th. Shannon Jackson, Executive Director of the Office, tells me about HHS’s small business goals, and how they’re doing in meeting them.Photo: Shannon Jackson, courtesy U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The new National Cybersecurity Strategy aligns with the Defense Department’s key cyber initiative. The Chief Executive Officer of the organization partnering with DOD on that initiative calls the strategy a rebalancing of cyber responsibilities. Matthew Travis, CEO of the Cyber AB, explains how the CMMC program intersects with the strategy.The Defense Department is extending a pilot program that allows vendors to store spare parts in warehouses the Defense Logistics Agency runs. But it may not be following its own rules to evaluate whether the program works. Diana Maurer, Director of the Defense Capabilities and Management team at the Government Accountability Office, details how the program works, what problems her team found, and what the Department should do about them.Photo: The Pentagon. Credit here

The new Defense Department Cyber Workforce Strategy includes four pillars for the department to focus on. The Department says an implementation guide is coming soon. Brig. Gen. Greg Touhill (USAF ret.), Director of the CERT Division at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and former federal Chief Information Security Officer, explains how to get the strategy from document to execution.A small drone company, Cyberlux, partners with one of the biggest defense contractors, Huntington Ingalls Industries, to get its products in the hands of war fighters. The Wall Street Journal reports efforts are under way to make that path the rule instead of the exception. Stan Soloway, President and CEO of Celero Strategies, a member of the Defense Business Board, and former deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition reform, explains the paths DOD is taking to make that technology acquisition easier.The Office of Personnel Management is developing ways to collect data to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of telework and remote work. The Director of OPM, Kiran Ahuja, answered questions about that, and a lot of other federal workforce issues, at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The highlight of the hearing on today’s show features questions from Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) for Director Ahuja.AFCEA DC luncheon March 22, 2023Photo: OPM Director Kiran Ahuja testifies at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, March 9, 2023 (screen capture from committee website).

This program is sponsored by Denodo.The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will rely on its VistA electronic health record system for another five to ten years. The VA’s transition to the Cerner health record system is on hold now. VA officials outlined their plan for maintaining VistA at a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Technology Modernization subcommittee Tuesday. Jim Gfrerer, founder and Principal at Fidelis Technology and former Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was a witness at the hearing. He tells me what he sees moving forward for maintaining VistA, and transitioning to a new system.The E-Gov Act is 20 years old now. Six of the seven former Federal Chief Information Officers and E-Gov Administrators gathered recently for an exclusive conversation about the past, present, and future of federal I-T. That hour-long conversation is available exclusively at FedGovToday.com, featuring Mark Forman, Karen Evans, Steve VanRoekel, Tony Scott, Suzette Kent, and the current Federal CIO, Clare Martorana. This special presentation is sponsored by Denodo. In today’s highlight, Tony Scott, Mark Forman, and Clare Martorana describe the strategy-building process that allows them to think ahead about building the federal IT enterprise, instead of just blocking and tackling.The Defense Department’s financial management system is on the Government Accountability Office’s High Risk List again. It’s been on the list now for nearly 30 years. Kevin Walsh, Director of the Information Technology and Cybersecurity Team at GAO, reviews new findings of progress the Department is making - and isn’t making - to get its financial house in order.Photo: Jim Gfrerer, former VA CIO (screen capture from House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing footage)

This program is sponsored by Denodo.The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will rely on its VistA electronic health record system for another five to ten years. VA officials outlined their plan for maintaining VistA at a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Technology Modernization subcommittee Tuesday. Roger Baker, consultant at Roger Baker Consulting, former Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and former advisory board member for Cerner, was a witness at the hearing. He tells me what he sees moving forward for maintaining VistA, and transitioning to a new system.The E-Gov Act is 20 years old now. Six of the seven former Federal Chief Information Officers and E-Gov Administrators gathered recently for an exclusive conversation about the past, present, and future of federal I-T. That hour-long conversation is available exclusively at FedGovToday.com, featuring Mark Forman, Karen Evans, Steve VanRoekel, Tony Scott, Suzette Kent, and the current Federal CIO, Clare Martorana. This special presentation is sponsored by Denodo. In today’s highlight, Steve VanRoekel says the I-T transformation concepts the government is working on aren’t new, and Suzette Kent tells me why she thinks what you call things matters.The Government Accountability Office will examine the Thrift Savings Plan’s transition to its new recordkeeping system. The Thrift Savings Plan says operation of the Converge system is improving. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, explains the metrics the TSP is using to measure improvement for Converge.Photo: 

This program sponsored by Denodo.Brig. Gen. Denise Brown is in her seventh month as the Director of the Army’s Networks and Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Services and Integration. One of her primary jobs is to move the Army’s Unified Network Plan forward. At AFCEA DC’s most recent luncheon event, BG Brown explains her team’s role in strategic competition.The E-Gov Act is 20 years old now. Six of the seven former Federal Chief Information Officers and E-Gov Administrators gathered recently for an exclusive conversation about the past, present, and future of federal I-T. That hour-long conversation is available exclusively at FedGovToday.com, featuring Mark Forman, Karen Evans, Steve VanRoekel, Tony Scott, Suzette Kent, and the current Federal CIO, Clare Martorana. This special presentation is sponsored by Denodo. In today’s highlight, Clare Martorana says the work her predecessors did set the table for progress the government makes under her watch.The Office of Management and Budget will run pilot projects to support nine citizen life experiences. OMB says the pilots build on President Biden’s customer experience executive order. Loren DeJonge Schulman, Associate Director for Performance and Personnel Management at OMB, reviews the nine experiences and the ways OMB will measure their performance.AFCEA DC Ukraine/Russia luncheon March 22, 2023Photo: White House social graphic via White House

From West 2023 in San Diego, CA, sponsored by Carahsoft.A lot of the focus at West 2023 was on the Pacific. But the war in Ukraine was top of mind too. Maj. Gen. Erich Staudacher (GEAF ret.), General Manager of AFCEA Europe, says the similarities in the Pacific and in Europe should inform the way industry works with governments.Navy leaders are shifting the way they look for solutions to problems. They say they’re asking industry about what’s available more, and moving away from dictating what the service requires companies to build. Capt. Christi Montgomery, Commanding Officer of Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, tells me how she engaged with industry when she visited West 2023.Operation Flank Speed is the Navy’s “biggest cloud technology advance,” according to RADM Tracy Hines, Navy Cyber Security Division Director in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Cybersecurity is one of the benefits the Navy claims in the program. RADM Hines tells me everyone in the Navy is in the cyber field now.AFCEA DC Ukraine/Russia luncheon March 22, 2023Photo: RADM Tracy Hines (L) and Francis Rose, February 15, 2023 at West 2023. Photo via Fed Gov Today

Fact sheet about the new National Cybersecurity Strategy from the White HouseThe complete National Cybersecurity Strategy (PDF)State Department statement on National Cybersecurity StrategyThe new National Cybersecurity Strategy is out from the Biden Administration. It updates the last National Cyber Strategy that came out in 2018. It’s built on five pillars: defending critical infrastructure; disrupting and dismantling threat actors; shaping market forces to drive security and resilience; investing in a resilient future; and forging international partnerships to pursue shared goals. Suzanne Spaulding, senior adviser for homeland security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, former under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, and former commissioner on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, details what she sees in the strategy for government and industry.The new strategy includes new elements, but it says right in the document that it builds on the work of federal agencies and previous administrations. Suzette Kent, CEO of Kent Advisory Services and former Federal Chief Information Officer, outlines what is new, and what continues and accelerates from before.The new strategy includes an objective to strengthen the cyber workforce. Agencies are already working on ways they can build their cyber workforces. Karen Evans, Partner at KE&T Partners, Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute, former E-gov administrator at the Office of Management and Budget, and former Chief Information Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, explains what the strategy will do, and enable, across the federal workforce and the companies that serve the government.Photo: Cover of new National Cybersecurity Strategy, released March 2, 2023

From West 2023 in San Diego, CA, sponsored by Carahsoft.SEAL teams around the world are just one group that gets its comms support from Naval Special Warfare Tactical Communications Command One. The command supports other special operations forces and conventional forces too. Commander Blythe Blakistone, commander of TCC1, tells me about her command’s mission.The Navy is using unmanned systems in a lot of different ways, not just in high-end weapons systems. One way the service is deploying unmanned systems is in data collection. Wade Ladner, Technical Director of the Naval Oceanographic Office, tells me his office’s survey data and ocean observation collection is unique.A new cyber workforce strategy is coming from the office of Defense Department Chief Information Officer John Sherman “any day now.” One of the leaders responsible for executing that strategy when it comes out will be Patrick Johnson. He’s Director of the Workforce Innovation Directorate in the Office of the CIO at DoD. He tells me the Pentagon can learn a lot about building a cyber workforce from industry.The intelligence community should talk more about the threat China poses to the United States, and how it’s executing on that threat already, according to Rear Admiral Michael Studeman. He’s Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and Director of the National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office. He delivered a speech at West 2023 that described a pretty stark outlook on the threat from China and Russia. After his speech, he tells me what exactly he wanted to convey in those remarks.AFCEA DC Ukraine/Russia luncheon March 22, 2023Photo: RADM Michael Studeman (L) and Francis Rose, February 15, 2023 at West 2023. Photo via Fed Gov Today

From West 2023 in San Diego, CA, sponsored by Carahsoft.Three weather operations provide data for the Navy. Those operations include Fleet Weather Centers in Norfolk, VA and San Diego, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Oahu. Captain Kate Hermsdorfer, Commanding Officer for Fleet Weather Center San Diego, tells me who her command’s customers are, and what her command does for them.The Department of Defense is working on a zero trust pilot that it says could cut its zero trust journey from five years to one. The director of the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office, Randy Resnick, says the department will run the pilot in conjunction with the four vendors on the JWCC contract. Brian O'Donnell, Vice President of Sales at Carahsoft says at West 2023 this year cyber, as always, is top of mind for defense IT practitioners.The Coast Guard’s data modernization strategy includes elements of cloud computing and other information technology pieces. But the Chief Data Officer of the Guard says people are an important part of that strategy too. At West 2023, Coast Guard CDO Capt. Brian Erickson tells me investing in his workforce is important to the Guard’s data success.Photo: Capt. Brian Erickson, USCG (L) & Fed Gov Today host Francis Rose at West 2023, Feb. 15, 2023.

From West 2023 in San Diego, CA, sponsored by Carahsoft and Infoblox.The Defense Department is part owner of the effort to modernize the “Public Safety Communications Ecosystem.” It shares that work with the Department of Homeland Security. Sridhar Kowdley is Program Manager in the Office of Science and Engineering… in the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. At West 20-23, he laid out the interoperability challenge his office is working on.The Defense Department’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) is just one example of how the services are trying to get joint right, technologically. Chris Usserman is Director of Security Architecture at Infoblox Federal. At West 20-23, he tells me there are several focuses he sees ahead for military technology.The Chief Information Officer of the Navy is leaving his post. Federal News Network reports Aaron Weis’s last day on the job will be March 17th. At West 20-23, Weis tells me the same thing he told his team in an email announcing his departure: his goal is to leave the Navy in better condition than he found it.Photo: Aaron Weis (L) and Francis Rose at West 2023. Photo by Fed Gov Today.

From West 2023 in San Diego, CA, sponsored by Carahsoft and Forescout.The Navy’s Cyber Defense Operations Command is demonstrating capabilities that other services, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, say they want. The Navy’s Chief Information Officer, Aaron Weis, says NCDOC has shown those capabilities off to leaders at the military’s highest levels. You can hear more about that from Aaron Weis on Thursday's edition of Fed Gov Today. At West 2023, Capt. Christina Hicks, the Commander of NCDOC, tells me about her command’s mission.The Defense Information Systems Agency used the West 2023 conference to spread the news about its involvement in the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract. Several DISA leaders talked to attendees about the contract. Mike Walsh is President of Forescout Government Systems. At West 2023, Mike tells me he heard two huge trends on the floor of the conference, and offers his take on the DISA discussion on cloud.A new cyber workforce strategy is coming from the office of DoD Chief Information Officer John Sherman. That strategy will include updates the department released last week to its “Cyberspace Workforce Qualification & Management Program.” Mark Gorak is Principal Director for Resources & Analysis in the Office of the Chief Information Officer at DoD. At West 2023, he tells me he had two main messages for the conference. One is that workforce strategy is VERY close to ready for prime time.Photo: Mr. Mark Gorak. Creator: Leonard Fitzgerald | Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Leonard Fitzgerald

The General Services Administration’s calls its new OASIS+ contract “next generation Best-in-Class Multi-Agency Contracts for complex non-IT services.” The agency says it's learning some lessons from its other big contracts to make OASIS+ work better for both agency customers, and the vendors that will sell through it. Tiffany Hixson, Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Professional Services and Human Capital Categories at GSA, and governmentwide Professional Services Category Executive, joins FedGovToday to reveal the new OASIS+ timeline, new tools the agency is using on the contract, and a new approach to onboarding vendors.GSA's OASIS+ web siteAnalysis of OASIS+ from BDOFrom Nov. 2022: A Hanscom AFB contracting event including OASIS+ talks

Dr. Raj Iyer's last day as the first civilian Chief Information Officer of the Army was Sunday, February 12. He leaves after a two-plus-year tenure as Army CIO. He took the job after former Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy split the former CIO/G-6 job when Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford retired in 2021. Raj reviews the progress he believes the Army has made under his tenure, and where his successor should take the Army's IT portfolio next.More on Iyer's departure at C4ISRNet.Photo: Francis Rose & Dr. Raj Iyer, September 16, 2022, FedScoop event, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Pentagon City, VA

Reinvestment in the G Fund in the Thrift Savings Plan is on hold for now. It’s because of a debate in Congress. Kim Weaver, director of external affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, explains why TSP participants shouldn't worry. (0:59)The leader of the Defense Information Systems Agency is asking industry to "be invested" in working with his organization. Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner made that comment at AFCEA DC’s luncheon event at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington last week. In a highlight from that event, Lt. Gen. Skinner lays out his message for industry. (10:54)Photo: Glenn Robinson via LinkedIn

The passwords of 5% of employees at the Interior Department include the word "password." That’s one of a number of issues the Interior Inspector General’s office found on the department’s network. Kate Ledesma is Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs at SecurityScorecard, and former Senior Advisor at CISA. She covers some tools agencies have to protect themselves against their own employees making bad cyber choices. She also previews the forthcoming National Cyber Strategy; and CISA's internal digital transformation. The software meltdown at the Federal Aviation Administration that grounded thousands of flights recently is 30 years old. NBC News reports a senior government leader told them it’s not scheduled for replacement for six more years. Kevin Walsh is a Director of the Information Technology and Cybersecurity Team at the Government Accountability Office. He has contributed to GAO's work on legacy IT. He explains how agencies can get ahead of legacy IT applications, and how to set priorities for funding and execution.The State Department says one of the goals behind its new EVOLVE contract will be to "enable the department to buy technology services from companies with track records to implement Secretary Blinken’s modernization agenda." Dr. Kelly Fletcher recently celebrated her three-month anniversary as the Chief Information Officer at the State Department. She lays out what she found when she joined State; how she's simplifying the agency's infrastructure through the "Tech For Life" initiative; and how EVOLVE will help her hit her goals for IT transformation at Foggy Bottom and around the world.Photo: Kelly Fletcher, delivering a keynote last year at AFCEA's TechNet Cyber conference, when she was acting Defense Department CIO, is now the new CIO at the State Department. Credit: Michael Carpenter

The Navy is three months into execution of its Cyberspace Superiority Vision. The Navy's Principal Cyber Advisor, Chris Cleary, signed out the vision at the end of October. The vision includes three core principles: Secure, Survive, and Strike. Cleary describes how he and his Navy colleagues devised the vision, how they're implementing it, and how they'll measure its success.Read the Navy's Cyberspace Superiority Vision here.Photo: SAN DIEGO (Mar. 4, 2020) Mr. Chris Cleary, Department of the Navy Chief Information Security Officer, provides opening remarks at the inaugural Command Information Security Officers (CISOs) Forum, hosted onboard Naval Information Warfare Systems Command’s Old Town San Diego Complex. CISO’s from Navy and Marine Corps systems commands got together to share experiences and discuss a variety of topics including risk management framework, cybersecurity and information assurance. (U.S. Navy photo by Rick Naystatt/Released)

The newest edition of the FITARA scorecard shows seven agencies increased their scores, 17 agencies held steady, and no agencies went down. The latest edition of the scorecard includes new cyber metrics. Federal CISO Chris DeRusha, USAID CIO Jason Gray (whose agency was the only one to get an A on the scorecard) and GAO Directors Carol Harris and Jennifer Franks testified about the new scorecard at a hearing of the House Oversight and Reform Government Operations subcommittee Thursday.Part One of this episode includes questions for the witnesses from Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH); ranking member Jody Hice (R-GA); Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-VA); and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA).Part Two features one of the architects of the FITARA scorecard, David Powner, former Director at GAO and now Executive Director of the Center for Data-Driven Policy at MITRE. He was also part of the team that developed recommendations for updating the scorecard for ACT-IAC.Hearing video here.Federal News Network story David Powner and I discussed here.ACT-IAC recommendations here.Photo: USAID CIO Jason Gray; Federal CISO Chris DeRusha; GAO Directors Carol Harris and Jennifer Franks. Screenshot of hearing video, House Oversight and Reform Committee

The Defense Department will use four vendors to provide cloud services through the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability contract. The Department made the announcement Wednesday afternoon; the official rollout was at a news conference Thursday with DoD CIO John Sherman; DISA Director Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner; DoD Deputy CIO for Information Environment Lily Zeleke; and the Director of DISA's Hosting and Compute Center, Sharon Wood. Today's show leads off with a highlight of the news conference; you can watch the entire news conference here.More on JWCC from Federal News Network, DefenseScoop, and Nextgov.Acquisition experts Joe Jordan, former Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy, and Stan Soloway, a member of the Defense Business Board, explain why they're not surprised by the award, and what comes next for the agency, and the vendors who will compete for task orders on the contract.PHOTO: Department of Defense Chief Information Officer John Sherman, Defense Information Systems Agency Director U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, Department of Defense Deputy CIO for Information Environment Lily Zeleke, and DISA Hosting and Compute Center Director Sharon Wood hold a press briefing on the Department of Defense’s award of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 2022. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Kubitza)