After pushing the Air Force last year to recoup $4.3 million spent on repairs caused by poor contractor work, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is now proposing that all agencies explain why they decide not to take action against poorly performing contractors in Afghanistan. The bill, S. 3505, would require agencies to explain to Congress why they do not act on recommendations by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to recoup money from poorly performing contractors, when the SIGAR’s recommendations would result in at least $500,000 in savings. The bill would cover instances when the agency fails to respond, disagrees with the SIGAR or only accepts part of the SIGAR’s…
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The Navy and Marine Corps are soliciting ideas on how to reduce costs through better management of information technology, efficient business processes and improving cyber-related procurements. Under orders last year to cut information technology budgets by 25 percent over the next five years, the Department of the Navy is consolidating data centers, increasing the use of departmentwide software licenses and reducing cellphone costs. Navy and Marine Corps employees, industry, academia and the public are welcome to make recommendations. Submissions must include a brief discussion of the problem, a proposed scope, key assumptions, constraints and risks, costs, savings and other benefits and operational impacts. Email completed submission forms to…
The Defense Department will expand its use of cloud computing through a four-step plan, which includes incentivizing DoD components to use shared cloud services and training acquisition professionals to procure cloud technologies. DoD’s Cloud Computing Strategy released Wednesday outlines a phased approach for adopting both commercial and government-provided cloud solutions. According to the strategy, DoD will: – Foster adoption of departmentwide cloud services through an outreach campaign to increase the number of cloud consumers and providers. – Optimize data center consolidation by eliminating duplicative software and providing information technology services, hosted in the data centers, in a standard way. – Incorporate cloud hardware…
The Defense Information Systems Agency will play a major role in deciding how the Defense Department adopts cloud computing services and products. DISA will serve as the department’s enterprise cloud service broker, which means all DoD components must acquire government or industry-provided cloud services using DISA, according to a June 26 memo from DoD chief information officer Teresa Takai that was released Wednesday. The only exception is to obtain a waiver from a review authority designated by Takai. DISA will work on behalf of the department to manage the use, performance and delivery of cloud services and negotiate contracts between cloud…
Science Applications International Corp. is protesting a $4.6 billion award to Lockheed Martin to support the Defense Information Systems Network. The protest was filed June 22 with the Government Accountability Office. GAO will issue a decision on the protest by Oct. 1. “We are disappointed in the government’s decision to not award us the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Global Information Grid (GIG) Services Management (GSM) contract. We feel our solution is the best value for the customer and we are proud of our performance history on this contract,” SAIC spokeswoman Melissa Koskovich said in a statement. Lockheed Martin Corp. beat out incumbent SAIC…
Lockheed Martin Corp. has won a multi-billion contract to support the Defense Information Systems Network, beating out incumbent Science Applications International Corp. The contract, to provide daily operations and sustainment of the Defense Department’s global data network, has a ceiling of $4.6 billion over seven years — three base years and two two-year option years. Lockheed is teaming with AT&T, ACS, Serco, BAE Systems, ManTech and others. “As information is produced and consumed at speeds and volumes that were once unimaginable, our warfighters need an enterprise architecture that can be quickly adapted and enhanced for new technologies while effectively managing…
The Defense Department’s mobile device strategy released Friday outlines key priorities for speeding secure adoption of government-issued and employee-owned smarthphones and tablet computers. In the strategy, DoD chief information officer Teri Takai said the department will: – Improve wireless access and capabilities to support voice, video and data sharing via mobile devices. This includes evolving DoD’s virtual private network technologies and addressing bandwidth limitations. – Create mobile policies and standards. DoD will define acceptable use of personally-owned devices and acceptable personal use of DoD’s devices. – Promote the development and use of DoD and web-enabled mobile applications. “This strategy provides the foundation…
As an Army brat, Octavia Hall has always been around public service. She spent most of her life in Germany bouncing around several bases. Hall said it was both her family and her community who encouraged her to serve. “When I went out to the bus stop, I remember the soldiers coming over to talk to us about going to school, getting a good education, asking about our career goals. They contributed a lot to my wanting to serve,” Hall said. As military families do, Hall’s family moved again, this time to Maryland. In high school she was active in cheerleading and a singing-show group she compared to the…
Spring Break fever was in the air today on Capitol Hill. Legislators have officially fled Washington D.C. and there will be no hearings until April 16th. But before the final votes ensued, the Senate subcommittee on contracting oversight held a hearing where Senators McCaskill, Portman and Tester grilled witnesses from the Army, The Office of Personnel and Management and The Department of Homeland Security over contractor spending. Meanwhile, Chairwoman McCaskill’s grandsons were in attendance. My guess is they are on their own Spring Break. They sat graciously through the hearing; only occasionally trying sneak into my shot. I’m sure they…
The Navy on Friday released a revised draft request for proposal to industry for its Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) program. The updated draft reflects comments from industry and Navy stakeholders and will provide further clarification of development requirements for NGEN, the Navy said in a news release. Industry has 10 working days to review and comment on changes to the initial draft, which was released in September. NGEN will replace the current Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) as the world’s largest network. It will serve both sailors and Marines on land and overseas.