CIO: Ease Way for IT Stars to Work at DoD

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff. 

DoD CIO Terry Halvorsen wants to make it easier for top-flight private-sector IT employees to flow in and out of government on short-term assignments, NextGov reports. Biggest hurdle: salary. Some regs are also problematic; Current law generally prohibits workers coming into DOD as part of exchanges with the private sector from holding positions where they can make spending decisions.

“Deep machine learning,” with its ability to process enormous amounts of social media activity, shows promise as a tool for decoding the intricacies of the ISIS network, says Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work.  A key analytical asset is its automated response to new threat data, FCW reports.

Not so keen on a no-nukes pledge: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would not take the use of nuclear weapons off the table as a response to an attack, The Hill reported.

So serious is the condition of Washington, DC’s Metrorail system, individual lines could be shuttered for as long as six months for repairs, said Jack Evans, chair of Metro’s board.  Even if such a drastic closure doesn’t materialize, portions of the system could be closed for extended periods so repairs could be make, The Washington Post reports.

A new study indicates that catastrophic ice melting in the Antarctic will lead to dramatic sea level rises much sooner than previously thought, the New York Times reports.

The U. S. Navy has selected General Dynamic’s Electric Boat as the prime contractor for a new class of submarines, Stars and Stripes reports.

Video of Coast Guard’s $200 million cocaine bust off Panama has been released, from Fox News.

U.S. military families have been ordered to evacuate Turkey, reports Military.com.

Despite Russia’s claims of a draw down in Syria, observation of Russian ships movements suggests that Russia is still delivering more to Syria than it’s taking away, Reuters reports.  There is speculation that the activity would permit Russia to scale back up if it wished to.

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of nine P-8A Poseidons to the UK, reports Jane’s.

Coherent Technical Services Inc.,* Lexington Park, Maryland, is being awarded a $49,508,038 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide technical and engineering services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Combat Integration and Identification Systems Division.  Services to be provided include design and feasibility evaluation, testing, component and system design, and system integration, in-service, and software engineering in support of the Navy and the governments of Japan, Korea, Norway, and Australia.  Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland (80 percent); and various other locations inside and outside of the U.S. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020.  No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued.  This contract was competitively procured as a 100 percent small business set-aside via an electronic request for proposals; two offers were received.  This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($49,409,022; 99.8 percent); and the governments of Japan ($24,754; .05 percent); Korea ($24,754; .05 percent); Norway ($24,754; .05 percent); and Australia ($24,754; .05 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-16-D-0009).