Nathan Strout

Pentagon names acting chief digital and AI officer as it moves toward full capability

DoD Chief Information Officer John Sherman will serve as the acting chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO), a newly created office designed to oversee the Defense Digital Service, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, and the CIO he was already leading.

OPM enables special hiring authorities to support infrastructure law

In a Feb. 1 memo, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja told federal agencies they can use excepted service Schedule A appointments to fill positions for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

5G Networks

AT&T sees progress in Navy’s 5G smart warehouse experiment

The smart warehouse project is part of a $600 million investment by the Pentagon in testing and experimenting with 5G networks at military installations.

Here’s how intelligence agencies can search foreign documents without learning the language

The new machine learning system developed by Raytheon BBN Technologies in partnership with the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity allows English-speaking users to search foreign documents and speech without knowing the language.

Why aren’t more agencies using the personnel mobility program?

The personnel mobility program allows federal agencies to temporarily bring in outside workers to address critical skills gaps, but a government watchdog report finds the program is underutilized.

Office of Personnel Management directs $15 minimum wage for federal workers

Of the 67,000 affected employees, 56,000 work within the Department of Defense.

National Reconnaissance Office awards five contracts for commercial satellite radar capabilities

Synthetic Aperture Radar, or SAR, uses radar to produce images. Unlike traditional electro-optical imagery, SAR is unaffected by cloud cover, darkness or inclement weather, making it useful for a number of intelligence missions.

White House kicks off webinar series highlighting Federal Sustainability Plan

The initiative comes a month after President Joe Biden issued his Federal Sustainability Plan, an executive order that outlines Biden’s plans to use federal infrastructure to tackle climate change.

Agencies and workers can now donate time off to federal employees affected by 2021 tornadoes or Colorado wildfires

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has authorized the use of the emergency leave transfer program for federal employees in affected areas.

Most federal agencies still aren’t meeting cybersecurity targets

A Jan. 11 Government Accountability Office report found that as of fiscal year 2020 federal civilian agencies were inconsistent in implementing cybersecurity policies and practices.