Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Like discovering a long buried pair of jeans that becomes your new favorite, other transaction agreements (OTAs) are a procurement methodology that falls outside of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and its Defense supplement. Use of OTAs has grown rapidly across the government in the last couple of years but it might be a mixed blessing. Now the IBM Center for the Business of Government has sponsored a detailed analysis of OTAs and how the government is using them. For the highlights, co-author and Hacking for Defense adviser Stan Soloway spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Military training can get boring, especially when it involves sitting in a room and watching a PowerPoint slide deck. The Air Force is trying to change that. Air Mobility Command is using virtual reality to teach airmen about sexual assault and harassment. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Air Mobility Command's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program Manager, Carmen Schott, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For several years, agency acquisition shops have been getting more comfortable with buying outside of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Both Defense and civilian agencies have been increasing their use of what are known as other transaction authorities. That revved up during the COVID pandemic spending. And it meant a few transparency problems. Federal Drive with Tom Temin heard more from Marie Mak, the director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions Issues at the Government Accountability Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It may not be as big as the Navy, but the Coast Guard has facilities, people, and vessels all over the world. Coasties have also been keeping a high tempo of activity -- maintenance, repair, and modernization go on continuously. For more on the Coast Guard's priorities for the coming year, and how all of this logistics works, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with the assistant commandant for engineering and logistics, Rear Admiral Carola List, at the 2021 Sea Air Space conference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Defense officials are expected to decide within the next few days whether to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for members of the military. The impending decision follows President Biden’s order last week requiring shots or testing for all federal employees. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has the final call. But at least one senior DoD public official says he’s all for mandatory vaccination. Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham is the Navy’s surgeon general. He talked with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about what his service is seeing from the Delta variant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Office of Personnel Management finally has permanent leadership after a years-long revolving door of acting directors. Kiran Ahuja is a month or two into the job. She says rebuilding the federal workforce and OPM internally is one of her biggest priorities. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joins me now with what else is on Ahuja's to-do list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As detailed as solicitations and procurement rules might be, protests are a regular part of the federal contracting scene. Protesters can file with the Government Accountability Office, or with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims -- and get wildly different results. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got analysis of one such case with Smith Pachter McWhorter attorney Joseph Petrillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might seem counterintuitive, but the most heavily armed and trained Americans are also the most frequent victims of identity theft. Scamming of military members has become big business. Adam Darrah, the director of intelligence services at threat intelligence firm ZeroFOX, has studied this problem in great detail. He discussed his findings on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it easy to forget that pandemics happen a lot more often than every 100 years. A case in point is the terrifying Ebola outbreak in 2014. A team of researchers at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, in the meantime has enabled development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tests for Ebola. For their work, doctors David Boucher, John Lee and Daniel Wolfe are finalists in this year's Service to America Medals Program. David Boucher joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk more about his work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weather at seaside piers or at inland support facilities, the Navy is working to ensure energy independence so it can keep going if the power goes out. It's also working to increase facility resilience to extreme weather and rising tides. For more, at the Sea Air Space conference, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with James Balocki, the acting principal deputy assistant Secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Navy, along with the other armed forces, has been working to modernize its data and communications networks under a DoD plan known as the Joint All-Domain Command and Control System. The Navy's part of JADC2 is a project called Project Overmatch. It's actually further along in development than JADC2 itself. For a progress report, at the SeaAirSpace conference, Federal Drive with Tom Temin caught up with the acting director of the Navy's digital warfare office, Kelly McCool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During her 40-year career in government, Soraya Correa was a risk taker. Whether it was taking on new positions with the Navy or with GSA, Correa knew the risks were worthwhile as long as she did one thing consistently: Create real and lasting relationships with her federal colleagues and industry counterparts. Correa recently retired from public service, having spent the last six as the chief procurement officer at the Department of Homeland Security. She told Federal News Network's Jason Miller about how those relationships helped ensure mission success. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new Senate report lays the groundwork for potential reforms to the law governing federal cybersecurity standards. Lawmakers said many federal agencies are still struggling to comply with the law as it stands, leaving sensitive data at risk. The White House is also contemplating changes to how it oversees agency cybersecurity efforts. For the latest, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Agencies are developing new cybersecurity performance goals for the nation’s critical infrastructure operators. The standards will be voluntary, at least for now. The Biden administration is hinting at possible mandates to ensure companies secure their networks, while Congress is also eyeing new requirements. For the latest, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joint All-Domain Command and Control is the Defense Department's project, known as JADC2, aims for a single enterprise network to which all of the armed services can plug in. For a progress report from the contractor point of view, at the SeaAirSpace conference, Federal Drive with Tom Temin caught up with the chief technology officer at Northrop Grumman Scott Stapp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices