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Valiance To Continue Caliburn’s Migrant Minors Humanitarian Work For HHS; Grace Flores-Hughes Quoted
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Valiance To Continue Caliburn’s Migrant Minors Humanitarian Work For HHS; Grace Flores-Hughes Quoted

Caliburn International announced Wednesday it is separating into two independent companies. The new companies will be Acuity International and Valiance Humanitarian. Valiance will continue Caliburn’s humanitarian efforts for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

 Valiance Humanitarian will support HHS’s ORR to ensure unaccompanied migrant minors are taken care of safely and compassionately, leading to a timely and secure reunification with guardians according to the federal government’s policy.

“Valiance Humanitarian’s purpose is to support ORR’s vital mission to protect children and support the needs of their families throughout the process of safe reunification. Our years of experience and mission focus creates an enhanced level of care and attention for the people we serve,” added Melissa Aguilar, Valiance’s first president and CEO.

Valence has a multicultural workforce of over 2,000 experts in child care, social service and clinical practice. Some necessary credentials for employees working on supplying high-quality care and humanitarian assistance for HSS and ORR and operating six state-licensed facilities in Texas include social workers (LSW) and (LMSW), Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Licensed Child Care administrators (LCCA) and medical staff RNs, LVNs, MAs.

Along with securing Aguiler as president and CEO, Valiance has named Fransico Quezada as director of Operations and Facilities. Quezada has over four years of military experience and has worked for Caliburn for more than a year.

Aguilar has also acquired Grace Flores-Hughes, an experienced authority in this field. Flores-Hughes helped establish the first federal effort over 30 years ago. She will be a key advisor to the company and a member of Valiance’s Board of Directors.

Flores-Hughes commented that “More than 30 years ago, the federal government began to protect and care for migrant children seeking asylum in our country. As a trustee of that initial federal effort, I am proud once again to have the opportunity to contribute to these important efforts, this time with the dedicated leadership and experienced staff of Valiance Humanitarian. The highest standard of care for the children entrusted to us is our priority.”

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NASA Executes 2nd Entry of New RS-25 Engine Test Series
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NASA Executes 2nd Entry of New RS-25 Engine Test Series

NASA held the second round of hot firing in a new test series for the RS-25 engine, a component of the Space Launch System rocket that would eventually send astronauts to the Moon.

The space agency said Wednesday it performed the test on Tuesday at Mississippi-based Stennis Space Center. The engine fired for a total of over eight minutes during the test.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, the RS-25 program's prime contractor, will collect the resulting data as it begins to make a new batch of RS-25 engines. NASA plans to conduct a total of seven tests under the new series.

A set of four RS-25 engines generates 1.6 million pounds of thrust upon launch and two million pounds as the rocket ascends. SLS will serve as a critical component of the Artemis program, which aims to revive manned space exploration. 

The program's uncrewed test flight is scheduled to launch late this year. Syncom Space Services handles facility operations for the tests.

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Air Force to Investigate Hypersonic ARRW Booster Vehicle Issues After Attempted Flight Test; Brig. Gen. Heath Collins Quoted
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Air Force to Investigate Hypersonic ARRW Booster Vehicle Issues After Attempted Flight Test; Brig. Gen. Heath Collins Quoted

The U.S. Air Force will investigate system defects following an incomplete launch sequence of a hypersonic booster weapon over the Point Mugu Sea Range off the coast of Oxnard, California.

The Air Force said Tuesday that the test, which took place on Monday, saw launch issues with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress subsonic bomber that carried the booster vehicle as part of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon initiative.

Testers and engineers from the Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force and 419th Flight Test Squadron will return the ARRW booster vehicle to test following assessments. B-52H returned with the booster vehicle safely retained onboard the aircraft during the exercise.

“While not launching was disappointing, the recent test provided invaluable information to learn from and continue ahead. This is why we test,” said Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, program executive officer for weapons and director of the Armament Directorate at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

The flight test, intended to be the eighth assessment for the ARRW program, focused on evaluating the weapon’s aircraft release, performance and separation capacity.

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Navy Lays Keel of USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. Destroyer; Capt. Seth Miller Quoted
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Navy Lays Keel of USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. Destroyer; Capt. Seth Miller Quoted

The U.S. Navy has laid the keel of a future guided-missile destroyer in Maine, signifying the start of the ship’s construction.

The service said Tuesday that it held a keel-laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works’ shipyard for the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. or DDG 124, with the attendance of Thomas Harker, acting secretary of the Navy; Col. Harvey Barnum, the ship’s namesake; and Martha Hill, ship sponsor and wife of Barnum.

Marty Fish, a welder at BIW, helped Barnum sign the keel plate, which now also features the initials of Hill as the ship sponsor.

“Col. Barnum has spent his life in service to our country and it is an honor to lay the keel of his ship,” said Capt. Seth Miller, program manager for the DDG 51 class.

DDG 124 is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with the Aegis Combat System Baseline 9, which offers updated radar technology and boosted computing power for augmented air and missile defense.

BIW also produces the Carl M. Levin, Louis H. Wilson Jr., Patrick Gallagher and John Basilone destroyers.

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Former DARPA Head Victoria Coleman Assumes Air Force Chief Scientist Post
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Former DARPA Head Victoria Coleman Assumes Air Force Chief Scientist Post

Victoria Coleman, former head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has assumed her new role as chief scientist of the U.S. Air Force, Inside Defense reported Tuesday.

Laura McAndrews, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, told the publication in an email that Coleman officially succeeded Richard Joseph as the service branch’s lead scientist last week.

Coleman, who served as DARPA director from September 2020 to January of this year, has over 35 years of experience leading technology and computer science initiatives. She also served as CEO of artificial intelligence-focused technology company Atlas AI and joined the advisory board of LookingGlass Cyber Solutions in March 2021.

She additionally served as part of Lockheed Martin’s technology advisory group for over five years, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Karlton Johnson: CMMC Accreditation Body’s Board Eyes Nonprofit Status, Grant Funding
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Karlton Johnson: CMMC Accreditation Body’s Board Eyes Nonprofit Status, Grant Funding

Karlton Johnson, chairman of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body’s (CMMC-AB) board of directors, said the volunteer board is working to transition operations to paid staff as it awaits potential nonprofit status, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Johnson told the publication in an interview that the board filed to operate as a nonprofit in February and expects to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) entity after approximately eight months. He noted that the board is also looking into implementing nonprofit activities such as using grants to secure funding. 

The board is additionally handling efforts to select vice presidents and a chief financial officer for the AB, according to Nextgov. The board could be required to only attend quarterly or biannual meetings in the future, Johnson said.

“If in doubt, the government has oversight with us and so we’re working hand in hand with the government,” he noted.

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Elizabeth Mashakas Appointed SVP of Talent Acquisition for BlueHalo; CEO Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted
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Elizabeth Mashakas Appointed SVP of Talent Acquisition for BlueHalo; CEO Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted

BlueHalo announced on Wednesday that the company has named Elizabeth Mashakas as senior vice president of Talent Acquisition, effective immediately. Mashakas will report directly to Ray Khuo, executive vice president of Human Capital.

“BlueHalo has a culture in which people and values matter, and which sparks the kind of innovative thinking and relentless drive to improve how services and products are delivered in support of our customer’s missions,” said Mashaka. “I am proud to be a part of the transformation!”

With over 30 years of experience in talent acquisition, Mashakas will work to develop and oversee the executive of recruiting strategies to attract, evaluate and hire talent in response to BlueHalo’s growing demand.

Mashakas comes to BlueHalo with over 30 years of experience in Talent Acquisition across various industry-leading companies and has a proven track record of impact.

Over the course of her career, Mashakas has provided high-quality guidance on talent acquisition and its other aspects for Centauri, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Serco Inc., Orbital ATK, Accenture and a number of other organizations across the federal sector.

“As we continue to invest and grow, onboarding top talent from across our industry will both create exceptional opportunities for our employee base to work on programs and technologies not available anywhere else and deepen the culture that sets Bluehalo apart, said Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo.

About BlueHalo

BlueHalo is purpose-built to provide industry-leading capabilities in the domains of Space Superiority and Directed Energy, Air and Missile Defense and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), and Cyber and Intelligence.

BlueHalo focuses on inspired engineering to develop, transition, and field next-generation capabilities to solve the most complex challenges of our customer’s critical missions and reestablish our national security posture in the near-peer contested arena.

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Curtiss-Wright Awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Contract to Provide COTS Module Technology to Update F-22 Raptor Aircraft; President, CEO Lynn Bamford Quoted
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Curtiss-Wright Awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Contract to Provide COTS Module Technology to Update F-22 Raptor Aircraft; President, CEO Lynn Bamford Quoted

Curtiss-Wright Corporation announced on Wednesday that the company has received a contract to provide its commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processor module technology to upgrade the F-22 Raptor aircraft through Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Prior to its selection, the Curtiss-Wright processor module was successfully subjected to a rigorous and extensive durability test program to meet the F-22 Raptor’s extreme environmental requirements. The module also provides support for Trusted and Secure Computing hardware and software protections.

“Curtiss-Wright is very proud to be the first vendor selected to supply COTS processing technology for use on the F-22 Raptor, supporting the DoD’s vigorous mandate to bring the benefits of the Modular Open Systems Approach to deployed platforms,” said Lynn Bamford, president and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient. 

The selection of Curtiss-Wright’s COTS technology is in alignment with the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) Digital Trinity for e-systems, which includes digital engineering, agile software development and open architecture. 

The use of COTS processing modules will deliver cost-effective new capabilities to the USAF sooner and more affordably. This open standards approach will also enable more economical and timely upgrades of the aircraft’s avionics systems.

“Our commitment to championing the use of industry-leading open standards solutions, as evidenced in the formation of our MOSA Task Force, is unwavering, and it is very exciting to see this vision realized on the USAF’s leading tactical fighter,” Bamford added. “We look forward to supporting many more important platforms and programs as the DoD’s movement to open architecture electronics systems continues to expand and accelerate.”

Curtiss-Wright Awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Contract to Provide COTS Module Technology to Update F-22 Raptor Aircraft; President, CEO Lynn Bamford Quoted

Visit Wash100.com to cast a vote for Lynn Bamford as the most significant executive of consequence to the GovCon sector. Cast your TEN votes TODAY to advocate your favorite leaders in the federal and government sectors. The elite leader with the most votes by April 30th will be recognized by the GovCon community as the industry’s most influential member.

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House Lawmakers Want Biden to Name Nominees to Merit Systems Protection Board
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House Lawmakers Want Biden to Name Nominees to Merit Systems Protection Board

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., chairman of the House Oversight and Reform’s government operations subcommittee, and Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., ranking member of the House subpanel, have called on President Biden to nominate members to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

“Without a quorum, the MSPB is unable to act on claims of whistleblower retaliation and is at risk of essentially having to cease its operations,” the lawmakers wrote in an April 5th letter to Biden.

Hice and Connolly said MSPB has lacked a quorum since Jan. 2017 and has been without a single member on the board since March 2019, resulting in a backlog of over 3,000 cases filed by federal employees.

The lawmakers said cases pending in federal courts could jeopardize the ability of MSPB’s administrative judges to issue initial decisions on employees’ appeals if the board fails to assemble a quorum to provide the judges with the required authorities to carry out their duties.

“Once your nominations are made, we trust that the Senate will work quickly to confirm the qualified candidates to the MSPB and restore the Board to full operations,” the letter reads.

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Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger Shares Views on CMMC
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Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger Shares Views on CMMC

Lauren Knausenberger, chief information officer of the U.S. Air Force and 2021 Wash100 Award, said she has concerns about the potential impact of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program on small businesses seeking to work with DOD, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

Although Knausenberger thinks the Pentagon’s information technology supply chain should be supported with better cyber standards, she said she has “mixed feelings” about CMMC.

“I have mixed feelings on it personally,” she said of CMMC during an America’s Future Series webinar. “I think if we lock it down so that we are not going to do business with certain people because they don’t meet [CMMC], I think that limits our options.”

Under the CMMC framework, vendors will be required to tap an accredited third-party assessor to verify if they meet the security requirements of a CMMC level stipulated in a contract.

The CMMC Accreditation Body on Tuesday launched an industry advisory council composed of executives from companies, such as Accenture, Amazon Web Services and BAE Systems.

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