Biometrics in OSD. John Boyd, the director of Defense Biometrics and Forensics within the Office of Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, says he will be leaving early next year and that it’s uncertain what is going to happen to his position. “It’s under discussion as to backfilling my position, if at all, and if so it will likely be greatly restructured,” he says at the Global Identity Summit in Tampa, Fla. He says the pending restructuring of his position doesn’t impact his deputies and staff and others within the Defense Department that are focused on identity solutions. The discussions are “fluid” at the moment, he tells Defense Daily
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…Industry Concerns. Industry officials at the conference here did raise concerns about what the loss of Boyd’s position could mean in terms of advocacy and support for biometrics and larger identity solutions in general at the level of the Office of Secretary of Defense. One official says the pending change raises questions about the resiliency of biometrics within the acquisition leadership at DoD.
Officials Confirmed. The Senate confirmed Debra Wada, a HASC staff member, as the next assistant secretary of the army for manpower and reserve affairs on Wednesday. HASC ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) says in a statement that “while she will be hard to replace, the Army has certainly gained a tremendous asset.” The Senate also confirmed Eric Rosenbach on Thursday to serve as the next assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs.
Gov’t Shutdown Avoided. The Senate approved a continuing resolution to keep the government open through Dec. 11 on Thursday, passing the same language the House did on Tuesday. The bill, which funds the government at this fiscal year’s levels, also includes a measure that authorizes the military to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels to fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as ISIL, and provides $500 million for that effort. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says, “while it will take time to strengthen the moderate Syrian opposition forces, they and the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish forces are central to confronting ISIL. The U.S. military will work closely with regional partners, including Saudi Arabia, to recruit and vet the opposition forces, and we will continue to build and sustain a broad coalition to implement our strategy.” 
Gulf Cyber. The Second Edition of the Gulf International Cyber Security Symposium (GICS) takes place Nov. 16-17 under auspices of the MoD in the UAE. GICS is a high-level meeting for key strategic security stakeholders in government and senior executives from critical sectors to engage in collaborative discussions on the emerging challenges of the evolving cyber threat landscape, cyber security strategy and implementation, inter-agency and public-private sector collaboration, and on developing technical and human resources. GICS seeks to tie together policy-level discussions with the command and operational layers of cyber security taking technology-centric focus on military cyber capabilities, critical infrastructure protection, and law enforcement against cyber criminals and “dark” actors.
New Board Member. Former Army Lt. Gen. William Phillips, who retired this year as the highest ranking military acquisition officer in the Army, joins the seven-member board of directors at Phoenix Nuclear Labs (PNL). PNL’s neutron generator technology has broad applications across medicine, energy and national defense sectors.
SECNAV Making the Rounds. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus had a series of meetings over the last week during the annual International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I. Mabus met with top Navy leaders from France, Malaysia, India, Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Chile and the United Kingdom on the sidelines of the event. The focus of his talks was on continued partnership in maritime security in the various regions represented by the nations.
…Virginia Gets a Name. While up in the northeast Mabus also stopped by Vermont to announce that the 19th of the Virginia-class (SSN-774) attack submarines will be named for the state. “From our nation’s beginning, the people of Vermont have tirelessly supported our Navy, enabling us to become the unparalleled fighting force we are today,” Mabus says. “I am here on the banks of Lake Champlain, to once again honor the sailors and Marines who have come from this great state, and to honor your support of our Navy and Marine Corps and your naval history.” It will be first naval vessel to be named after the state since 1920. The future USS Vermont’s hull number will be 792.
Navy To Test Missile on LCS. The Navy plans to conduct a live-fire demonstration of the Naval Strike Missile on Wednesday aboard the USS Coronado (LCS-4), the trimaran variant of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), while it is underway in the Pacific Ocean. The Navy is still looking for a defensive missile system for LCS. The Navy had long stated it would use the Raytheon-built Griffin, but said in April that it instead was going to go with Longbow Hellfire system already in Army stockpiles. It appears the Navy is also considering Norway’s Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace-built Naval Strike Missile. The missile will be fired on a mobile target. Rear Adm. Jon Hill, the program executive officer for integrated warfare systems at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), says the Navy witnessed the missile’s capability when it was fired off a Norwegian ship during international exercises last summer. “We’re excited to see what potential the missile has as a possible future warfighting tool for the U.S. Navy,” he says.
Benefits of DHS HQ Consolidation. Consolidating the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security and its components at the former St. Elizabeths campus in Washington, D.C., will save nearly $1 billion over 30 years, according to a new report by the majority staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. That savings includes nearly $700 million from not having to rent equivalent space, $210 million from being able to fit more DHS employees in office space using new standards, and $132 million in cost avoidances related to maintaining St. Elizabeths and cuts to overhead.
…Other Benefits. Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) says that not only will completing the consolidation save money, “it will help our nation better prevent and respond to terrorist attacks and other disasters.” Given this, the consolidation needs to “remain a funding priority,” he says. The headquarters consolidation is behind schedule and over budget in large part due to Congress cutting funds for the effort. The staff report included interviews with former DHS Secretaries Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano.
Clearance Reform. The Senate has approved a bill introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) that would reform the security clearance process by prohibiting federal agencies that use a contractor to perform background investigations to also allow the contractor to perform the final quality review of its own work. “We have been playing fast and loose with the background investigation process, and it’s past time to make wholesale reforms,” Tester says. The Preventing Conflicts of Interest with Contractors Act (S. 2061) passed via a hotline vote overnight on Thursday.
VTOL UAS Symposium. Google’s David Vos and Nick Roy are the keynote speakers for AHS International Federal City Chapter’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) symposium and technical workshop. The symposium will take place at Oct. 21 at the University of Maryland Alumni Center in College Park, Md. Vos and Roy are working on Google’s X Project Wing, which is developing autonomous drones. A demonstration is also planned. AHS International is the professional society for the advancement of vertical flight technology and its useful application. Visit http://bit.ly/1qRV4wD for more information.
SBIRS Contract. The Air Force awards Lockheed Martin a $43 million contract modification for dual band telemetry, tracking and communications capability for the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous earth orbiting (GEO) space vehicles five and six, according to a service statement. Lockheed Martin will redesign the interfacing, software, power, thermal and structures to accommodate the new dual band capable transponder box and cabling. This effort also adds a Unified S-band uplink frequency and modulation scheme to the existing space to ground link system L-band uplink capability.
Aerospace Corp. Contract. The Air Force awards the Aerospace Corp. a $812 million contract modification for support to the Air Force Space and Missile Systems (AFSMC) center. Aerospace Corp. spokeswoman Jessica Brown says Sept. 19 the initial contract was signed a year ago and was a one-year deal with four one-year renewal options.
Aerojet Additive Contract. An Air Force contract awarded to Aerojet Rocketdyne in August for large-scale additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, development and demonstration is worth $11.8 million, according to the Air Force. The Air Force and Aerojet Rocketdyne are sharing the cost with the government share running $6.3 million, according to service spokeswoman Laura McGowan. The contractor is contributing the balance as cost share on the technology investment agreement. The contract will secure multiple large selective laser multiple large selective laser melting machines to develop liquid rocket engine applications for national security space launch services.
SpaceX CRS-4. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) plans its fourth run to the International Space Station (ISS) Sept. 20 at 2:14 a.m. EST, according to Patrick AFB, Fla. The run is part of the company’s Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA, taxing cargo to ISS.
ULA Launch. United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launches its CLIO mission Sept. 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Launch took place on an Atlas V. ULA’s next launch is scheduled for Oct. 29, also from Cape Canaveral.