DefenseScoop

The nominees for the 2025 #DefenseScoop50 Awards have been announced! The DefenseScoop 50 Awards honor exceptional leaders and innovators who are leveraging modern technology to strengthen U.S. defense and national security. Now is your chance to recognize their impact! Cast your vote for the trailblazers driving game-changing advancements in defense and deterrence strategies. ?? Voting closes at midnight EST April 18. ?? Vote now: https://lnkd.in/e_-hjz8H #NationalSecurity #DefenseInnovation #Modernization #Leadership

BREAKING: Trump executive order consolidates federal IT contracting under GSA https://lnkd.in/epCUWuwv

More than 350 probationary employees were terminated from their jobs at the Pentagon — or informed that they would be — since mid-February, according to a document the Defense Department submitted to a federal court on Wednesday. Now, dozens of those individuals are in the process of being hired back on, in compliance with a court order finding those Trump administration-led terminations were likely unlawful. via Brandi Vincent and Madison Alder https://lnkd.in/eWJkeAMb

DOD lists more categories of positions exempt from civilian hiring freeze: https://lnkd.in/ewmazGyT

The Elastic Public Sector Summit, produced by FedScoop, convened government and industry leaders to discuss how data, AI, and cybersecurity are transforming public sector operations. Throughout the day, speakers and panelists shared real-world insights on emerging technologies and mission-critical innovations shaping government IT strategy. Key discussions explored: ? The role of generative AI in government – Agencies are leveraging AI to improve citizen services, automate workflows, and enhance mission outcomes, while addressing security, bias, and governance concerns. ? Advancing Zero Trust architectures – Leaders emphasized interoperability, cross-agency data sharing, and AI-driven threat detection to strengthen cybersecurity. ? Unlocking data for decision-making with data mesh – Federal and state agencies are using data mesh strategies to eliminate silos, improve accessibility, and ensure real-time, data-driven insights without centralizing data. ? The evolution of Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) – Security leaders outlined the shift from reactive cybersecurity to proactive, AI-powered defense strategies that improve resilience and compliance. A special thank you to our partners at Elastic, along with the distinguished speakers: Chris Townsend, Ashutosh Kulkarni, Brian Epley, Pritha Mehra, Amy Ritualo, Nishant Shah, Nick Drost, Steve Kearns, George Teas, Dr. David Markowitz, Lt. Gen. Jerry Carter, Sean MacKirdy, David Weinberg, Bill Wright, Hussein Johnson, Alex Martinez, Shelly Hartsook, Matt House, H. Michael Nichols, Marlan Macklin, Manuel “Manny” Medrano, Justin Senseney, Jennifer Nowell, Natalie Evans Harris, Matt Sokol, Graham Stroman, sponsors, and attendees for advancing critical discussions on AI, cybersecurity, and data-driven innovation shaping the future of government technology. ?? Join the conversation! Share your key takeaways using #ElasticGovSummit and continue shaping the future of public sector technology. ?? What’s next? Stay connected for future discussions: https://lnkd.in/ep6-C-_v Carahsoft | AWS Public Sector | ElastiFlow | AgileBlue | ECS | Red River | Swish | Tines | Abba Technologies | Chainguard | FCN Inc. | Iron Bow Technologies | Norseman Defense Technologies |

Govini CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty writes in this Op-Ed on one of the Pentagon's most high-profile software programs https://lnkd.in/e6ey_FrN

DOD lists categories of positions exempt from civilian hiring freeze https://lnkd.in/e4S8rHkQ

The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force can request exemptions for civilian hiring freezes at “readiness-centric” locations, according to a new memo from Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The SecDef, who previously ordered a civilian hiring freeze in a Feb. 28 directive, laid out additional criteria for exemptions in a March 14 memo to senior Pentagon leadership, combatant commanders, and defense agency and field activity directors. “While the Department remains under the hiring freeze, DoD will only hire mission-essential employees into positions that directly contribute to our warfighting readiness,” Hegseth wrote in the new directive, noting that he had previously identified exemptions for positions essential to immigration enforcement, national security and public safety. https://lnkd.in/eNJEnJwe

How the Army built Next-Gen Command and Control — Mark Pomerleau has the story: https://lnkd.in/eaYMxNJD

A top Space Force official is sounding alarms over recent on-orbit demonstrations by China that showed how adversaries could potentially put U.S. space assets at risk in a future conflict. “With our commercial assets, we have observed five different objects in space maneuvering in and out around each other in synchronicity and in control. That’s what we call dogfighting in space,” Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein said Tuesday during the annual McAleese Defense Programs Conference. “They are practicing tactics, techniques and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another.” https://lnkd.in/eysVeX4H