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As DISA preps JWCC-Next, Olympus, JOE initiatives take hold

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The next version of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Computing contract is coming into focus.

While the final solicitation is still months away, the Defense Department is applying several lessons from the current JWCC vehicle as it completes its acquisition strategy.

John Hale, the chief of product management and development at the Defense Information Systems Agency, which is overseeing JWCC’s acquisition effort, said one of the biggest changes expected in JWCC-Next is not only opening it up to more hyperscale cloud service providers, but expanding the type of cloud service providers who could win a spot on the contract.

John Hale is the chief of product management and development at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

“We’ve made some modifications through the existing JWCC contract since we awarded it and most of those have been around getting access to the third-party vendors that are included with the large hyperscale providers,” Hale said in an interview with Federal News Network. “What we have learned as mission partners move to a particular hyperscale provider, they don’t just want that capability provided by that provider, they want all of the ancillary services that are provided as part of that ecosystem. So how do we get to that, and how do we provide that capability to a warfighter, rather than have them to do separate contracts for that kind of stuff? That’s where we’re trying to make the changes to get to that.”

Hale, who spoke Thursday at the Defense One DoD Cloud Workshop, said that means if a service wants access to a specific application that already is using infrastructure from AWS or Azure or Google or Oracle, they want a third party to help them implement that specific software.

DoD’s modification to JWCC aims to help the military services or defense agencies more easily move applications and services to the cloud.

Since the Pentagon awarded JWCC, which has a $9 billion ceiling, in November 2021, the military services or defense agencies have awarded a little over $3 billion in task orders. The military services are seeing the value of JWCC with the Army in June mandating the use of the contract vehicle for all new cloud acquisitions at the secret and unclassified levels.

JWCC-Next solicitation coming in 2026

Hale said DISA plans to release the solicitation for JWCC-Next in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and make awards by early 2027. DoD has been thinking about the next version of JWCC since 2023 because of how quickly the cloud market has evolved.

“Our plan is to have enough overlap between the award of JWCC-Next and before JWCC, the current contract, expires so that we can do the transition nice and smooth during that that period,” he said.

JWCC is a 10-year contract and would expire in 2031, if DoD picks up all of its options.

While Hale said he couldn’t comment on the timing of any requests for information or even draft requests for proposals, he did say DISA is working closely with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition and Sustainment office on JWCC-Next.

“We’re working with A&S for two reasons because of the simple scope and scale of the contract. But then also, how do we how can we expand the base period of the contract to a longer period so we have less transitions in the future when mission partners are leveraging the capabilities,” he said. “One of the things we want to get to is through a fair and open competition, making longer term rewards, so that we can then make it less on us, on the mission partners as they transition from one [contract] to another.”

While JWCC-Next is a long-term initiative, DISA is aiming for two other initiatives to deliver new capabilities in the coming months.

One is called Olympus, which is DISA’s infrastructure-as-code initiative.

Hale said DISA plans to change its approach to how it offers Olympus starting next fiscal year.

OCONUS cloud access expanding

“We launched infrastructure-as-code basically two years ago, and the way infrastructure-as-code works is it’s a toolkit which mission partners could then download, manipulate, manage and run it themselves. The feedback we got from a lot of DoD mission partners is, ‘This is great, but we don’t want to run it,’” Hale said. “It’s in a pilot form right now, but we plan on transitioning it to a Defense working capital fund capability starting Oct. 1, so it’ll be available to mission partners to buy. Basically, it is that infrastructure-as-code type capability, but in a managed service format. You simply pay one fee, and then we build your infrastructure-as-code capability for you, so you have that automated management of your cloud environment.”

The benefits of both infrastructure-as-code and making it managed service is two-fold. Hale said first users get better and easier security from the managed service. Second, military services and defense agencies don’t need the expertise to implement, maintain and update the infrastructure.

“Most mission partners are seeing about a seven month reduction from beginning to getting the authority to operate (ATO) of their capability. So when they go to migrate something to the cloud, they’re seeing a large reduction in the initial work required to get into an ATO,” Hale said. “Olympus is trying to drive towards how do we get to that continuous ATO type model for things that are running in a commercial cloud environment and having that capability so that you push the button and you get it quicker.”

The second initiative DISA is expecting progress on is the joint operational edge (JOE) capability. Hale said through this program, DISA is bringing commercial cloud services to commands located outside the continental United States. DISA initially brought JOE to Indo-Pacific Command initially, including Hawaii, Japan, South Korea and Guam, and recently expanded access to the Middle East and European theaters.

“We worked with commercial cloud providers to deploy their infrastructure in our data centers OCONUS. By doing that, we were able to get around the data sovereignty issues by having the systems in our data centers, they’re on U.S. soil, and they follow U.S. data sovereignty rules,” he said. “The initial deployment of JOE was focused on the secret level networks, and so that’s what we’ve flushed out initially. There’s a demand signal for unclassified, impact level (IL) four and five capabilities. We have not provided that as part of the phase one of the JOE effort because we want to see how this goes, make sure that it’s meeting mission needs, and then if everything goes well, then we’ll look at deploying it to other classification levels.”

The post As DISA preps JWCC-Next, Olympus, JOE initiatives take hold first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Politics

Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)

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August 9, 2025

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Democrats continue to somehow subvert the lowest of expectations as they fight their woke crusades.

In a first ever virtue signal, New York City is set to open a transgender only homeless shelter.

The Gateway Pundit reported,

The city of New York is opening the nation’s first transgender-only homeless shelter.

The shelter, a partnership between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will cost the city an extraordinary $65 million and will be the first transgender homeless shelter in the nation.

“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community and the city didn’t do it,” said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the nonprofit that will manage the shelter for the city.

“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”

The opening comes amid a broader homelessness crisis in New York City, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to be without stable housing on any given night.

The city’s shelter system is already stretched thin, with demand rising due to a combination of economic hardship, an influx of illegal aliens ,and a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Who cares about all the other homeless people in New York City each night, the transgender homeless come first.

Truth has become stranger than parody. With any luck, Democrats will continue down this path of self destruction that has been so thoroughly rejected by the American people.

The post Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt

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August 9, 2025

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A weeklong manhunt has come to a close with the apprehension of Michael Paul Brown, a 45-year-old Army veteran, following a fatal mass shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda.

On August 1, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Brown entered The Owl Bar, where he lived next door, and opened fire with a rifle, killing four local residents: bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley (64) and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie (59), David Allen Leach (70), and Tony Wayne Palm (74).

A multi-agency effort, including state law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and federal resources, scoured the mountainous terrain surrounding Anaconda. Helicopters, K9 units, and tactical teams were deployed across the region.

A reward of $7,500 to $10,000 was offered for information leading to Brown’s capture.

On Friday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte confirmed Brown’s arrest via social media, acknowledging the rapid and resolute law enforcement response.

“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gianforte.

CNN reported:

Brown had been on the run since the “biggest” shooting in the state of Montana in a decade. He was arrested around 2 p.m. local time Friday near the search area in Anaconda and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Brown, an Army veteran, was seen on security footage fleeing The Owl Bar, where the fatal shooting occurred, investigators said. Since then, he had been sought by authorities representing at least 38 local, state and federal agencies traversing challenging terrain in the western Montana wilderness.

“I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement following the arrest. “The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”

[…]

Brown served as an armor crewman in the US Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, a spokesperson with the US Army, previously told CNN.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, previously told CNN he struggled with his mental health during his time in the Army and was never the same after his service. Brown’s mental health got progressively worse with the passing of both of his parents, Boyle said.

The post Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain

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August 9, 2025

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Fire breaks out in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba.

More than a tourist attraction, more than an architectural treasure, the Mosque-Cathedral in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Spain is a historical monument and a spiritual center – so, all around the world, both the faithful and the history lovers are mourning as a massive fire consumes the building complex.

Newsweek reported:

“Firefighters are responding to the blaze at the major tourist attraction and UNESCO-listed heritage site in Andalusia. Footage shows thick smoke billowing out from the millennia-old building as flames lapped at its roof.

Firefighters from the city of Córdoba are still battling to extinguish the fire at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba but local reports say the blaze is mostly contained as of 10 p.m. local time. The extent of damage is not yet clear.”

Being simultaneously one of the most significant buildings both in Islamic and in Christian architectural history, it began as a grand mosque in the 8th century and was transformed into a cathedral in 1236.

“The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially called the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, was built as a mosque over 200 years starting 785 CE. The mosque opened in 988 CE, and remained a Muslim site for nearly 300 years before the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 CE.

The structure converted to a cathedral, undergoing additional modifications and building until one final, major addition in 1607 CE.”

Read more, from November 2024:

‘The Virgin of Paris’: Medieval Statue of the Virgin Mary With Baby Jesus, That Survived the 2019 Fire, Is Returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral Ahead of December Grand Reopening

The post WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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