• As Congress works on the next military budget, some are asking President Joe Biden to focus on the well-being of service members and their families. Lawmakers want the White House to prioritize quality of life issues in the fiscal 2025 defense budget request. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), among others, are asking President Joe Biden to focus on housing, compensation, health care and child care as Congress begins to draft the 2025 defense policy bill. President Biden is expected to release his 2025 budget request on March 11, but Congress has yet to pass the fiscal 2024 budget.
  (Lawmakers ask Biden to prioritize military quality of life issues - House Armed Services Committee)
• The Commerce Department is seeking public feedback on the openness of artificial intelligence tools. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is launching a request for comment, as it looks for more feedback on the benefits and risks of “open-weight” AI systems. AI model weights are a distillation of what an AI model has been trained to understand, and how that model continues to behave. “Responsible AI innovation we know is going to bring enormous benefits to people. It’s going to transform every corner of our economy. But we also know that we will only realize the promise of AI if we also address the serious risks that it raises today," NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said.
  (NTIA seeks feedback on risks, rewards of ‘open-weight’ AI models - Federal News Network)
• One of the National Security Agency’s top cyber officials is stepping down this spring. Rob Joyce, NSA's director of cybersecurity, will retire on March 31. Joyce has served at the agency for 34 years, including a stint as the leader of the Tailored Access Operations unit. Since taking over as head of the Cybersecurity Directorate in 2021, Joyce has led the NSA’s efforts to secure defense contractor and critical infrastructure networks. He will be succeeded by David Luber, the deputy director of the Cybersecurity Directorate.
  (National Security Agency announces retirement of cybersecurity director - NSA)
• The Agriculture Department is looking for tech talent to improve its level of service to the public. USDA’s Digital Service and its Office of Customer Experience are partnering to launch a Digital Service Fellows Program. The department is looking for fellows to improve its customer experience, procurement and digital-service delivery. USDA is taking fellowship applications through March 4. Once hired, fellows will start a two-year, full-time tour of service, with the option of serving up to four years. The department is offering jobs in Washington, D.C., as well as remote positions.
  (USDA launches their first digital service fellows program advancing the department’s technology workforce - USDA)

        Learn how federal agencies are preparing to help agencies gear up for AI in our latest Executive Briefing, sponsored by ThunderCat Technology.

• The United States Central Command is moving toward Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control. The command is currently working on building its zero trust environment, with the goal of sharing this environment across a broader set of partners. While the environment is not operational yet, the command expects to be able to add partners and allies to their environment this year. CENTCOM’s Chief Data Officer Michael Foster said the environment needs to encompass all stakeholders, partners and allies for CJADC2 to be fully effective.
  (CENTCOM moves towards CJADC2 - CDAO)

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