Having experienced more than a decade of hot and humid Washington, D.C., summers, I thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant start we experienced this year. Warm temperatures, cooling breezes and clear skies made for delightful days and evenings. It doesn’t get much better than that. Unfortunately, the political climate in no way resembles that pattern. The storm clouds of dissent have moved from the horizon to a perch directly overhead, and there are no clearer skies in the forecast.

A new technology aimed at finding unauthorized wireless devices on critical infrastructure networks could be fielded within a matter of months.

U.S. officials attending a United Nations meeting this month will try to sway other nations to agree to a set of international norms of behavior in the cyber realm. The U.S. approach is at odds with that preferred by Chinese and Russian officials, who argue that new treaties or international codes are needed for cyber.

Brazil is looking skyward to provide secure communications necessary for its military forces. Using SISCOMIS, the country’s national System for Military Satellite Communications network, Brazil is turning to satellite communications to play a progressively larger role in its joint military structure. Recent initiatives are seeing new terminal procurement, further hubs and two additional satellites that would join recently launched orbiters beginning in 2014. Brazil also is employing international government-to-government cooperation with France to access advanced military satellite communications technology and capabilities.

The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command recently invested almost $8 million in upgrades to current explosive ordnance disposal robots to improve their usefulness to operators. These enhancements also could benefit troops in other mission areas.

Breaking with traditional government strategies that target public perception, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has issued a new strategic plan that focuses on internal processes and goals. The strategy establishes measures of effectiveness by defining end-states that will be the targets of NGA activities, and it touches on topics ranging from work force activities to major organizational shifts.

Like a good horse for a range-roving cowboy. Like a decent hammer for a carpenter. A business developer needs tools to hunt down the right business opportunities and to efficiently engage the right clients. Several news tools have come to my attention recently and several older ones that still provide great value. This blog entry is one of several, over the next weeks, to highlight what’s available for the current BD practitioner in the federal/defense market. If you have been a BD professional for awhile and are not updated, this will help. If you’re still learning, this will be even more help. In any case, having the right tools is vital.

A new nonskid deck coating developed at NRL, and now undergoing final development and ship testing, promises to be more durable, hold its color longer, and be more resistant to spilled chemicals. Because the new material, called siloxane, will last longer compared with traditional nonskid deck coating, it will also be cheaper in the long run.

Coalition and interagency partners have a lot of hard work ahead of them if they want to operate better together in the future, but with the right attitudes enabled by the best technology, the way ahead has plenty of promise.

Several themes emerged during the second day of TechNet Land Forces South in Tampa, Florida, but the most dominant topic was the budget. Lt. Gen. Bradley A. Heithold, USAF, vice commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), discussed the implications the funding cuts will have on special operations forces (SOF). As one of the people involved in drafting the new budget, he assured the audience that every choice was made carefully with focus on critical objectives. The SOF budget grows under the new plan as force numbers increase toward 12,000 forces.