Please note, beginning June 13, 2019, the Blue Top newsletter distribution list will be cleaned of all non-government email addresses that aren’t approved by an Agency Lead. This change is being implemented to improve security, ensure the legitimacy of recipients, and remove email bots that are currently subscribed.

If you are currently subscribed to the Blue Top newsletter with a federal email addresses (e.g., @gsa.gov; @usda.gov; @mail.mil; etc.), no action is required and you will continue to receive the newsletter each month.

Changes/updates since last Blue Top

• February 15-18: USAccess Release 15 was pushed to production as scheduled.
• March 2-3: Routine monthly maintenance was completed as scheduled.

  Planned system events

USAccess Release 15 is scheduled for this weekend, February 16-18, after being moved from January. An updated draft release notice was posted on the Agency Lead Portal and emailed to Agency Leads on Jan. 28. The MSO was granted a short extension on its Authority to Operate (ATO) to get through the shutdown. The release contains elements that mitigate vulnerabilities, which are critical to GSA granting USAccess a new ATO.

In January and February, the MSO worked through approximately 2,500 cards that were returned during the shutdown due to offices being closed. The normal weekly average for returned cards is approximately 5-10. As of Thursday, Feb. 7, all returned cards that were received during the shutdown were processed and sent out to their original ship-to sites. We appreciate agencies’ patience as we worked through this process. If you have questions about returned cards, please contact hspd12@gsa.gov.

If you have received a Mobile Credentialing Unit (MCU) as part of of the USAccess transition process, please remember to register your new equipment on Site Manager. There are step by step instructions in the MCU Setup Guide for how to add a site in Site Manager, as well as how to add end dates to your current LCS workstations. Please reach out to your Agency Lead or the gsamso@gsa.gov inbox if you have any questions.

Customer Agencies placing new equipment orders (FCU, MCU, LA, Printer) need to have complete and correct shipment information at the time of submission. Updates to shipment addresses are not typically possible after the MSO sends the orders to vendors. The MSO encourages agencies to ensure they have the correct shipment information prior to submitting orders, even if that means delaying submission by a few days.

The MSO will soon be performing its annual distribution list cleanup. The cleanup was postponed as a result of the government shutdown, but steps should resume within the next month. Agency Leads should be on the lookout for an email on this topic, which will include an attachment listing all agency representatives on the USAccess distribution lists and all agency ALP accounts. Agency Leads will be asked to review the lists and provide any necessary changes to the MSO.

Changes/updates since last Blue Top

• February 2-3: Routine monthly maintenance was completed as scheduled.

Planned system events

Changes/updates since last Blue Top

Due to the current government shutdown, USAccess Credentialing Centers may be operating under limited coverage (or may even be closed.) Please reach out to your Agency Lead for assistance to determine if your site is open prior to traveling (this applies to both dedicated agency and shared sites). If you do not have an appointment and were planning to drop in, please confirm the Center is open before traveling.