Arrowhead Global Solutions Inc., a graduated 8(a) firm, has agreed to be acquired by CapRock Communications of Houston. The price was not disclosed.

Arrowhead, of Fairfax, VA, specializes in secure communications for the military and civilian federal agencies. Founded in 1991 as a Native American-owned company by Mary Ann Elliott, it has grown to more than $100 million in revenue.

The companies said Elliott will remain as CEO after the acquisition is completed. “We had many suitors,” she said in a statement. “We were seeking a strategic partner that would allow us to expand our stellar services to the federal government – and CapRock met that requirement.”

Contractors filed 1,327 protests with the Government Accountability Office in fiscal 2006, a 10% increase over 2002, the Washington Post reported.

The number of appeals to the Court of Federal Claims has grown by 50%. Companies’ chances of winning their appeals have doubled to nearly 30%, the highest in two decades, GAO said.

Senators have introduced legislation to shut down the Defense Travel System’s travel booking function. The prime sponsor, Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman, said the system “does not work and has proven a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The Defense Department has spent more than $500 million on the system, but only 17% of the department’s travelers use it, according to a study by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations. The committee, which Coleman chaired last year, also questioned DOD’s estimates of savings.

GSA has named Molly Wilkinson chief acquisition officer. She has been associate deputy secretary for management at the Labor Department and previously worked on Iraq reconstruction at the Defense Department.