Today's guests:

Alan Chvotkin — Executive vice president and counsel, Professional Services Council

Bill Bransford — Partner, Shaw Bransford & Roth

Alan Chvotkin and Bill Bransford count down the top federal news stories of the week on Federal News Countdown. From a contracting pay cap and the Senate postal bill to the Secret Service scandal, listen for a discussion of the most important issues and news in the world of the federal government.

Federal News Countdown: Postal reform, retirement hike, contractor pay cap

Michael O'Hanlon — Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

The Defense Department's new defense strategy, released earlier this year, "envisions a smaller, leaner Army that is agile, flexible, rapidly deployable and technologically advanced," according to a Congressional Research Service report, released by the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy News.

But there are still questions about what the Army will look like after this reconfiguration.

Michael O'Hanlon, the director of research and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses lessons learned from previous Army drawdowns.

This story is part of Federal News Radio's daily DoD Report brought to you by United Health Military and Veterans Services. For more defense news, click here.

Also on the show:

Siemens Enterprise Communications' Chris Hummel on mobility challenges

Shared services success depends on culture change

Inspector general: TARP 'not out of woods yet'