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- 5 percent of federal workers to be furloughed Friday
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Katherine Archuleta chosen as next OPM director
- Data breach puts DHS workers at risk of identity theft
- DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health record system
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB fuels synergy between mobile, open data
- IRS official Lerner: 'I did nothing wrong'
- Accountability breakdown leading factor in DoD sexual assaults
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- VanRoekel to lead OMB management team
- Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal finalists
- Thursday federal headlines - May 23, 2013
Latest on sequestration and military budgets
On this week's edition of Pentagon Solutions, host Francis Rose looks at the latest information on furloughs at the Defense Department as well as the 2014 budgets for the Army and Air Force.
AP Exclusive: Commander cites 'rot' in nuke force
AP Exclusive: Air Force sidelines 17 nuclear missile officers; commander cites 'rot' in system
Airman who led sex assault unit charged in groping
Officer who led Air Force's sex assault response branch accused of groping in Va.
Experimental Air Force aircraft goes hypersonic
Experimental Air Force aircraft reaches hypersonic speeds during test flight off California
Air Force Secretary Donley to step down
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will step down in June after nearly five years on the job, the Air Force announced Friday. Donley's last day with the service will be June 21.
Air Force officer defends decision to overturn sexual-assault verdict
The Air Force commander who overturned a jury's guilty verdict in a sexual assault case -- enraging members of Congress and prompting talk of military justice reform -- explained his case in a letter to a top Pentagon official, saying he found the accused officer and his wife more believable than the alleged victim.
How one Air Force program aims to save $1 billion
The Air Force Materiel Command is trying to save up to $1 billion through a process called High Velocity Maintenance. Dr. Steve Butler, the executive director of the Air Force Materiel Command, speaks with Francis Rose about how the process helps his agency save money.
DoD's 2014 budget: Fewer civilians, higher retiree health fees
The Defense Department's 2014 budget proposal reduces the size of the civilian workforce slightly, increases TRICARE premiums, and requests another round of base closures. It also calls for a slight raise for both civilian employees and uniformed servicemembers. The budget significantly exceeds the Defense spending caps in current law.
Federal budget cuts ground Air Force aircraft
Budget cuts ground 3rd of Air Force warplanes; those headed to Afghanistan to be mission ready
Air Force meets fuel efficiency goal several years early
In 2006, the service aimed to cut its fuel use by 10 percent. By 2012, it had reduced consumption by 12 percent.
Air Force looks to reboot civilian cyber workforce
Officials aim to redefine operational series codes for civilian cybersecurity workers and offer more pay for additional expertise. The Air Force would like to create an elite cadre of civilian cyber warriors.
Pentagon applying lessons from past ERP failures
DoD said it is tightening-up governance over its large business IT systems, looking for indicators of future failure and forcing resource sponsors to justify their needs before projects begin. Elizabeth McGrath, DoD's deputy chief management officer, told House lawmakers the Pentagon is working on data quality and changing business processes to avoid previous problems.
DoD puts 1 million users in its cloud email system
The Army expects to mostly finish the migration to enterprise email by the end of this month. The Air Force and the Navy begin pilot tests using the cloud applications.
AP IMPACT: Combat stress felt far from front lines
AP IMPACT: Far from the front lines, combat stress troubles Air Force intelligence units
DoD's recovery from sequestration-related cuts will take months, years
With sequestration now in effect, the Defense Department says it will have to begin to make decisions that cross the threshold between "reversible" cuts to military capability and those that will have long-lasting impacts.
Military worried small business suppliers will disappear during sequestration
Small firms already have taken a disproportionate hit from DoD's pullback in 2013 spending, Pentagon officials say. Military acquisition leaders worry the sudden cuts will bankrupt small businesses that provide one-of-a-kind capabilities.
Sequestration treadmill picking up steam across DoD
The automatic budget cuts set to occur under sequestration will go into effect as a matter of law on Friday. But their full impact won't be felt until late this spring, long after lawmakers encounter the next budget showdown.
Coburn calls for partial federal job freeze as sequestration nears
The Republican senator from Oklahoma is asking the Office of Management and Budget to require agencies to stop hiring for certain positions. Instead, he would like that funding put towards mission critical jobs that could be affected by sequestration cuts. Coburn, the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, found 10 jobs listed on USAJobs.gov that he believes could be frozen. He says this would give agencies $1.4 million to spend on positions like border security officers and TSA screeners.
Air Force study to focus on 'game-changing' technology
Dr. Mark Maybury, the Air Force's chief scientist, discusses a wide-ranging study of potential future "game changers" and best practices in each of the service's core mission areas.
Air Force: Sequestration already creating 'chronic inefficiency'
The Air Force's long-range planning and modernization takes back seat to preparations for near-term crises, including contingency plans to scale back civilian workforce. Civilian furloughs would be "breach of faith," Air Force says.
