DoD News 
Top News
- Contractors with security clearances lack path to report problems
- Proposed commission would give teeth to cost-saving ideas but some lawmakers skeptical
- Feds outside the Beltway react to furloughs
- Contracting executives guilty of 8(a) program fraud
- EPA CIO Jackson returning to private sector
- Navy strikes enterprise licensing deal with Oracle
- 29-year-old NASA engineer going where no one has gone before
- USPS reaches energy reduction goal ahead of schedule
- NOAA meteorologist helps save lives one storm at a time
- ICE Director John Morton stepping down
- NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women
- House passes sweeping $638 billion defense bill
- NIH tops list of best companies for baby boomers
- Latest postal reform proposal OKs 5-day delivery
- IRS official contradicts claims about reviews
- House presses VA for more details after cyber attacks
- DoD maintains BRAC fight, despite opposition
Obama officially signs Cabinet nominations
Minutes after his inauguration speech Monday, President Barack Obama signed documents officially submitting top administration nominations to the Senate.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 21, 2013
Prof. Martha Joynt Kuman compares today's ceremony with previous inaugurations. Paul Lawrence of Ernst and Young discusses how the president's cabinet may change in Obama's second term. Staff writer Kevin Baron of Foreign Policy Magazine discusses the limitations of the inspector general. Senior Airman Daniel Burkhardt talks about an app he helped to develop to help people navigate today's inauguration. Col. Gina Humble talks about the role the military will play in today's ceremonies.
DoD standardizing, synchronizing cyber training
The department is creating and trying out a universal curriculum for five foundational cyber roles in 2013. DISA is leading the effort and will add new roles next year as it refines the training. The agency says it is doing all it can to synchronize its training not just across DoD, but across the entire federal government in line with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE).
Sex is major reason military commanders are fired
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, fired from his command in Afghanistan last May and now facing a court-martial on charges of sodomy, adultery and pornography and more, is just one in a long line of commanders whose careers were ended because of possible sexual misconduct.
Marines studying mindfulness-based training
The U.S. Marine Corps, known for turning out some of the military's toughest warriors, is studying how to make its troops even tougher through meditative practices, yoga-type stretching and exercises based on mindfulness.
Air Force inspections found porn, offensive items
Hoping to fight sexual assault in its own ranks, the Air Force said Friday a sweep of air base offices worldwide found thousands of suspect materials ranging from pornographic films to a beer bong.
Army freezes civilian hiring, cuts base spending ahead of potential sequestration
The Army has put an immediate freeze on civilian hiring and will begin terminating some temporary employees to reduce spending ahead of potential across-the-board budget cuts later this year. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh also directed Army commanders and supervisors to reduce base-operations support spending.
Iran increasing its cyber capabilities
General William Shelton, who heads Air Force Space Command and oversees the Air Force's cyber operations, says Iran responded to a 2010 cyber-attack on its nuclear facilities by beefing up its own cyber capabilities, and will be a "force to be reckoned with" in the future. He declined to comment about Iran's ability to disrupt U.S. government computer networks, but said Tehran had clearly increased its efforts in that arena after the 2010 incident.
Navy Undersecretary Robert Work to leave post
Robert Work, the Navy's undersecretary, will not serve a second term under President Obama.
Navy living out its 'heyday,' but rough seas ahead
Robert Work, the undersecretary of the Navy, says forget about the Reagan-era aspirations of a 600-ship fleet. Even with a smaller Navy, things are better than ever, he says, even if they're about to get worse due to smaller budgets and the threat of sequestration. "Yes, things might get worse. In fact, they probably will get worse. But this is the heyday of the U.S. Navy. And, if you're not excited, you ain't breathing," he said at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium this week.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 17, 2013
Michael Daniel, White house cybersecurity coordinator, talks about the new national strategy for information sharing and safeguarding. Brian Friel of Bloomberg Government examines what new regulations mean to the bottom line of some contractors. Charles Crum of the Postal Service's IG office discusses how USPS is embracing the Internet. Michael Nugent of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office talks about a new language program of feds going overseas.
Navy reducing IT spending ahead of schedule
The Department of the Navy is finding real dollar savings by moving to enterprise software licenses, managing mobile devices and services better and reducing the number of printers and the amount printed. Terry Halvorsen, the DoN CIO, said they are on track to meet the goal of cutting 25 percent of their IT budget in five years.
January 17, 2013
Pentagon issues dire warning to Congress about budget cuts
The nation's top military leaders warned Congress in unusually stark terms that its failure to pass a 2013 defense budget - coupled with the threat of automatic budget cuts - has pushed the Pentagon to the brink of a crisis.
GI's motive barely admissible in WikiLeaks case
A military judge's ruling on Wednesday tightly limited an Army private's ability to argue he had good reasons for allegedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
Army unveils massive solar-powered energy system
The $16.8 million array includes nearly 15,500 sun-tracking solar panels spread across 42 acres. It will be capable of producing 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to meet about 10 percent of the need of the missile range.
Begin saving cash now, Air Force tells commanders
The Air Force orders commanders to start cutbacks in advance of the next budget emergency.
Where's Bashar Al-Assad?
There are reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has recently been living on board a warship in the middle of the Mediterranean under Russian protection, along with his family members and close aides. According to the Saudi-backed Al-Watan online publication that "Al-Asad is being transported from the ship to Syria using a helicopter when he had official appointments. " nternational aid organizations say more than 60,000 people have died in the 22 month old crisis.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Jan. 16, 2013
Cindy Auten of the Telework Exchange talks about a new report on BYOD. Robert Khuzami explains why he is stepping down as the SEC's enforcement director. Peter Schroeder of The Hill newspapers discusses the looming debt-ceiling showdown.
Schumer, Boxer to back Hagel for Pentagon's job
Chuck Hagel secured the backing of two of the staunchest pro-Israel Senate Democrats in a clear boost to the Republican's prospects of becoming President Barack Obama's next defense secretary.
Army cuts size, increases efficiency of its vehicle fleet
At the end of fiscal year 2012, the Army's vehicle fleet numbered around 70,800 vehicles, which is about 12,000 less than it had in 2009. As it cuts back on the number of overall vehicles it has, the Army is also assembling a greener, more environmentally friendly fleet.
