DoD News 
Top News
- OMB reworking financial system requirements to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown a leading factor in sexual assaults
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Lew taps government retiree pension fund
- SBA starting new lending program for veterans
- More Obama aides knew of IRS audit; Obama not told
- Former IRS commissioner heads to Hill amid scandal
- Next-gen Apple devices cleared to join Defense IT networks
- In fight over intelligence IT system, Army prioritizes access to data
- DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
- Bonuses to senior execs under fire at GSA, other agencies
- VA's Gould moves the needle on many of VA's toughest challenges
- Tuesday federal headlines - May 21, 2013
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 spends nearly $1B a year on unemployment
Pentagon sends nearly $1 billion a year in unemployment checks to troops who left voluntarily
Medal draws fire
Veterans groups are asking President Barack Obama to step into a dispute over a new medal for remote warfare troops that was ranked higher than traditional combat medals like the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. The Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups sent a letter to Obama on Thursday asking him to keep the medal ranked below the Purple Heart. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has already ordered a review of the new medal, which is for drone operators and cyber warfighters.
House opposes new BRAC round
Lawmakers say they're opposed to more military base closings in the United States
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.
Panel criticizes military on sexual assault cases
Senate panel criticizes military for making too little progress in combating sexual assault
Taliban hit by uprising
The awakening arrives in Afghanistan. Villagers in southern Afghanistan -the birthplace of the Taliban 20 years ago have staged what's being called a first-of-its-kind uprising. Army Maj. Gen. Robert B. Abrams says it's a promising development in Kandahar province and it could spread to other districts. This comes while U.S. and allied forces are taking a back-seat role in fighting the insurgency.
DoD defeating IEDs through innovative IT, acquisition approaches
Jim Craft, the CIO of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), said the culture of taking appropriate risk to get technology to soldiers is making a huge difference in saving lives.
March 14, 2013 (Part two of interview airs March 21, 2013)
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.
Military 'quality of life' to suffer under sequestration
Military pay is exempt from the automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, that went into effect earlier this month. But scores of military programs that impact service members in their everyday lives, such as tuition assistance and family programs, are not protected from the across-the-board budget reductions. Officials from the Defense Department and the military services testified before the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on military personnel on the impact of the budget cuts on training, retention and family-assistance programs.
Intelligence chief: Budget cuts risk US security
The top U.S. intelligence chief says that budget cuts have jeopardized America's security and safety -- and will only get worse over time.
U.S. military preparing for cyber attack
The director of National Intelligence says a cyber-storm is growing. The Defense Department is establishing a series of cyber teams charged with carrying out offensive operations to combat the threat of an electronic assault on the United States that could cause major damage and disruption to the country's vital infrastructure, a senior military official said Tuesday.
DoD constructing offensive, defensive cyber teams
U.S. Cyber Command is putting together dozens of groups to defend the military's network, to work with combatant commanders on offensive tactics and to respond to attacks against the nation. Gen. Keith Alexander, however, said budget cuts will delay DoD's ability to recruit and train team members.
Sequestration forcing DoD's acquisition programs into 'damage limitation' mode
The Pentagon's acquisition chief said he's planning day-to-day, not year-to-year because of sequestration's indiscriminate cuts and political uncertainty over DoD's budget. In 2014, there will be more opportunities to prioritize, but spending reductions also will lead to cancellation of contracts and downsizing of the military and civilian workforce.
New cyber medal production stopped, being reviewed
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of the Distinguished Warfare Medal, which was to be awarded to troops who operate drones and use other technological skills to fight America's wars from afar.
Navy sends new ship to Singapore amid budget cuts
US Navy deploys new ship to Singapore even as automatic budget cuts pinch federal spending
Karzai's allegation not new
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's surprising allegation that the U.S. and Taliban are conspiring together to keep the war going caught some off guard. But during his eight years as president, Karzai has frequently antagonized the U.S. government by claiming the U.S. motives for being in Afghanistan were selfish. At one point he accused the U.S. of using Afghan soil for its own goals and purposes. More than 2,000 American have been killed and more than 18,000 have been wounded.
AP IMPACT: Combat stress felt far from front lines
AP IMPACT: Far from the front lines, combat stress troubles Air Force intelligence units
DoD furloughs to begin April 26, with almost no exceptions
The Pentagon will send furlough notices to civilian employees in the next two weeks. Defense components would not be spared from furloughs, regardless of any other efforts they take to offset sequestration.
Hagel to review Air Force sexual assault case
Defense secretary will review general's decision to overturn conviction in sexual assault case
