Jared Serbu covers the Department of Defense for Federal News Radio. Jared's reports can be heard Monday - Friday on the Federal Drive and In Depth.

Integrated health record tests DoD's agile acquisition aspirations

DoD and VA have both committed to moving from their legacy electronic health record systems to a joint, integrated system by 2017. But there are challenges: an aggressive timeline and an acquisition culture that's not been suited to agility in the past.

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NARA claims progress against backlog of classified papers

Ninety percent of backlogged papers have been assessed and sent to agencies for review, but unexpected problems may cause government to miss 2013 deadline to clear the backlog.

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Road to interoperable DoD network starts with less-than-perfect solutions

DoD's path to a networking environment that serves the entire military with a single set of standards will start with the premise that 60-80 percent technology solutions are good enough for now. Pentagon wants to start with commercial technologies that can evolve in capability over time.

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Study: DoD sequestration cuts would slam federal workforce, delay pain to contractors

Most of the Pentagon's contract spending wouldn't take an immediate hit from sequestration. Conversely, civilian employees would likely be laid-off or furloughed in the few days or weeks after the automatic budget cuts kick in, according to a Washington think tank's analysis of the convoluted laws that govern the automatic cuts

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Cyber Command boss wants better integration of network warriors

Military's cyber offense and defense strategies are being executed by two separate teams that can't sufficiently share knowledge, per the commander of U.S. Cyber Command

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Pentagon IG details 'multiple forms of misconduct' by AFRICOM general

First Africa Command leader misused his authority and government funds, DoD inspector general finds. The review recommends the Army take "appropriate action" against Gen. William Ward.

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DoD IG finds audits at DISA fall short of government standards

A review of audit practices at the military's IT agency finds significant deficiencies in meeting governmentwide "yellow book" auditing standards. DISA agreed with the inspector general's findings and laid out four steps toward improvement.

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'Crisis of confidence' as USPS posts $5.2 billion quarterly loss

The Postal Service lost $5.2 billion in the third quarter of this year, bringing its year-to-date tally of red ink to $11.6 billion for the first nine months of 2012. The USPS chief financial officer said the organization's liquid assets are running perilously low. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe faults an "inflexible" business model and urged action by Congress.

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Army releases $7B solicitation for renewable energy on bases

Army says 130 companies have expressed interest in building renewable facilities on military installations so far. Winners will be picked by the end of the year.

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Panetta throws in the towel on 2013 base closures

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says it's now clear another round of BRAC isn't in the cards in the immediate future, but maintains it will be necessary to keep a "balanced force."

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Encrypted laptops ease VA's concerns about data breaches

Department says 99 percent of laptops now are encrypted. Of the 21 laptops reported stolen or missing in the last two months, all were secured with security software.

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OMB, DoD remain mum on sequestration's impact on specific programs

Agencies should not change their spending plans for this year or next, but need to start assessing which programs would be impacted by automatic sequestration cuts if Congress doesn't cancel them, OMB acting Director Jeff Zients told Congress Wednesday.

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Lawmakers putting GSA's new conference spending rules to the test

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee lawmakers were expected to ask the agency's inspector general to look into the 14th Annual SmartPay conference happening this week in Nashville. GSA says all conferences must go through a multi-step approval process, including those already in the planning stages for 2012 and beyond.

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Military branches refine cyber roles

Two years after U.S. Cyber Command became operational, the military services that provide its cyber forces are beginning to more tightly define their respective responsibilities in the joint cyber environment. Gen. Keith Alexander issued a memo recently giving each of the services a lead cyber role for specific geographic areas of the world.

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DoD extends civilian hiring restrictions through 2018

Pentagon hiring freeze for civilian employees will last several more years, although Defense Department leaders say they'll grant exemptions to give the department flexibility.

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General who criticized wartime intelligence gathering now leads DIA

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who took the "unheard-of" step of going public with his concerns about ineffective wartime intelligence in Afghanistan two years ago, is the new director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

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Lawmakers tell VA 'no more hollow promises' to fix the claims backlog

The Department of Veterans Affairs has made strides toward increasing the number of disability claims it can process every year. But new claims from veterans are growing even faster than ever. House legislators are frustrated by the VA's lack of progress over the years.

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Civilian workforce faces brutal consequences under sequestration

Civilian agency payrolls would be most vulnerable under automatic budget cuts set to kick in on Jan. 2. A new AIA and George Mason University study claims 229,000 non-defense federal jobs would be eliminated.

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Senators quiz defense companies on sequestration

Letter, sent to 15 large vendors, asks for estimated impacts of sequestration on defense contractors.

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Navy plans mandatory anti-sexual assault training for every sailor

Each sailor will be required to take a new round of training by the end of this year. Courses will emphasize the need for "bystander" servicemembers to intervene when they see activities that could foreshadow sexual assault.

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