Search Tags:  DoD

Ex-CIA boss David Petraeus takes USC teaching post

The University of Southern California announced Thursday that the retired general and former CIA director is joining the faculty to teach classes and mentor ROTC members.

Tags: David Patraeus , CIA ,

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Russian flights banned

Russia's Rosaviatsiya aviation agency has banned its airlines from flying over Syria, after a plane with 160 passengers detoured to avoid danger from fighting on the ground. Syria's civil war has severely impacted airline traffic to and from the country. Reuters reports, most Russian airlines had heeded a recommendation issued in February not to cross Syrian territory but some had ignored the risk and continued to do so on flights to and from Egypt, among other destinations.

Tags: Pentagon & Beyond , J.J. Green

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Outraged lawmakers look to change military justice

Tags: Chuck Hagel , sexual assaults , Claire McCaskill

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Woodbridge Military Pilot killed in Afghanistan

The Pentagon says one of four Air Force members killed in a plane crash in Afghanistan was a pilot from northern Virginia. Capt. The Associated Press reports Brandon Cyr, 28, of Woodbridge, Va., had been stationed at Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois. Cyr died in Saturday's crash of an Air Force MC-12. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The Pentagon says there were no reports of enemy activity in the area at the time. Cyr was an instructor pilot and member of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron within the 375th Air Mobility Wing based at Scott. The base also says Cyr flew with members of the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing.

Tags: Pentagon & Beyond , J.J. Green

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Tightening budgets force DARPA to alter course for R&D

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been at the forefront of some of the most innovative technologies ever created — including the Internet. But as budgets tighten, the agency's director says she's trying to figure out how to deal with an increasingly complex threat environment as less money flows into the research and development pipeline.

Tags: DARPA , research and development , Arati Prabhakar , Jared Serbu , technology , cybersecurity , GPS , sequestration

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Local Soldier killed in Afghanistan

An Army helicopter pilot from northern Virginia is one of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan by enemy fire. The Pentagon said Friday that 26-year-old 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess of Fairfax died Tuesday in the Pul-E-Alam district of Logar province in eastern Afghanistan, from wounds suffered as a result of indirect fire. Also killed was 32-year-old Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard of Selah, Wash. Both soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Tags: Pentagon & Beyond , J.J. Green

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Army says no to more tanks, but Congress insists

Tags: Abrams tanks , Congress , budget , Ray Odierno

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Army could lose 100,000 soldiers due to sequestration

Army leaders say the belated passage of a 2013 budget helped this year's fiscal picture, but the service still is more than $15 billion short of funds. If sequestration continues, the service will shrink by at least 100,000 soldiers.

Tags: Army , Congress , sequestration , workforce , civilian workforce , John McHugh , Raymond Odierno , Jared Serbu , Senate Armed Service Committee , furloughs

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DoD acquisition managers told to think for themselves

The Pentagon's top acquisition official released guidance this week to implement the Defense Department's latest iteration of the Better Buying Power program. The plan tells acquisition managers their first priority should be to use their own expertise in making decisions.

Tags: acquisition , industry , Better Buying Power initiative , Frank Kendall , Jared Serbu

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Chaplains blocked by Church's website

Some military chaplains trying to access the Southern Baptist Convention website this week were surprised to find it blocked with a message that it contained "hostile content." The problem left military officials having to explain to leaders of the nation's largest Protestant denomination that it was an unintentional software glitch. A Defense Department spokesman said the problem seemed to be with the commercial software the military uses to protect its network. The software blocks access to prohibited sites, like those for pornography or gambling, as well as sites that might have some type of malware associated them.

Tags: Pentagon & Beyond , J.J. Green

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