DoD News 
Top News
- 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
Panel rejects Pentagon's request for base closings
House subcommittee says no to Pentagon's request for a new round of military base closings
Gunmen kill 7 Iraqi soldiers in central Iraq
Gunmen killed at least seven soldiers in central Iraq on Thursday, officials said, in the latest episode of violence to hit the country in a particularly bloody month.
VA Disability claims fast tracked?
The Pentagon is buying a new computerized health records system to be able to better share and merge its data with the Department of Veterans Affairs. But the Associated Press is reporting, "officials cautioned that it was part of a "long-term modernization" effort and would not help ease the current backlog in VA disability claims." Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering DoD to seek bids for development of the new system.
DoD chooses interoperability over integration for new e-health record system
Frank Kendall says many different factors played into the Pentagon's decision to go with a competitive bidding process to develop its integrated electronic health record system, instead of adopting VA's VistA program. He said DoD wants to ensure its system is interoperable not just with VA hospitals but with civilian health facilities as well. In addition, Kendall cited cultural differences between the two large agencies.
Commanding General at Fort Jackson Suspended
Brig. Gen. Bryan T. Roberts, Commanding General, U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson, in Fort Jackson, S.C. has been suspended. The Pentagon says the suspension is due to allegations that include adultery and a physical altercation. Military authorities say the charges are being thoroughly investigated. While the investigation is ongoing, Brig. Gen. Peggy C. Combs, Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., will serve as the interim commander until the investigation is complete and the issue resolved.
DoD to pursue commercial alternative to VA's VistA
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has decided to turn to the commercial marketplace for an integrated electronic health records solution rather than adopting VA' Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture. He cited market research that showed turning to the competitive process would generate reduced cost and technical risk for DoD.
AP IMPACT: Military sex abuse victims seek VA help
AP IMPACT: Thousands of military sex abuse victims seek VA health care, disability benefits
U.S. criticizes Russian arms shipment to Syria
The Obama administration is denouncing Russia's decision to equip the Syrian government military with anti-ship missiles, saying the weapons would only worsen a war that Washington and Moscow have been promising to work together on stopping. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, criticized what he called an "unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering."
Hagel: Accountability breakdown was leading factor in sexual assaults
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he's taken several steps to improve the military's response to and prevention of sexual assaults, but that the problem can't be solved by policy directives alone. On the matter of sexual assaults, he said he believes the military's chain of command has suffered an accountability breakdown.
Next-gen Apple devices cleared to join Defense IT networks
The Defense Information Security Agency has approved a security guide for iOS 6 making it the third mobile operating system to meet the requirements this month. The agency said it will award a mobile device management system in a few months.
In fight over intelligence IT system, Army prioritizes access to data
The Army says hard-won lessons on the battlefield have taught it that stovepiped IT systems have no place in the business of intelligence collection and sharing. It also acknowledges that enforcing a single set of common standards comes with some tradeoffs.
House bill protects homeland security budget
House bill protects homeland security budget from cuts facing other agencies
Pentagon expects long war with terrorists
Another decade or two, that at least how long Senior Pentagon officials say the U.S. war against Al Qaida and its affiliates will last. Acting General Counsel Robert Taylor and Michael Sheehan, an assistant secretary of defense for special operations, made the point before the Senate Armed Services Committee, while arguing to prevent changes to a law that allows for the broad use of military force in the war against terrorism.
China tests a missile killer
Reuters is reporting, "the U.S. government believes a Chinese missile launch this week was the first test of a new interceptor that could be used to destroy a satellite in orbit." They launched a missile on Monday that reached 6,000 miles above the earth, making it the highest suborbital launch seen worldwide since 1976.
DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
In the past, DoD's security review process took so long that devices were off the market by the time the Pentagon allowed them on government networks. This week, DoD approved a secure, commercial version of Android before its manufacturer even released it.
Joint Chiefs chair cites military sex abuse crisis
Joint Chiefs chairman says women losing confidence that sexual assault problem can be solved
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.
Drone launches from carrier
The U.S. Navy made aviation history on Tuesday by launching an unmanned jet off an aircraft carrier for the first time. Reuters reports, "the bat-winged X-47B stealth drone roared off the USS George H.W. Bush near the coast of Virginia and flew a series of pre-programmed maneuvers around the ship before veering away toward a Naval air station in Maryland where it was scheduled to land."
Pakistan's presumptive leader criticizes U.S.
Was Nawaz Sharif just campaigning or was he serious? Pakistan's next Prime Minister, who has held the post twice before and soundly defeated current Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari in recent elections. criticized the U.S. strongly yesterday, for drone strike against militants, saying it violates Pakistan's sovereignty. But some experts think, now that the election is over, his tone will moderate.
US Army general facing sex charges back in court
Pre-trial hearing for US Army general facing sexual misconduct charges enters 2nd day
