Defense

  • United States operations in Iraq and Syria today put the U.S. in an unusual position. By fighting one opponent, the U.S. military is indirectly benefitting another nation it considers an adversary. That is one example of the fluidity of war fighting in the 21st century. Adm. James Stavridis is Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He helped lead a task force on Creative Disruption for the Center for a New American Security. A paper on that task force looks at the disconnect between industry and DoD right now -- and on In Depth with Francis Rose, Admiral Stavridis said there are several answers.

    August 27, 2014
  • The U.S. Army, like all of the American military services, is dependent on an increasingly complex array of information technology to prosecute its mission. On this edition of AFCEA Answers, our guest is the officer responsible for the Army's IT resources, Lieutenant General Robert Ferrell USA , Chief Information Officer/G-6. He explains how the modernization of the Army's LandWarNet ties in with building the Joint Information Environment, and will result in improved network performance for Army facilities worldwide. The general also offers a progress report on the presidentially-mandated program to reduce the number of Army data centers. And he adds that acquisition modernization is vital to keeping the military's IT resources at the ready in a time of declining budgets and shifting threat priorities.

    August 27, 2014
  • Despite U.S. warnings, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates secretly carried out airstrikes against Islamist militias inside Libya. This comes three years after the killing of Libyan dictator Muamar Ghadafi and U.S. efforts to try to stabilize the country. "Outside interference in Libya exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya's democratic transition," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said to reporters.

    August 27, 2014
  • More than 15,000 transgender personnel secretly serve in the military. In May, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel agreed to review the rules that prohibit transgender service members from serving openly. Now, three retired General Officers release a road map for a new policy. Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, former acting Surgeon General of the Army and the Commission report co-chair, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details.

    August 27, 2014
  • If you've been to an air show, you've seen them: The Blue Angels. They're the Navy's flight demonstration squadron zooming in formation in meticulously painted F-18s. Tom Temin caught up with Lt. Cmdr. John Hiltz, number 2 pilot and right wing, on the Federal Drive as the Angels prepare to receive new recruits. He told Tom about the crew of 130 that make the show happen day in and day out.

    August 26, 2014
  • Elana Broitman will soon leave the Defense Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing & Industrial Base Policy. Andre Gudger -- Director of the Office of Small Business Programs -- will take over her role on an acting basis until Secretary Broitman's position is filled. On In Depth with Francis Rose, Broitman said the companies she's worked with in the past year have shown her (and the department) they can do amazing things.

    August 26, 2014
  • After more than a year of planning, the Defense Department issues the final solicitation for a commercial software to replace its AHLTA program. The Pentagon expects to make a single award for the contract that could be worth $11 billion over its lifetime.

    August 26, 2014
  • The Pentagon has worked up plans that would allow American forces to remain in Afghanistan beyond the end of the year if the contested presidential election drags on and a security agreement isn't signed soon. The Associate Press is reporting that shortly before landing in Kabul for a visit, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, told reporters accompanying him on the trip that under optimal circumstances the U.S. would need about 120 days to pull all troops and equipment out of the country if there is no agreement allowing them to stay into 2015.

    August 26, 2014
  • The percentage of Defense Department contract dollars the Pentagon awards via competitive bids has been falling every year since 2008. And its self-imposed goals for contract competition have been missed every year since then. Now Frank Kendall, the undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, issues a set of orders to Pentagon leaders. Federal News Radio's DoD reporter Jared Serbu joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details. Read Jared's related article.

    August 26, 2014
  • VA, which has been eyeing a replacement for its scheduling system long before the current scandal, plans to issue a final request for proposals by the end of next month and make an award by the end of the year.

    August 25, 2014
  • The Defense Department's acquisition chief outlined a series of changes intended to bolster competition for DoD contracts on Friday, lamenting the fact that the Pentagon has missed its competition goals every year since the goals were created.

    August 25, 2014
  • The Obama administration on Friday accused a Chinese fighter jet of conducting a "dangerous intercept" of a U.S. Navy surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of China in international airspace. The Associated Press reports it's the fourth such incident since March. Rear Adm. John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary, said Washington protested to the Chinese military through diplomatic channels, calling the fighter pilot's actions "unsafe and unprofessional." Furthermore, U.S. officials said this is at least the second formal complaint American diplomats have filed with the Chinese over these military actions in recent months.

    August 25, 2014
  • Leaders at the Defense Information Systems Agency are preparing for a significant restructuring of the organization. They hope it will make the IT agency more agile, and more able to cope with its increasing responsibilities in a time of declining budgets. Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports. Read Jared's related article.

    August 25, 2014
  • The Pentagon broke a couple of federal laws when it swapped Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders, according to the Government Accountability Office. Edda Emmanuelli Perez, managing associate general counsel at GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the origin of the investigation.

    August 25, 2014