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Defense
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Congress has been urging the Pentagon to speed up finding and identifying remains of service members dating back to World War II. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has promised to fix deficiencies in the recovery process. As part of that effort, the Pentagon is consolidating two agencies that had roughly equal responsibilities. Michael Lumpkin is the assistant secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss the objective of the new command.
July 18, 2014 -
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A day after the U.S. hit several Russian arms companies with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, a top U.S. general is warning that congressional efforts to cut off dealings with Moscow's main weapons exporter could be "catastrophic" for U.S. forces. Marine General Joseph Dunford, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said 88 Russian helicopters the Pentagon is buying for Afghan security forces were critical for protecting U.S.troops that remain in the country after the end of this year.
July 18, 2014 -
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The United States has imposed new sanctions on lucrative Russian energy and defense entities, as well as major banks. The Obama administration is trying disable an insurgency in eastern Ukraine widely believed to be backed by Moscow. Prior U.S. sanctions hit Russian individuals and companies. The new sanctions stop short of fully cutting off key Russian economic sectors.
July 17, 2014 -
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The Defense Department's overseas contingency budget might survive the end of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wednesday, two of the Pentagon's top civilian and uniformed leaders asked the House Armed Services Committee to keep authorizing an OCO budget even after the U.S. finishes the draw-downs in the region. DoD's latest OCO request came late in the year, and it's less than Congress anticipated. The House set aside $79 billion for OCO funding when it passed DoD's baseline budget for fiscal 2015, but now the Pentagon is only asking for about $59 billion. Todd Harrison is senior fellow for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He explained how the budget deliberations on Capitol Hill might unfold on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 17, 2014 -
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The Veterans Affairs Department hired ASM Research to modernize its electronic health records systems. The three-year task order is worth $162 million. ASM will work on VA's Vista and Enterprise Core Services system and will create a web access front-end for VA's Computerized Patient Record System. Jim Traficant is president of ASM Research and managing director at Accenture Federal Services. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss what his company hopes to do under the deal.
July 17, 2014 -
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Robert Work, the new deputy defense secretary, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department will experience a two-year trough in readiness as it resets its force,
July 16, 2014 -
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There are a lot of reasons the Department of Veterans Affairs has a huge backlog of disability claims. One is the vast number of new claims VA receives: about a million per year. A second is the sheer complexity of the process and the statutes and case law behind it. VA seems to be acknowledging the complexity of the system in a new partnership it's just formed with the American Bar Association. The new Veterans Claims Assistance Network will offer pro-bono legal services to veterans so that they can put together fully-developed claims. Jim Silkenat is the national president of the American Bar Association. He explained how the program will work on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 16, 2014 -
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The Defense Department has some significant blind spots when it comes to its ability to assess what's going on in the global technology landscape -- especially in the commercial and non-defense markets. DoD officials are keenly aware of the problem, and there's a nascent effort underway to help solve it. The new Technology Domain Awareness initiative is a project of DoD's Information Analysis Centers. Christopher Zember is the director of the Information Analysis Centers. And Jay Harrison is the director of the Center for Smart Defense at West Virginia University, which is helping DoD get the TDA effort of the ground. They explained the initial drive behind TDA on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 16, 2014 -
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The F-35 is back in business, at least on a limited basis. The military is allowing some flying capabilities. It was grounded back in June when part of the engine of a U.S. Air Force F-35 A-model broke apart and ripped through the top of a jet as it prepared for take-off. As a result, the plane will not fly in the Farnborough International Airshow in England.
July 16, 2014 -
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As Congress tries to piece together the big National Defense Authorization Act for 2015, it's also looking back to the version of the bill it passed two years ago and asking what ever happened with some of those provisions. The 2013 version of the NDAA included several provisions dealing with small business that made advocates happy. But several of those legal changes are still awaiting agency regulations to actually implement them. The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on the matter earlier today. Larry Allen was among the witnesses. He's president of Allen Federal Business Partners. He shared his insights on the neglected proposals on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 15, 2014 -
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Congress is mulling through a stream of feedback from outside groups on how to fix a labyrinth of defense acquisition policies. Chris Lamb is deputy director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He recently testified before the House Armed Services Committee to share his ideas. On In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu, Lamb said a source of frustration is a disconnect between the top and bottom of DoD's chain of acquisition authority.
July 15, 2014 -
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Capitol Hill turns to an array of outside groups for advice. The deadline for comments to the Armed Services committees was last Thursday. One set of recommendations comes from the Aerospace Industries Association. Betsy Schmid is VP of National Security and Acquisition Policy for the AIA. She's also former staff director of Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. MJ Mitchell is AIA's managing assistant VP for National Security and Acquisition Policy, and former chief financial officer of the F-35 program. The two explained AIA's approach to acquisition reform on In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu.
July 15, 2014 -
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A report by the Veterans Affairs' Inspector General's office found that a regional supervisor stockpiled about 8,000 veteran-related documents, and that paperwork with sensitive personal information was poorly handled.
July 15, 2014 -
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The Air Force will offer early retirement and buyouts to civilian personnel, in order to eliminate nearly 3,500 positions, officials announced Monday. The service estimates the cuts will save the Air Force $1.6 billion over the next five years.
July 15, 2014
