Defense

  • On any given day, the Department of the Navy is the size of the largest two or three companies in the United States. With hundreds of thousands of people and a network of installations and other assets worldwide, it's a real challenge to manage. Right now, that job falls to Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of Naval Operations. He spoke with Federal Drive co-host Emily Kopp at the Sea Air Space Exposition. View photos and listen to more of our interviews from the expo.

    April 07, 2014
  • After dealing with a bid protest, meeting the timeline will require the Navy and its prime vendor to move quickly. The new schedule accelerates the original transition schedule by several months.

    April 07, 2014
  • House Veterans Affairs Committee members are fed up with repeated cybersecurity problems. They want the VA to improve its cybersecurity once and for all. A new bill tells the department exactly how to do it. The legislation is among the most prescriptive cyber bills that any agency has seen in almost a decade. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller shares reactions to the bill with Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp. Read Federal News Radio's related article.

    April 04, 2014
  • "Inside the DoD's Reporter's Notebook" is biweekly feature focused on news about the Defense Department and defense community as gathered by Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.

    April 04, 2014
  • The House will soon vote on a measure making it easier for the Veterans Affairs secretary to fire or demote senior career executives at the department, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said at a Capitol Hill briefing Thursday. The VA Management Accountability Act allows the VA secretary to remove or demote members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) based on their performance.

    April 03, 2014
  • Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) introduced the Veterans Information Security Improvement Act that would explicitly require VA to take steps to repair operational and procedure holes in its network and computer security processes.

    April 03, 2014
  • The Pentagon's current proposals for wringing savings out of its health care system involve additional fees for beneficiaries, but also try to induce them to use less-costly treatment options.

    April 03, 2014
  • The next version of cloud security standards is under development, even as agencies race to comply with current ones. The General Services Administration and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security are kicking off FedRAMP 2.0 by incorporating new NIST guidance. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp to explain how the agencies are keeping different standards aligned. Read Federal News Radio's related article.

    April 03, 2014
  • Defense officials hope a new era in military medicine has arrived. The centerpiece is the seven-month-old Defense Health Agency. It replaced TRICARE Management Activity as part of efforts to streamline the delivery of medical services. Maj. Gen. Richard Thomas is the Chief Medical Officer and director of DHA's Operations Command. As part of Federal News Radio's Agency of the Month, he tells Coordinating Producer Lauren Larson how the agency is streamlining delivery and cutting healthcare costs.

    April 03, 2014
  • "For the first time, you have an operational level organization that can directly interface with all the services — get their input, organize themselves, really solicit and collaborate with the services — so we can build a better military health system," Major General Richard Thomas, chief medical officer and director of DHA Healthcare Operations, told Federal News Radio.

    April 03, 2014
  • DoD CIO Teri Takai clarifies the Pentagon plans to use the FedRAMP baseline. DHS and GSA are working together to ensure the continuous diagnostics and monitoring program and FedRAMP are aligned. But questions remain around how other cyber initiatives fit into the cloud security program.

    April 03, 2014
  • Fort Hood has reported that it has an active shooter and federal and local agents are heading to the Texas Army base, the FBI and a local sheriff's office said Wednesday.

    April 02, 2014
  • The U.S. government wants to offload old military equipment in Afghanistan and nearby countries so it doesn't have to pack it up and take it home. Pentagon officials say selling 800 mine-resistant armored vehicles, for example, could make hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and save $500 million in shipping. For more on the ins and outs of selling military hardware, Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp spoke with Kevin Brancato, a defense analyst for Bloomberg Government.

    April 02, 2014
  • A public affairs program for international students is helping the Pentagon meet its strategic defense goals. The Defense Information School is helping students from six different countries develop military communications strategies that are unique to their home countries. DoD says it's part of an overall military-to-military engagement plan. Col. Jeremy Martin, commandant of the Defense Information School, and one of his students, Capt. Rebecca Callas in the El Savladoran Air Force, were guests on In Depth with Francis Rose for Pentagon Solutions.

    April 02, 2014