Defense

• Watervliet Arsenal marks two centuries as DoD’s cannon maker

  Watervliet Arsenal is celebrating its 200th anniversary as the premier manufacturer of cannons and mortars for the military. Federal News Radio Anchor Tom Temin visited the arsenal for an up-close look at what goes on behind the scenes.

  Federal Drive

  July 17, 2013
• Iraq, Afghanistan wars revolutionizing civilian health-care

  Dr. Jonathan Woodson, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, says the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are still teaching lessons to the civilian health-care community. Woodson joins Jared Serbu for the full hour on this week's edition of On DoD to discuss the evolution of military medicine.

  On DoD Podcasts

  July 17, 2013
• Supplier quality management for federal agencies

  Steve Charles, one of the co-founder of the immixGroup, will give listeners insight on how electronic problems can impact federal security. July 16, 2013

  Federal Tech Talk

  July 16, 2013
• Navy acquisition chief Branch discusses procurement strategies

  This week on "Off the Shelf," Elliott Branch, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Acquisition and Procurement discusses the Navy's procurement strategies. July 16, 2013 (This show originally aired June 4, 2013)

  Off the Shelf

  July 16, 2013
• Sequestration Q&A: Who are the DoD civilians exempted from furloughs?

  Furloughs for some 650,000 Defense Department civilian employees kicked in last week.Still, about 15 percent of the civilian workforce is exempt from furloughs. In this Q&A, Pat Tamburrino, chief of staff to the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, discusses federal furlough exemptions and DoD decision-making.

  All News

  July 16, 2013
• Surveillance no surprise to Germany

  Germany was one of several European countries expressing outrage over the NSA surveillance of their diplomats under certain circumstances. Now it turns out according to German newspaper Bild, the government has known about the capability for years and has actually used the apparatus to collect information about German citizens. Apparently, according to the newspaper the BND, Germany's intelligence agency asked NSA for email and telephone records of German citizens kidnapped in Yemen and Afghanistan.

  Defense

  July 16, 2013
• Failed missile test has consequences

  Reuters is reporting that "four U.S. Republican lawmakers on Friday urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to conduct another test of the missile defense system this year after last week's test failure, and to make development of a next-generation interceptor a top priority." The lawmakers seemed to indirectly failed July 5 missile defense test was not yet clear, but they argued that President Barack Obama's cuts in spending on missile defense had reduced funding for needed tests and maintenance of the system."

  Defense

  July 16, 2013
• Losing bidders protest Navy’s massive NGEN contract

  Without commenting on the reasons behind the protest, a team led by Computer Sciences Corporation challenged the Navy's decision to award a multibillion dollar contract to operate IT networks to a competing team headed up by HP.

  Defense

  July 15, 2013
• Hacker conference tells feds to stay away

  The U.S, government has been disinvited from a key hacking convention. "It would be best for everyone involved if the Feds call a 'time-out' and not attend Def Con this year," conference founder Jeff Moss said in a statement on the convention's website. It looks as though Edward Snowden's revelations in the NSA leaks have made some in the hacking community uncomfortable about the U.S. government's presence.

  Defense

  July 12, 2013
• Will DoD’s 2014 sequestration plan jolt Congress into action?

  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel put the ball in Congress' court this week when he released details of how the Pentagon would manage billions of dollars in cuts if sequestration continues into fiscal 2014 and beyond. But, there's not yet anything close to a winning strategy in Congress to avert or replace the automatic budget cuts.

  Budget

  July 11, 2013
• DoD, VA reassure Congress of continued growth of health data sharing

  House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees inserted a provision in the fiscal 2014 Defense Authorization Bill requiring DoD and VA to have an interoperable health record system by 2017. Agency officials say they already are and will continue to share health care data, but having one integrated, interoperable health care management system is no longer necessary.

  Congress

  July 11, 2013
• DoD sees future in military children, families

  DoD explored new ideas for military families and child education during the Military Child Education Coalition 15th National Training Seminar.

  Federal Drive

  July 10, 2013
• Hagel warns of possible DoD layoffs in 2014 if sequestration continues

  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a letter to Congress that if spending caps continue under sequestration, marked cuts in DoD's budget would possibly lead to reductions in force. Hagel also said there could be severe cuts in operations and maintenance.

  Budget

  July 10, 2013
• JPAC investigation underway

  There are more than 83,000 Americans missing from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, according to US estimates. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters at a Tuesday afternoon briefing, "We're going to review the concerns raised about how the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command or JPAC is or isn't functioning well,". The Associated Press reported recently the command suffers from waste, mismanagement and ineptitude.

  Defense

  July 10, 2013