Air Force
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A new bipartisan report from the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations called the Air Force's now-canceled Expeditionary Combat Support System "one of the most egregious examples of mismanagement by the DoD in recent memory." But the failure of ECSS may not be an aberration, the report suggested. Other enterprise-resource planning programs in the department are at risk of falling victim to the same fate.
July 09, 2014 -
Sean C. Young and Benjamin J. Tran, two electronics engineers with the Air Force Research Lab created an aerial sensor that has helped U.S. service members to find and destroy dangerous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan.
July 07, 2014 -
The Service to America Medals honor federal employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions to serve the public. For the next few months, Federal News Radio will be speaking to the finalists. A civilian engineer is reshaping the way the military performs operations in the air and on the field. Sean Young is an electronics engineer with the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio. He helped save soldiers' lives in Afghanistan by creating a new aerial sensor system to detect improvised explosive devices. For his creativity, he is a finalist in the National Security and International Affairs category of the 2014 Sammies awards. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to talk about his nomination. View a gallery of all the Sammies nominees. Read a Q&A with Sean Young.
July 07, 2014 -
The Defense Department is shaking up the $380 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Yesterday, Lt. Gen. Christopher Bodgan, the program director, explained how the Pentagon was asking major contractors to put skin in the game and invest in cost-reduction measures. In the second part of his interview with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive, Bogdan takes a long-term view on the Pentagon's sometimes rocky relationship with Lockheed Martin and other key players.
July 01, 2014 -
The Defense Department's request for its overseas contingency operations is about $20 billion less than initial estimates. Former Defense officials say realistic goals and managed expectations usually spelled success for weapons systems.
June 30, 2014 -
The Department of Defense announced today 17 service members have been recovered from a C-124 Globemaster aircraft that was lost on Nov. 22, 1952. On Nov. 22, 1952, a C-124 Globemaster aircraft crashed while en route to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, from McChord Air Force Base, Washington. There were 11 crewmen and 41 passengers on board. Adverse weather conditions precluded immediate recovery attempts. Attempts to locate the other crew and passengers continue.
June 19, 2014 -
Dr. William LaPlante, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition is Jared Serbu's guest for the full hour on this edition of On DoD. LaPlante talks with Jared about his five top priorities' for Air Force acquisition.
June 04, 2014 -
A computer hacker facing up to 20 years in prison is free after helping the federal government stop hundreds of cyberattacks. He taught agencies how to protect millions of dollars and cripple the hacker group Anonymous. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose was chief information officer for three Air Force commands and three joint combatant commands. He was also the first CIO of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and is now president of the Meyerrose Group. He joined In Depth with Francis Rose to explain what kind of precedence this sets for future cybersecurity policies.
June 02, 2014 -
Jonathan Baker, deputy chief engineer of the Delta IV Launch System at the Air Force Space and Missile Center Launch Systems Directorate in El Segundo, California, helped save the Air Force billions of dollars and a lot of stress on its satellite launches.
May 29, 2014 -
According to an internal Air Force review obtained by The Associated Press, armed security forces at a nuclear missile base failed a drill last summer that simulated the hostile takeover of a missile launch silo because they were unable to speedily regain control of the captured nuclear weapon. The AP's Robert Burns writes, "the previously unreported failure, which the Air Force called a `critical deficiency,' was the reason the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana flunked its broader safety and security inspection."
May 22, 2014 -
The Air Force will shift Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's five-year plan to reduce headquarters staff into overdrive. The Federal Times reports the branch wants to cut more than 20 percent of its HQ workforce by next summer. Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners and publisher of the Week Ahead newsletter, talks to In Depth with Francis Rose about the Air Force hitting the gas pedal on its workforce reduction goals.
May 20, 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. Submit your ideas, suggestions and news tips to Jared via email.
May 19, 2014 -
If only Sandra Bullock's character in "Gravity" had known Richard Rast, she might've avoided a space collision. The Partnership for Public Service named Rast as a 2014 Science and Environment Medal finalist for his innovated work.
May 16, 2014 -
The Air Force thinks it's in a unique position with regard to the military's difficult migration into a shared IT infrastructure. It just went through the same exercise internally and believes those lessons can shape the Defense Department's Joint Information Environment.
May 15, 2014 -
The Government Accountability Office said a recent report that the Department of Defense paid $150 per gallon for alternative jet fuel HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids) which is made from algae. That's more than 64 times the current market price for standard carbon-based fuels. The report indicated only a small amount of the fuel was purchased for testing.
May 09, 2014
