Air Force
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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 -
The Air Force could be facing a perfect storm of personnel issues when it comes to scientific talent. It's hard to attract young scientists to government work over a higher paid industry job. Dr. Mica Endsley, chief scientist of the Air Force, tells In Depth with Francis Rose that as many senior officials seek early retirement, the Air Force is looking at a gap in its pipeline of future leaders in the science and engineering fields.
April 29, 2014 -
Members of Congress aren't happy with the Air Force's proposal to cut entire fleets of aircraft out of its inventory. But the service insists it's the only way to comply with the budget caps Congress created, and the alternatives would be far more painful.
April 24, 2014 -
Today's Combat Air Force has the fewest bombers and fighters and the oldest aircraft ever. The Defense Department and Congress are hitting a sweet spot to fix that, according to two experts in military aviation. Mark Gunzinger, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, writes about the future of the Air Force with retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, now a senior scholar at the Air Force Academy. Gunzinger talks to In Depth with Francis Rose about revamping the Air Force for the next fight.
April 21, 2014 -
In a budget environment in which cost overruns are very likely to lead to canceled programs, the Air Force says it's pressing it prime vendors to remove any costs they possibly can from their subcontracted supplier base.
April 17, 2014 -
The Air Force is making a new push to lower the prices of its acquisition programs by asking contractors to scrub their supply chains for unnecessary costs. Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports the service thinks it's made some progress, but that it's still paying more than it should.
April 16, 2014
