In today's Federal Newscast: Infrastructure plans move forward, as the federal government hires thousands of Americans. The Social Security Administration could lose thousands of employees to retirement in the near future. And the high-flying Air Force experiments with pot leniency in recruitment.
Many agencies struggle with antiquated digital architecture and a lack of skills and talent to implement AI, a chief data scientist at the Commerce Department's National Technical Information Service said.
Senators pointed to heightening sexual assault reports, military housing issues and COVID-19 vaccination requirements as common deterrents for potential military recruits.
The Air Force barely met its 2022 recruiting goal for the active duty force, and had to use unusual measures to pull it off. The reserve components face bigger challenges.
In today's Federal Newscast: What some call "the Oscars" for federal public service will be given out tonight in the nation's capital. The Air Force is reversing a plan that would have cut pay for some servicemembers. And the Homeland Security Department is repurposing some electric vehicles to add to its 50,000-vehicle fleet.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says the new position — the PEO for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management — is the "hardest acquisition job I've ever given anybody."
LGBTQ kids in military families are more likely to experience anxiety and attempt suicide.
The service is asking the Air Force Academy and Air Education and Training Command to come up with a plan by the end of September.
The ten-vendor team led by CACI will be responsible for "Wave 1" of the Air Force's EITaaS rollout, focusing on end-user devices, IT service management and support services.
Innovation challenges are becoming a popular way for the military to bring in new ideas.
Also in today's Federal Newscast, the U.S. Forest Service and Defense Logistics Agency are teaming up to fight fires. And President Biden appoints the first woman to lead the National Cancer Institute.
The Air Force had not put the shooter's criminal history into the FBI's background check system, allowing him to purchase the rifle with which he murdered 25 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017.
If the shot is not at the clinic, the Air Force will ship the vaccine within 48 hours.
Experts estimated around 20,000 people are assaulted in the military each year. The Army, Navy and Air Force are implementing new policies aimed at reducing assaults.
The Air Force's chief digital transformation officer says challenge events have shown what's possible when developers work with classified, operational data, but also how DoD's policies forbid those innovations in practice.