Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno gives his last news conference as Chief today. He'll retire and hand off to incoming Chief — Gen. Mark Milley — on Friday. One of his areas of focus has been building the next generation of Army leaders. Retired Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody is the author of "A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America's First Female Four-Star General". She tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the explains the principles of leadership that she lays out in her book.
Outgoing Army chief of staff Gen. Ray Odierno warns today, as he leaves his uniform behind, the military is risking its long-term viability to meet short-term demands. He’s worried about the Army’s readiness to engage in complex fights — its overall size — and a continuing squeeze on acquisition funding. More from Federal News Radio’s DoD reporter Jared Serbu.
The Army Reserve wants to make sure its soldiers aren’t relegated to the military’s B-team – called on only in case of emergency. But to do that, it needs to make sure its servicemembers are constantly training in their specialties, something that’s increasingly difficult under constrained budgets. As Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu reports, the Reserve is looking to dramatically lower its training costs through public-private partnerships.
In this episode, Women of Washington hosts Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm interview Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army Reserve.
The General Services Administration signed its third MOU with a large federal organization to use the professional services governmentwide acquisition contract known as OASIS. In return for its pledge to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year, DHS receives a lower fee.
Federal overseers charged with monitoring the government’s biotoxin safety programs made clear Tuesday that the Army research laboratory which mistakenly sent dozens of batches of live Anthrax to research facilities should have known years ago…
The Army laboratory that sent dozens of batches of live Anthrax to research facilities by accident should have known for years that something was wrong with their protocols for handling biotoxins. The Department of Health and Human Services has identified at least four serious safety violations by Dugway Proving Ground over the last decade and issued several citations. More from Federal News Radio’s DoD reporter Jared Serbu.
The Art League is hosting an exhibit of artwork created by a soldier recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
DoD’s investigation found one facility in Utah sent Anthrax to public and private labs in 20 states and seven countries over the last 10 years, and identified major inconsistencies in DoD’s handling of bioweapons. Military leaders ordered a new investigation of Army facility where the deadline bioagent originated from.
The military lacks the resources it needs for nearly every one of its forces. The Marines are running with two-thirds of the number of battalions it has needed in the past to meet its daily operational needs. The Army is losing 40,000 active duty troops in the next two years. And advanced missile defense programs are underfunded and behind schedule. Michaela Dodge is a senior analyst for defense and strategic policy at the Heritage Foundation. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose that DoD and the next administration are in desperate need of a new nuclear game plan.
Gen. Mark Milley said at his confirmation hearing to become the new Army chief of staff that his service still could meet the demand signal for Army forces, despite recent budget cuts. That could change, though, if demands continue to increase and if budgets continue to decrease.
The nominee to be the new Army Chief of Staff -- General Mark Milley -- says he believes the troop cutting plans the Army finalized this month will leave a force that’s still capable of doing all it’s being asked to. But that capability also comes with a high level of risk -- including the risk of more casualties in combat. More from Federal News Radio’s DoD reporter Jared Serbu.
The Army wants to upgrade its Bradley fighting vehicles with some new vision technology. Specifically, a camera that lets disembarking soldiers get a 360-degree view of the battlefield before they exit the vehicle. Maj. Stephen Tegge is a special project officer at the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the project.
This weekend, the US and Australian militaries will wrap up a huge, biennial training exercise called Operation Talisman Sabre. It's been going on since July 4th, involving a fight between 30,000 Australian and US military personnel and a fictitious enemy. Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza is the commander of the US Army's I Corps. In a phone interview from Australia, he tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that the exercise gave the military a chance to bring a whole-of-government approach to combat and stabilizaiton operations: something he says the Australians happen to be particularly good at.
The Army has known for a few years now its active duty end strength will have to get smaller. It's even announced the final number: 450,000. And sequestration — if it continues in fiscal 2016 — will make things worse, putting the Army on a path to an active duty force of 420,000. But the decisions on which bases those cuts will come from are now out, and many lawmakers are suddenly up in arms. Mark Cancian is a senior adviser for the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former chief of the Force and Structure and Investment Division at the Office of Management and Budget. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu the Army is taking the same approach to impending budget cuts as a private company might when its workforce gets too expensive.