Defense News

  • The Army is the latest federal organization to lay out a career path for its cybersecurity leaders. Career Field 17 will offer soldiers that career path. Advocates of professionalizing the cyber workforce believe that would feed talent pipelines with the people agencies need to succeed. Lt. Col. Sean Kern is cyberspace operations officer, and a graduate student at the Joint Advanced Warfighting School at Joint Forces Staff College at the National Defense University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the main cyber problem right now is a people problem.

    October 01, 2014
  • NASA has chosen two contractors to build new capsules and ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. The larger of the two awards, $4.2 billion, went to Boeing. The first launch is scheduled for 2017. Chris Ferguson is the director of Crew and Mission Systems for Boeing's Commercial Crew program. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details on the contract and the next steps for the project.

    October 01, 2014
  • The Army's Intelligence and National Security Command made awards to 21 firms under an indefinite-delivery contract called Global Intelligence Support Services. This story is part of Jared Serbu's Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook.

    September 29, 2014
  • The leader of the Army's new Cyber Center of Excellence says his job is not merely to build the cyber workforce, but to integrate that up-and-coming capability with the Army's existing signals and intelligence disciplines.

    September 26, 2014
  • While deployed in Afghanistan, Christopher Ciampa allegedly stole more than one million gallons of fuel for resale on Afghanistan's black market.

    September 26, 2014
  • Cyber operations is about the only area of the DoD budget that hasn't been subject to cuts. But the new leader of the Army's Cyber Center of Excellence says that doesn't mean the Army can grow its newest military discipline in isolation. Federal News Radio DoD reporter Jared Serbu has the details.

    September 25, 2014
  • The Army needs big solutions if it wants to generate as much energy as it consumes by 2020. It's using the Fort Carson Army base in Colorado Springs as a testing ground for the Net-Zero Energy Initiative. The General Services Administration identifies four ideas that could help Fort Carson reach big energy breakthroughs. It's also partnering with the Army and Energy Department to measure Fort Carson's progress so far. Ken Sandler is the sustainability and green building advisor within the Office of Federal High Performance Green Buildings at GSA. He told In Depth with Francis Rose what Fort Carson has done so far.

    September 24, 2014
  • The Center for Army Lessons Learned is calling for soldiers who want to serve a yearlong tour in a hot spot such as Afghanistan, Kuwait or Africa. As an Embedded Liaison Officer, they would report back on what they observed. Colonel Paul Reese, director of the Center for Army Lessons Learned, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss what the Army is calling a great opportunity.

    September 24, 2014
  • The Army is experimenting with a new type of interactive software to train its young leaders. It's called the Emergent Leader Immersive Training Environment software (ELITE). The training tool teaches soldiers to deal with a range of problems including disagreements with their platoon sergeant, driving under the influence and sexual harassment. Marco Conners is chief of the Army Games at the National Simulation Center. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details.

    September 23, 2014
  • Ronald Pontius, the deputy to the commander of Army Cyber Command, said over the next few years the Army will give cyber workers their own career field, preliminarily known as Career Field 17.

    September 18, 2014
  • The Air Force has a list of priorities for fiscal year 2015. They include eliminating 21 general officer billets, addressing the problems with an aging fleet of aircraft and dealing with a budget designed to shrink the force. Still, Secretary Deborah Lee James says the service is in good shape. As the Air Force celebrates its 67th birthday, James gave Tom Temin a status report on the Federal Drive.

    September 18, 2014
  • The Army and Air Force are using a shared network security infrastructure at Joint Base San Antonio as of Sept. 14. It's a major step toward the Defense Department's goal of moving base-level cybersecurity operations to a more defensible, centrally-managed architecture.

    September 18, 2014
  • On this week's show, a deep dive into military personnel management within the Navy. Our guest for the full hour is Vice Adm. Bill Moran, the Chief of Naval Personnel.

    September 17, 2014
  • After eight months on the job, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin that even though the service is in good shape, it still faces uncertainty around its budget, overseas operations and readiness.

    September 17, 2014

On DoD

On DoD

WEDNESDAYS, 11 A.M. & 2 P.M.

Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts.