Defense
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A number of veterans organization are suing the Veterans Affairs Department over a new rule regarding disability claims. The rule only went into effect a week ago, but the lawsuit claims it\'s eliminated most informal VA claims, and limits the types of claims VA can adjudicate. One change means that letters written into VA no longer count as claims; now everything has to be on a standardized form. Ron Abrams is a former VA staff member, and now the joint executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the lawsuit and its ramifications.
April 13, 2015 -
The Navy says its aging fleet of nuclear-armed submarines can\'t last much longer. The Ohio-class subs now doing the job were supposed to be retired years ago. But replacing them is complicated and costly. It\'s also the Navy\'s top shipbuilding priority. Rear Adm. Joseph Tofalo, the Navy\'s director of undersea warfare, spoke about the Ohio replacement program at Sea-Air-Space 2015. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive with a preview.
April 13, 2015 -
As much attention as the Veterans Affairs senior executive responsible for oversight of the debacle in Boulder, Colorado of the construction of a new hospital left, his replacement got strikingly little fanfare.
April 13, 2015 -
The Defense Department is creating a single shared-services office for all commodity information technology for the Washington metro area and placing it under the Defense Information Systems Agency.
April 13, 2015 -
Pentagon is studying its existing use of open systems in preparation for a final report, due at the end of the year, on how to expand them. Officials insist they\'re not interested in wiping out Defense firms\' proprietary systems, but they need to own the data links between them.
April 13, 2015 -
As part of the Pentagon\'s newly-unveiled Better Buying Power 3.0, officials say they\'re planning a concerted push for more open architectures - and owning the data rights to acquisition systems where it\'s appropriate. But DoD is trying to reassure companies that doesn\'t mean it will try to demand ownership of its most valued proprietary technology. More details from Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.
April 10, 2015 -
The Defense Department published a 3.0 version of its Better Buying Power program Thursday, saying the overall plan represents \"more continuity than change.\" But there have been shifts in emphasis over the initiative\'s five-year lifespan, including a new focus on cybersecurity.
April 10, 2015 -
The Defense Department released Thursday its update to Better Buying Power. It includes marching orders to the acquisition community on how to recreate a technology gap between the United States and other countries. DoD officials worry the militaries of other nations are quickly closing that gap. As Federal News Radio\'s Jared Serbu reports, the 3.0 version of Better Buying Power includes a new emphasis on cybersecurity.
April 09, 2015 -
Within weeks, the Army says it will deploy systems that, for the first time, will give commanders access to the systems they need for mission command and planning, while they and their troops are airborne.
April 09, 2015 -
The first class of Marine trainees from the Energy Department\'s new solar job training program graduated earlier this year. It\'s called the Sunshot Initiative, and its goal is to train service members as solar panel installers and other solar industry related jobs. There are three military bases and more than 200 service members involved in the initiative. Minh Le, director of the Sunshot Initiative at the Energy Department talked about the ambitious goals of the program on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
April 09, 2015 -
The definition of the word \"strategy\" is changing at the Defense Department. And not in a good way. That\'s according to Frank Hoffman, senior research fellow at the National Defense University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the current definition of the word \"strategy\" needs to change in four ways, and should include some extra tweaks too.
April 08, 2015 -
The Marine Corps University is reviewing lessons learned from a two-day training event at Marine Corps Base Quantico the middle of March. The Lejuene Leadership Institute is part of the Marine Corps University. Col. Scott Erdelatz is director of the Lejeune Leadership Institute. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said some of the Institute\'s training may be new, but the program isn\'t.
April 08, 2015 -
The Air Force is adding triple the staff to its F-35 Integration Office. That increases the staff from four to 12. And Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Welsh, said the aircraft\'s cost curve is finally starting to come down. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian is the new director of the F-35 Integration Office at the Air Force. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he talked about cost, capability, and lessons learned from the program.
April 08, 2015 -
In the absence of congressional authorization for another BRAC round, the Pentagon contemplates \"alternative options\" for base closure. Meanwhile, defense communities see fewer personnel spread across the same number of bases.
April 08, 2015 -
The Department of Navy\'s Cyber Fleet Command is among the first military services to recognize the need to operationalize cyber along with traditional weapons. DISA Director Gen. Ronnie Hawkins said the Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS) should move into a cyber range to test the security architecture against real-world attack simulations.
April 08, 2015