Defense
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Court martial has been recommended for a Marine accused of deserting his unit a decade ago in Iraq and later winding up in Lebanon for eight years. Cpl. Wassef Hassoun, 34, face a general court martial on charges including desertion and theft. A Marine general will have the final say on whether to try Hassoun. He disappeared in 2004 from his posting in Fallujah, Iraq.
September 12, 2014 -
Changes at the Defense Department's small business and industrial base offices are drawing attention to the agency's efforts to attract innovation. Andre Gudger was Director of the Office of Small Business Programs at DoD until he took over Elana Broitman's position as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy in an acting role. Mike Daniels is Chairman of Invincea and Chairman Emeritus of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the small business/DoD connection has been tricky for a long time.
September 11, 2014 -
The Army has a request for information out to see how it can introduce 4G LTE mobile technology to soldiers on the battlefield. The Army wants to see how 4G can help with battlefield intelligence and communication, and keep those capabilities on a wireless network. It hopes the technology can be tailored to help individual soldiers interact and contribute to the battlefield network. The Army wants the network to support video, voice and text communications. Responses to the ROI are due on October 6th.
September 11, 2014 -
Gino Magnifico, the chief information officer of the Army Contracting Command, said the move to a zero-client setup for its desktop computers and the development of lighter weight apps to be used anywhere in the world is a direct result of having a mature cloud infrastructure.
September 11, 2014 -
After years of acquisition planning, bid protests and then eventually a rolling process of migrating users from one contract to another, the Navy says all of its users will have moved to its new NGEN contract by the end of this month.
September 11, 2014 -
Within the next few weeks, the Navy said it will finally finish its transition to a new operating structure for its IT network. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, all of the Navy's 300,000 users will be operating under a contract structure known as NGEN by the end of this month.
September 11, 2014 -
The U.S. has promised to stand by Iraq as its new leaders appealed for help in facing the deadly insurgency from ISIL. Secretary of State John Kerry made the pledges during a daylong visit to Baghdad, just as President Barack Obama prepared to outline his strategy for defeating the Islamic State militant group.
September 11, 2014 -
As the 13th anniversary of the September 11th attacks approaches, there are no specific threats against Washington or New York, but authorities are concerned about the rising power of militant groups around the world, which presents a complex terrorism picture. New York and Washington are still the top terrorist targets but U.S. intelligence officials recognize that the rest of the country is just a vulnerable.
September 10, 2014 -
During an ongoing Veterans Affairs inspector general investigation, more than a dozen VA officials lied to investigators. Given what officials have learned so far, the practices that raised alarms in Phoenix are pervasive throughout the Veterans Health Administration.
September 10, 2014 -
The Federal Acquisition Regulation gets in the way of innovative information technology acquisition in government, according to many industry leaders and even some agency IT leaders. Some experts believe the FAR can be, and should be, your friend for innovative procurement. A panel of experts addressed that idea at NextGov Prime 2014 with Dave McClure of the Veris Group, Joanne Woytek of NASA SEWP, Jaymie Durnan of the Defense Department and Karen Evans of the US Cyber Challenge. McClure tells Federal News Radio's Francis Rose how the process that exists now is perceived.
September 09, 2014 -
Agencies struggling to find talented young employees can find help outside the federal government. The group Young Government Leaders has its own university to connect young people with federal training and mentoring opportunities. Miguel Joey Aviles is chief learning officer for Young Government Leaders, and a talent management strategist for the Defense Department. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared some data to help you understand if the federal new-talent pipeline needs some adjustments.
September 09, 2014 -
The 3-D printing revolution now includes an effort to replicate the human skull. The Army Research Laboratory is working on skulls that can be used for research on brain injuries. Dr. Thomas Plaisted is a materials engineer at the Composites and Hybrid Materials Branch of the Weapons and Materials Directorate at the Army Research Lab. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the skulls won't solve the head injury problem, but they'll be an effective tool to help find a solution.
September 09, 2014 -
Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald has pledged to put veterans first at the department. Maureen Ellenberger is one of his warriors in the battle. As director of veterans relationship management at the Veterans Benefits Administration, she is trying to standardize the customer service that veterans receive and make sure their experiences are positive.
September 09, 2014 -
The Veterans Affairs Department has ramped up referrals to private doctors in order to get patients the care they need more quickly. But several unions that represent VA employees argue, the uptick in referrals could signal a shift toward privatizing the VA. This all comes as Secretary Robert McDonald aims to fix how the VA treats its veterans following major reform legislation passed by Congress this past summer. Irma Westmoreland is a registered nurse and chairwoman of National Nurses United for Veterans Affairs. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with her take on changes at the VA.
September 09, 2014 -
Robert McDonald, the new secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department, says the biggest thing he's learned over his first seven weeks on the job is that the organization he leads is too hierarchical and too insular. He's promising to build a "flatter" VA that encourages dissent.
September 09, 2014