ASMC The Business of Defense

  • Military officials in the Ivory Coast are cracking down on militias in the country's volatile western region. Army spokesman Cherif Moussa said an operation to disarm them will start soon and involve 800 soldiers. Amade Oueremi, head of a militia group implicated March 2011 massacre is the primary target. More than 3,000 people were killed in Ivory Coast during post-election violence involving militias.

    August 06, 2012
  • Less training and less tools. That's one of the major concerns for DoD if lawmakers are not successful in the next few months developing a substitute to a deficit-reduction plan that calls for across the board Pentagon cuts. White House's acting budget chief, Jeff Zients told the House Armed Services Committee, "Sequestration" is not the responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction." A politically polarizing issue, a compromise doesn't seem likely before the election.

    August 03, 2012
  • A Conversation with Chuck Prow, editor and Dave Walker, contributor, Governing to Win: Enhancing National Competitiveness through New Policy and Operating Approaches

    August 02, 2012
  • Solidarity is not enough. That was the message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint appearance with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Jerusalem. He seemingly brushed aside Panetta's guarantees that the two countries share the same goal of a non-nuclear Iran. Netanyahu said, the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program. He suggested an attack is the only way to do that. He said international economic sanctions have had no effect on Iran's nuclear program.

    August 02, 2012
  • The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency mission is to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise. So what they are planning to do now to meet that mandate is promoting research to study chatter certain groups of Internet users. They want to track how online groups evolve on certain social media sites and learn how criminal organizations and hacker collectives evolve.

    August 01, 2012
  • The following is a full transcript of FedCentral’ s interview with Kelvin Womack, Principal and Federal Health Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Diane Murray, Principal and IRS client service lead, Deloitte Consulting LLP conducted by…

    July 31, 2012
  • On June 28, the Supreme Court handed down its rulings on the four legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), finding in favor of defendants on the central issue of the individual mandate and upholding the balance of the law with the exception of federal power to terminate states' Medicaid funding. Tune-in to Kelvin Womack, Principal and Federal Health Practice Leader and Diane Murray, Principal with Deloitte Consulting, LLP as they demystify the ACA Supreme Court ruling and its implications on the Federal Government.

    July 31, 2012
  • Are we looking at a new Cold War in the Arctic? Russian President Vladimir Putin as he launched the construction of Russia's latest generation of submarines vowed to boost nuclear naval forces to safeguard the country's position as a leading sea power and he warned that the Navy will protect Russia's interests in the oil-rich Arctic. Putin also sent a message to the U.S. directly saying they're aiming for naval nuclear parity.

    July 31, 2012
  • Vibrant Response 13, a major field exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by Army North got underway late last week. It tested the fictitious detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear device in a major Midwestern city. It's a national catastrophic incident exercise designed to test more than 9,000 service members and civilians in 11 training locations and airfields spread across 5,000 square miles in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky.

    July 30, 2012
  • Civilian employees in the Defense Department could receive notices of potential layoffs four days before the election if automatic military cuts aren't averted. The Associated Press reports, "Congress would be notified in mid-September and employees told of the possibility of job losses 60 days before the cuts. The Defense Department has about 800,000 civilian employees, heavily concentrated in the presidential battleground state of Virginia."

    July 30, 2012
  • Last month, the Supreme Court struck down a law that made it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor and other military decorations. So in response, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says a new Pentagon website will list the names of those Americans who have earned the Medal of Honor since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He made the announcement Wednesday at a House hearing. The justices ruled that the Stolen Valor Act of 2006 infringed upon free speech.

    July 30, 2012
  • DHS prevents homelessness wherever possible and provides short-term emergency shelter and re-housing support when needed.

    July 30, 2012
  • This week on AFGE's "Inside Government" AFGE members discuss the most critical issues facing federal employees. AFGE 6th District National Vice President Arnold Scott, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Local 3840 Women's and Fair Practices Coordinator Antoinette Jones and TSA Local 778 President Vaughn Glenn share their stories.

    July 26, 2012
  • The Air Force has concluded that insufficient oxygen supply caused some F-22 fighter pilots to get dizzy and disoriented when flying it. Pentagon spokesman George Little said an Air Force analysis had concluded that symptoms of oxygen deprivation among some pilots of the F-22, were caused by problems with the oxygen supply delivered to pilots, not oxygen contamination. Restrictions placed on F-22 flights would gradually be lifted.

    July 24, 2012