SDFM The Business of Defense

  • Gay rights activists and Obama Administration officials have begun discussing a plan to speed up the repeal of Don\'t ask, Don\'t Tell, while giving the Pentagon years to implement new policies. Implementation of policy for gays serving openly would still require the approval of President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. How long implementation might take is unknown.

    May 24, 2010
  • China is building an advanced combat jet that may rival within eight years Lockheed Martin Corp\'s F-22 Raptor, the premier U.S. fighter, a U.S. intelligence official said. Reuters reports, the expected deployment is years ahead of what the Pentagon thought the date would be. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said last year it would be 2025 before China would have that capability --Now the the estimate is 2018. The F-22 blends speed, super-agility, stealth and sensor fusion into a single package

    May 24, 2010
  • One amendment, two committees equals a whole lot of nothing moving in the Telework Enhancement Act.

    May 21, 2010
  • Bryan Lowry President, AFGE Council of Prison Locals Steve Ressler Founder and President, GovLoop

    May 20, 2010
  • May 17th and 19th, 2010 Jon Weinstein and Tim Jaques Authors of Achieving Project Management Success in the Federal Government

    May 19, 2010
  • Women who serve the federal government as law enforcement officers face unique challenges. WILFE is the professional organization that helps them. May 21, 2010

    May 19, 2010
  • A multi-nation report is expected out this week that will point the finger at N Korea for the sinking of a S Korean warship. 46 sailors were killed on March 26th when a still unexplained explosion in the Yellow Sea split the 1200 ton corvette class ship in half. The Cheonan, which is about the size of a U.S. frigate was about two miles offshore at the time of the sinking. Investigators think the North Korea military launched a torpedo at the vessel.

    May 17, 2010
  • NASA-sponsored studies have found that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may play a role in mitigating bone loss that occurs during spaceflight, and in osteoporosis. Researchers say, the solution could have significant implications for space travelers and those susceptible to bone loss on Earth. Ongoing research has looked for ways to stop bone density loss in astronauts for decades. It\'s one of the main effects of exposure to the weightlessness of space. Researchers found that astronauts who ate more fish lost less bone mineral after four-to-six-month-long spaceflights. In a series of cell-based studies, scientists documented that adding a specific omega-3 fatty acid to cells would inhibit the activation of factors that lead to bone breakdown. The studies were conducted by a team of scientists across multiple disciplines at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

    May 17, 2010
  • Winds across the Illinois plains are now blowing clean, renewable energy into the Tennessee Valley Authority service region. The Authority - a corporation owned by the U.S. Government - has begun transmitting 300 megawatts of renewable wind power to its customers received from Iberdrola Renewables\' Streator Cayuga Ridge wind park in Livingston County, Illinois. It marks the first delivery under seven contracts TVA recently signed to purchase up to 1,380 megawatts of renewable wind energy from the Midwest. It\'s the largest of the TVA\'s wind-power contracts, which altogether may provide enough electricity for about 325,000 homes in their seven-state service region. Senior vice president for the Tennesee Valley Authority John Trawick says the new wind-power source is an important milestone in the Authority\'s plans to expand their clean and renewable energy options.

    May 17, 2010
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card - commonly known as the \"Green Card\" - to incorporate several major new security features. They\'ve begun issuing all Green Cards in the new format. The redesign is the latest advance in the Immigration Department\'s ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud, that officials say will better serve law enforcement, employers, and immigrants. Among the benefits of the new technology: Secure optical media will store biometrics for rapid, reliable identification of the card holder. Holographic images, laser engraved fingerprints, and high resolution micro-images will make the card nearly impossible to reproduce. Additionally, Radio Frequency Identification capabilities will allow Customs officers at ports of entry to read the card from a distance and compare it immediately to file data.

    May 17, 2010
  • The Russian government has sentenced one of it\'s citizens to a maximum security prison on espionage charges. Gennady Sipachev is charged with spying for the Pentagon. Investigators claim Sipachev sent secret maps belonging to the Russian Army General Staff to a Pentagon intelligence unit acting under the cover of a mapping business. The Russians claim the U.S. was planning to use the maps to adjust the guidance systems on cruise missiles.

    May 17, 2010
  • The Senate is considering a $60 billion that incorporates $30 billion for President Barack Obama\'s troop surge in Afghanistan with more than $5 billion to replenish disaster aid accounts, provide Haitian earthquake relief, and make a down payment on aid to flood-drenched Tennessee and Rhode Island. The Associate Press reports the must-pass legislation is the only appropriations bill likely to advance to Obama\'s desk until the fall and is a tempting target for Democrats seeking to add money for a summer jobs program or to help to local school district to retain teachers.

    May 17, 2010
  • \"Mobile workdays\" are telework\'s sexy side. The truth of the matter is the day to day telework grind has benefits too.

    May 17, 2010
  • President Barack Obama said Wednesday he was confident that U.S. troops could start to return home as planned from Afghanistan in July 2011 but he predicted a tough fight in the coming months. \"There is going to be some tough fighting,\" Obama said at a joint news conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai,

    May 13, 2010
  • A Yemeni government official says they will not extradite radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to the U.S. if he is captured. According to Kuwati\'s Kuwait Al-Dar Online newspaper, Foreign Minister Abu-Bakr al-Qirbi says Awlaki is wanted for interrogation by the Yemeni government because of his connection to Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan and the Underwear Bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Yemen refuses to extradite its citizen to other countries.

    May 13, 2010