Defense
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The across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, set to take effect Jan. 2 would be "deeply destructive" to national security and core civilian agency programs, according to a comprehensive report from the White House detailing the impact of the cuts on specific programs and accounts. The $109 billion in cuts coming next year — split evenly between Defense civilian agency budgets — would slash Defense discretionary spending by 9.4 percent and civilian agency spending by 8.2 percent.
September 14, 2012 -
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will soon be traveling to China and Japan, amid escalating tensions in the region including tussles over several disputed islands in the East China Sea. This will be Panetta's third trip to Asia in 11 months, reflecting the Pentagon's ongoing shift to putting more military focus on the Pacific region. The trip will also include a stop in New Zealand. Panetta's stop in Japan is also likely to include discussions about the deployment of V-22 Ospreys there.
September 14, 2012 -
At meetings this week, DoD gives European Command the go-ahead to start building the first increment of a standards-based IT environment that will collapse thousands of networks into a single, interoperable environment.
September 14, 2012 -
Marines have been sent to Libya to beef up security. Who are they? The Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) is capable of rapidly deploying to immediately improve security at United States Government installations worldwide. FAST Marines are deployed at the discretion of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps when the primary and auxiliary security forces of the Marines are unable to adequately respond to a security crisis.
September 13, 2012 -
Pentagon says planning for future contingencies will include contract management from the get-go rather than letting be an afterthought.
September 13, 2012 -
Tighter budgets are impacting agencies' ability to recruit new employees, according to the results of an exclusive Federal News Radio survey. But while budget dollars may be dwindling, agencies still need new hires to fill vacancies caused by retirements and others leaving civil service. Federal recruiters and college advisers say there are certain cost-effective and innovative techniques that work better than others when it comes to finding the next generation of federal employees.
September 13, 2012 -
Members of the Taliban are pretending to be attractive women on Facebook to spy on Australian troops in Afghanistan. Because Facebook uses GPS technology to track where profile updates are made, faux-Facebook friends, who are able to befriend soldiers, are able to find their locations after they update their profiles, according to CSOOnline.
September 12, 2012 -
It's a long-time coming, but Al Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri has finally acknowledged the death of his deputy, Abu Yahya al-Libi, in a drone strike in Pakistan's northwest territories in June 2012. He did it in In a video recording posted on Tuesday to jihadist websites. He managed to escape from US custody in Afghanistan in 2005 and was appointed Al-Zawahiri's deputy in 2011.
September 12, 2012 -
Army officials said first they have to define what exactly is a cyber weapon or tactical fire in military-speak.
September 12, 2012 -
The Air Force says the evaluations will set the standard for larger training programs for airmen and U.S. allies.
September 12, 2012 -
Veterans Affairs PHR effort has already gone far beyond VA. After reaching 1 million users, originators of the project have set their sights on 100 million.
September 12, 2012 -
GSA's System for Award Management is finding its footing after a rough start. OFPP Administrator Joe Jordan said he's watching the systems' progress carefully.
September 12, 2012 -
An airstrike killed al-Qaida's No. 2 in Yemen along with six others traveling with him in one car yesteday. Saeed al-Shihri, a Saudi national who fought in Afghanistan and spent six years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, was killed by a missile after leaving a house in the southern province of Hadramawt. Yemeni officials say they believed to have been fired by a U.S.-operated, unmanned drone aircraft.
September 11, 2012 -
Defense industry executives criticize the impending sequestration, which they say would lead to the loss of more than 1 million defense-related jobs.
September 11, 2012 -
Defense Department employees, contractors and their families that worked in or around the site of the nuclear disaster in Japan last year have access to a new database that estimates their radiation dose. DoD launched the Tomodachi Registry this week. It's available to all DoD-affiliated employees and their families. The site also includes information about the event and answers to frequently asked questions.
September 10, 2012