National & World Headlines

  • Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel addressed Naval Academy graduates last week during their commencement ceremonies and he gave them three pieces of advice. One, "connect with people on a personal level", two, "try to understand perspectives that are different from yours" and three, "be humble". He also cautioned them about pressure saying, "Once you take up your duty stations and the responsibility of leadership, you will find yourselves under tremendous pressures you've never experienced."

    May 23, 2014
  • When it comes to adopting mobile computing, the Defense Department moves about as fast as a Sherman tank in the mud. It wants to get things just right so mobile devices don't compromise network security. One hurdle for software vendors is the Security Technical Implementation Guide, or STIG. Without it, their stuff can't be used on DoD networks. Airwatch makes mobile device management software, and it just received STIG certification. Founder Alan Dabbiere joins the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp to explain how the process works.

    May 23, 2014
  • How does the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs promote employment opportunities for veterans? What is VA doing to enhance opportunities for veterans to obtain knowledge and skills to properly transition into civilian life? What programs provide opportunities for veterans to obtain, retain and adapt at home? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Curtis Coy, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - on a Memorial Day Edition of The Business of Government Hour.

    May 23, 2014
  • The House passed its version of the annual defense authorization bill Thursday, while the Senate's is still a work in progress. Both versions mostly shun DoD's proposals to cut costs during sequestration.

    May 23, 2014
  • According to an internal Air Force review obtained by The Associated Press, armed security forces at a nuclear missile base failed a drill last summer that simulated the hostile takeover of a missile launch silo because they were unable to speedily regain control of the captured nuclear weapon. The AP's Robert Burns writes, "the previously unreported failure, which the Air Force called a `critical deficiency,' was the reason the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana flunked its broader safety and security inspection."

    May 22, 2014
  • U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Layug pleaded guilty in an alleged bribery scheme involving Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

    May 22, 2014
  • The Cyber Grand Challenge, set to launch for the first time two weeks from now, aims to encourage the development of computing systems that can seek out cybersecurity weaknesses better than humans can.

    May 22, 2014
  • Appointment is a promotion for Dave Tillotson, who until now has served as the Air Force's deputy chief management officer.

    May 22, 2014
  • Washington seems enveloped in a tong war over happenings at Veterans Affairs' hospitals. A lesser known but highly critical VA program expires this fall unless Congress acts. It's the Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury. Several bills introduced to keep the popular program alive have become lost in the swirl of politics over more visible issues. At a time when the VA is under harsh scrutiny, one of its more successful programs is about to die. Alex Bolton is a staff writer at The Hill Newspaper. He discussed the program and some of the benefits it has accrued so far on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.

    May 22, 2014
  • The Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Navy, and sailors at the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex and Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) successfully conducted the first flight test involving components of the Aegis Ashore system. During the test, a simulated ballistic missile target was acquired, tracked, and engaged by the Aegis Weapon System. The primary purpose of the test was to confirm the functionality of Aegis Ashore by launching a land-based SM-3.

    May 22, 2014
  • Several agency chief human capital officers say wholesale changes to the federal hiring, recruiting, retaining and firing processes are needed now more than ever. It's no longer just a matter of using the authorities available, they say.

    May 22, 2014
  • The Air Force will shift Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's five-year plan to reduce headquarters staff into overdrive. The Federal Times reports the branch wants to cut more than 20 percent of its HQ workforce by next summer. Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners and publisher of the Week Ahead newsletter, talks to In Depth with Francis Rose about the Air Force hitting the gas pedal on its workforce reduction goals.

    May 20, 2014
  • A government report indicates more than 40 Pentagon weapons programs and nearly 30 other defense technologies have been compromised by cyber intrusions from China. The cybersecurity firm Mandiant issued a report last year alleging links between a secret Chinese military unit and years of cyber-attacks against U.S. companies. Alcoa World Alumina, Westinghouse Electric Co., Allegheny Technologies, U.S. Steel Corp., the United Steelworkers Union and Solar-World are just six companies the Justice Department says were victims of Chinese hacking. U.S. officials suggest there are many more amounting to billions of dollars in economic losses.

    May 20, 2014
  • The Pentagon says Russia is not withdrawing its troops from the Ukraine border, despite Moscow's claim that the order to pull out has been given. Rear Adm. John Kirby says small numbers of Russian troops have gone back and forth to forward operating bases near the border, but the U.S. has seen no movement of Russian troops back to their home bases. NATO says Russia has 40,000 troops along the border.

    May 20, 2014