National & World Headlines

  • Most of the power has been restored at Fort Belvoir, as of Tuesday morning. The base will operate under open status on Tuesday, with all employees expected to report to work on time.

    July 01, 2012
  • After a two-month delay, all civilian employees at the Defense Department, as well as several other agencies, can now contribute to the recently rolled-out Roth option for their Thrift Savings Plans.

    June 29, 2012
  • 31 female victims have been identified so far. A senior Air Force commander says a sex scandal that has rocked the service's training command at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas appears to be localized. Gen. Edward Rice, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that a dozen male instructors are under investigation. Nine of them are from the same unit - the 331st Training Squadron.

    June 29, 2012
  • Army leaders are encouraging active duty soldiers to consider entering the Reserves, said retiring Lt. Gen Jack Stultz, former commanding general of the Army Reserve Command. Stultz took off the uniform for the last time after a June 9 change of command ceremony.

    June 29, 2012
  • The White House has threatened to veto two key House spending bills because of severe spending cuts at some agencies as well as federal pay and workforce provisions. In statements of administration policy, the Office of Management and Budget said appropriations bills for both Financial Services and General Government and the Defense Department stray from previously agreed to budgetary caps

    June 28, 2012
  • New security measures, including a new polygraph question, will help avoid leaks from intelligence employees, announced James Clapper, director of National Intelligence. Lawyer John Mahoney analyzes the legal responsibilities between agencies and federal employees.

    June 28, 2012
  • How is DoD is adapting and how are military leaders taking advantage of innovations in the commercial world to be more mobile and, in many ways simplify how they use their systems to meet their missions?

    June 28, 2012
  • The Veterans Affairs Department wants to change the frequency of reverifying veteran-owned businesses from once a year to once every two years, according to an interim final rule published in the Federal Register.

    June 28, 2012
  • The Air Force is helping the fire fight in Colorado. At the same time, it had to evacuate 550 cadets from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs because of approaching flames.

    June 28, 2012
  • Veterans Affairs would have to contact victims of data breaches within 10 days under a bill approved by a House subcommittee.

    June 28, 2012
  • Under a settlement announced Wednesday by 20 states' attorneys general, the Department of Veterans Affairs will take control of a website that consumer fraud investigators say has been used to mislead military members into making poor use of their GI Bill benefits.

    June 28, 2012
  • Congress is demanding more answers about how $1.2 trillion in budget cuts set to take effect in January will be applied across the government. The House Budget Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a bill directing the Obama administration to provide Congress a report that provides specific details about how the spending cuts will affect federal agencies and programs. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee formally requested that the head of the Office of Management and Budget, Jeff Zients, testify before the committee on the "mechanics and impact" of the automatic cuts.

    June 27, 2012
  • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, in a visit to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, discussed the challenges facing the Defense Department. Also, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) discussed the challenges of sequestration in a keynote address at a Brookings Institution event.

    June 27, 2012
  • U.S. officials say Syria's military remains loyal despite recent high-profile defections, while the opposition remains fragmented and unable to attack as a unified force, indicating a long, protracted conflict to come. The Associated Press reports, the Syrian regime is maintaining troop loyalty by keeping paychecks coming even as food and fuel run out for the rest of the country, according to U.S. intelligence officials who briefed reporters on the Syrian conflict Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide the sensitive information.

    June 27, 2012