Defense Department
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Corruption and instability in Afghanistan threaten to derail billions of dollars of U.S. aid. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko recounts the problems in a new report to Congress. His team investigated $31 billion worth of programs and projects during the first three months of this year. Sopko told Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp some of the mistakes discovered through the report.
April 30, 2014 -
A few years after then-Defense secretary Robert Gates put the Marine Corps' variant of the F-35 fighter on "probation" because of poor performance, the Marine Corps is optimistic about the plane's future and the rest of the aviation portfolio. That's the message the service's top aviation official delivered to the Center For Strategic And International Studies yesterday. Dr. Maren Leed, senior adviser at CSIS, hosted the event. She tells Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu the Marine Corps' aviation programs are looking healthier than most other areas of weapon system acquisition in DoD.
April 29, 2014 -
The Air Force could be facing a perfect storm of personnel issues when it comes to scientific talent. It's hard to attract young scientists to government work over a higher paid industry job. Dr. Mica Endsley, chief scientist of the Air Force, tells In Depth with Francis Rose that as many senior officials seek early retirement, the Air Force is looking at a gap in its pipeline of future leaders in the science and engineering fields.
April 29, 2014 -
The Army broke ground last week on what will become the Defense Department's largest solar energy project ever. The Fort Huachuca, Ariz., solar project will provide the Army with renewable energy at no additional cost to the government. As Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu reports, the Army sets aside dozens of acres of southern Arizona land for the solar panels. In exchange for the land, a local utility company will build and operate them. Read Federal News Radio's related article.
April 29, 2014 -
The Fort Huachuca, Ariz., solar project will provide the Army with renewable energy at no additional cost to the government. The solar panels are expected to provide 18 megawatts of electricity, enough to light a small-sized city.
April 29, 2014 -
The Defense Department is preparing a new edition of Better Buying Power. It'll be the third version of the Pentagon's effort to reshape how it acquires what it needs. Bill Greenwalt, a fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and former deputy under secretary of Defense for industrial policy, is writing about defense acquisition reform in Breaking Defense.
April 28, 2014 -
Teri Takai will leave this week after serving as CIO since 2010. Takai assumed her current role in November 2010 after the Pentagon recruited her from California, where she had been serving as that state's CIO. She held the same job for the state of Michigan prior to that. She made the announcement about her departure this morning at a Chief Information Officers' Council meeting.
April 28, 2014 -
The Defense Department's efforts to prevent suicide have borne some fruit. The overall rate dropped by 15 percent last year. But that good news masks some trouble in the Army National Guard and Reserve. There, the rate increased, leaving some to question whether the Defense Department is reaching those who don't live on base. It's even harder to say whether recent veterans are benefiting from the efforts. Jackie Maffucci, research director at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, explained the numbers to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.
April 28, 2014 -
The Defense Department and the industries it depends on have made their way through budget downturns before, but this one is different. Both budgets and threats are uncertain.
April 25, 2014 -
The Pentagon and its suppliers have made it through defense spending downturns before. But they say this one's different because it poses risks they've never seen before - both for the companies themselves, and for future military capabilities. More from Federal News Radio's DoD reporter Jared Serbu.
April 24, 2014 -
The Defense Department is not keeping track of all the senior officials who leave for jobs with contractors. Congress requires those officials, including flag officers and generals, to get written legal opinions before moving on. Lots of paperwork involved. But at DoD, the inspector general says the database that tracks the moves is incomplete. In this week's Legal Loop, Steve Ryan, an experienced corporate litigator and head of the government strategies practice at McDermott, Will and Emery, talks to Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the revolving door at the Pentagon.
April 24, 2014 -
Members of Congress aren't happy with the Air Force's proposal to cut entire fleets of aircraft out of its inventory. But the service insists it's the only way to comply with the budget caps Congress created, and the alternatives would be far more painful.
April 24, 2014 -
The military's Vice Chiefs of Staff tell Congress the pressure they're under because of budget cuts and the potential return of sequestration in Fiscal 2016 is killing their ability to fight two wars. But Congress doesn't appear to want to pull back on capability, only on money. Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in US News and World Report about why the chiefs are so concerned about the funding curve. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose, too much mission and too little money worries the Vice Chiefs of the military.
April 23, 2014 -
Dennis McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, says the pursuit of renewable energy is not just about the Navy "going green." It supports the mission.
April 23, 2014 -
Navy says the Defense Production Act and a new partnership with USDA will help it generate several hundred million gallons per year of U.S.-based biofuel. The solicitations it plans to issue over the next year are a key stepping stone to the Navy's goal of getting half its energy from alternative sources by 2020.
April 23, 2014