Defense Department
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In a budget environment in which cost overruns are very likely to lead to canceled programs, the Air Force says it's pressing it prime vendors to remove any costs they possibly can from their subcontracted supplier base.
April 17, 2014 -
The Air Force is making a new push to lower the prices of its acquisition programs by asking contractors to scrub their supply chains for unnecessary costs. Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports the service thinks it's made some progress, but that it's still paying more than it should.
April 16, 2014 -
More than $1 trillion in sequestration-related cuts could put national security at risk. That's what the Defense Department argues. The Pentagon's report describes what DoD could look like if sequestration continues past fiscal 2015. Russell Rumbaugh, director of budgeting for foreign affairs and defense and senior associate at the Stimson Center, joined Francis Rose for Pentagon Solutions.
April 16, 2014 -
The Defense Department is looking at programs to cut back or kill because of budget pressures. When you get the work to terminate your program, you don't just stop. The Defense Acquisition University's Smart Shutdown guide book tells you how to shut down the right way. John Adams, director of the specialty engineering education and training program and professor of acquisition program management and systems engineering at the Defense Acquisition University, was Francis Rose's guest on Pentagon Solutions.
April 16, 2014 -
Defense Department contracting officials are under orders now to double check prices on the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Schedule. DoD says the GSA Schedule doesn't always have the best price possible. Guy Timberlake, chief visionary and chief executive officer at the American Small Business Coalition, writes about it in this week's Gov-Con newsletter. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose "one size fits all" may not apply to your agency's contracting policy.
April 14, 2014 -
"Efficiency and Effectiveness" — we hear that phrase all the time in government. At the Defense Department, it's taking on a new meaning. DoD can no longer spend more of its time worrying about the effectiveness of its acquisition programs at the expense of efficiency. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller explained to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp how DoD is addressing its long muted focus on efficient buying. Read Federal News Radio's related article.
April 11, 2014 -
A group of functional domain experts are reaching out to the military services and agencies to look at service contracting spending across 12 areas. The Defense Department's goal is to use strategic sourcing to improve how it buys in these categories. The Army created a governance board to bring together all stakeholders during specific points of the acquisition process to find opportunities to collaborate.
April 11, 2014 -
Sixteen black female members of Congress are pushing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to change Army regulations that ban hairstyles frequently worn by minority women in the military. The Associated Press reports the members of the Congressional Black Caucus signed a letter Thursday to Hagel, stating that the changes are "discriminatory rules targeting soldiers who are women of color." They say that references in the rules calling hairstyles worn mostly by black women "unkempt" and "matted" are offensive and show a lack of "cultural sensitivity."
April 11, 2014 -
The Naval Air Systems Command's acquisition practices are laden with so much unnecessary costs that its commander worries about its ability to meet its mission to the fleet a few years from now. NAVAIR's commander said it's time to rethink the way it engages the acquisition system and with industry.
April 10, 2014 -
From health records to rubber gloves, the Defense Health Agency is streamlining health care at the Pentagon. In this week's Agency of the Month radio show, host Lauren Larson speaks with Navy Capt. James Poindexter, acting division chief of Medical Logistics Shared Services, and Dave Bowen, director of health care IT and chief information officer at the Defense Health Agency.
April 10, 2014 -
The leader of the Naval Air Systems Command says his service needs to make dramatic changes to the way it acquires planes, helicopters and other aviation systems. Otherwise, he says, the Navy faces a future in which it can't afford the weapons systems it needs. Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports on the upcoming changes at NAVAIR.
April 09, 2014 -
The Defense Department's overall budget will shrink by a combined $900 billion by fiscal year 2021, according to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. He tells the Senate Armed Services Committee how the Army will absorb more than $260 billion in cuts during that span. On Pentagon Solutions, Odierno says the Pentagon is creating a Total Army Solution for the looming budget cuts.
April 09, 2014 -
The military's commissary system is in line for cuts in the Fiscal 2015 budget request from the Pentagon. Those cuts, like a lot of other cuts, have some pretty strong opponents. But in the case of the commissaries, the opponents aren't necessarily obvious. On Pentagon Solutions, Todd Harrison, senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, explains why the commissary system is generating some much heat.
April 09, 2014 -
On this week's On DoD, Jared Serbu talks to Eric Jeffries, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Exelis; Zachary Hearn, the deputy director for benefits at the American Legion; and Alan Chvotkin, vice president at the Professional Services Council.
April 09, 2014 -
The latest edition of the Defense Department's effort to buy more capability without more money will emphasize the idea of bringing outside innovation into the military acquisition process.
April 09, 2014