For the Army's Enterprise Services unit, IT has been a migration from unifying email to rationalizing many widely used services. Doug Haskin, project director for Enterprise Services, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin how Congress gave the whole effort a shot in the arm.
Federal News Radio counts down our 10 most-read Defense and Intelligence Community stories from 2015.
If there's anxiety from war, self pity, or cynicism, you don't see it in these faces.
Women of Washington hosts Gigi Schumm and Aileen Black talk to Tina Dolph, president of ASRC Information and Technical Solutions, about breaking glass ceilings.
The Defense Department has grown its acquisition work force by 26,000 over the last few years. But it's not enough, according to the Government Accountability Office. Auditors found six of the 13 acquisition career fields didn't meet growth goals. Tim DiNapoli, director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management at GAO, spoke with Federal News Radio's Eric White about the DOD's workforce issues on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
It's not the best law ever written, but the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act could make things a little better.
Women of Washington hosts Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm talk to retired Rear Adm. Janice Hamby, chancellor of the National Defense University, about women in leadership.
Maj. Gen. Linda Urrutia-Varhall is the Air Force's assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. She's one of the most senior female officers in the U.S military and throughout her career, she's been the first woman in most of the jobs she held as she rose though the ranks of the Air Force. But Urrutia-Varhall said that particular distinction wasn't something she paid much attention to over the last 30 years. In a recent appearance on Federal News Radio’s Women of Washington, Urritia-Varhall talked about her career and why many women in the military opt-out of career paths that could lead to high-ranking jobs like the one she holds now.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is thinking small. In seeking the next generation of technologies and the companies that invent them, it's not focusing on the standard Defense Industrial Base. Virginia venture capitalist Jonathan Aberman was on a road show with DARPA and Arlington County officials. He explains the new model for generating future government contractors on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
As the U.S. military ponders third strategic offset strategy, it is letting one major advantage slip away. The armed services used to enjoy dominance in the electromagnetic spectrum — the airwaves. But they've failed to keep pace. That's according to Bryan Clark, author of a new study of EMS warfare. He's a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and he shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
Defense contractors are wrestling with a provision Congress tucked into the 2015 National Defense Authorization Bill. Section 1641 gives cleared companies liability protection when they report cybersecurity breaches, something they've had to do for several years. But what about civilian agency contractors or companies who do business with both sides? There's no information sharing law there yet. In this week's Legal Loop on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, attorneys John Drennan and Alex Haas of the D.C. firm King and Spaulding recommend caution.
The Congressional Budget Office has found, the Defense Department could save billions by replacing uniformed people with civilian or contractors in certain non-combat, support jobs. But should it? Nora Bensahel, a military analyst and scholar in residence at American University, shared her analysis of the CBO report on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
The last barrier for women in the military has been removed. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said women in any of the armed services could soon serve in any of the combat responsibilities. The move raises a lot of questions. How will it affect readiness? Combat effectiveness? Logistics? For some possible scenarios, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to retired Army Lt. General David Barno, now a scholar-in-resident at American University.
Defense Department spending rises every year, even after sequestration. But the fighting force is shrinking. In effect, DoD is doing less with more. Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, head of the Punaro Group, has been saying on Capitol Hill that Congress and the Pentagon need to tackle their built-in costs. The DOD Comptroller recently said the department would get 96 percent of what it asked for in 2017. Federal Drive with Tom Temin asked Punaro if that's a useful metric.
Pentagon brass are starting to get specific about the technologies they're looking for to produce the military advantage they'll need. The so-called third offset strategy acknowledges that the edge from stealth and guided munitions has evaporated. Bloomberg defense analyst Rob Levinson has been following the offset strategy and tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin what the defense industry can expect and what military planners are hoping to achieve.