Defense Department
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Half of the Defense Department\'s components are tracing the normal network activity of their personnel. The Pentagon is supposed to look at common user behavior to help it find cases where its employees might leak classified information. It\'s part of a series of executive orders from President Barack Obama that require agencies set up their own insider-threat programs. Joe Kirschbaum, director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government Accountability Office, tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the Pentagon\'s progress on its insider threat program.
June 08, 2015 -
Secretary of the Army John McHugh notified President Barack Obama that he planned to step down no later than Nov. 1.
June 08, 2015 -
More than 70 years have passed since the attack on Pearl Harbor, where more than 2,000 sailors and Marines lost their lives. Only 35 were properly identified; the rest were buried as unknowns. But the military wants to change that, and recently announced it plans to exhume and attempt to identify the rest. Dr. Deborah Prince Zinni is a forensic anthropologist and laboratory manager at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, she tells Federal News Radio\'s Lauren Larson why they launched the recovery efforts now.
June 05, 2015 -
In the Defense budget debate, $38 billion is on the line. It could end up in the Overseas Contingency Operations budget, or it could end up in the base budget, and it could get cut. If the money stays, one place or another, most of it would go to operations and maintenance programs. Cameron Leuthy, a senior budget analyst with Bloomberg Government, tells In Depth with Francis Rose who could win big in the budget stakes.
June 04, 2015 -
Commentary: No metric can really capture the essence of any object or program, or the people\'s dedication to it, says Federal Drive host Tom Temin.
June 04, 2015 -
The F-35 fighter jet takes part in a major military exercise this week, and the Defense Department wants to buy about 450 F-35s in three years -- starting in 2018. DOD says it sees some progress with the program. Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition Frank Kendall says the program is performing better and costs will stay down. Richard Aboulafia, vice president for analysis at the Teal Group, tells In Depth with Francis Rose where the program stands now, and whether confidence from DOD is improving.
June 03, 2015 -
The problem of research laboratories mistakenly receiving shipments with live samples of Anthrax is much worse than the Pentagon first thought. Dozens of labs in the U.S. and three other countries are suspected of having received the vials - and defense officials say that number is likely to grow in the coming days. More from Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.
June 03, 2015 -
The administration criticized the House appropriations framework that would implement sequestration funding levels for non-Defense agencies, while using Overseas Contingency Operations funds to pay for base Defense spending.
June 02, 2015 -
The Partnership for Public Service has announced the 33 finalists for this year\'s Service to America Medals (SAMMIES). Among them is Charles Milam, the principal director for military community and family policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He\'s credited with improving the lives of millions of service members, by instituting programs that help the deployed stay in touch with loved ones. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to review the programs he helped create, and the ones his department oversees.
June 02, 2015 -
The Joint Chiefs of Staff added their own recommendations on military retirement reform and sent them to Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Most of their recommendations are similar to proposals in both the House and Senate National Defense Authorization Acts. But the recommendations from the chiefs may throw a wrinkle into the congressional debate. Todd Harrison, a senior fellow for defense studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, tells In Depth with Francis Rose what the Joint Chiefs are proposing.
June 01, 2015 -
In this week's Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook, Jared Serbu reports language explicitly barring another BRAC round appeared last week in the House readiness subcommittee's contribution to the annual Defense authorization bill.
April 27, 2015 -
The Defense Department is in the final stages of a test to show how derived credentials from the Common Access Card can secure smartphones and tablet computers. Richard Hale, the deputy CIO for cybersecurity, boldly predicts that by the end of the calendar year the military will be issuing derived credentials on mobile devices.
April 03, 2015 -
Task Force Cyber Secure will attempt to apply the same degree of rigor and oversight DoD uses for its computing networks to everything else that's vulnerable to cyber threats, including weapons systems and industrial control systems. The Air Force is following in the footsteps of the Navy to ensure cybersecurity is everyone's responsibility.
April 03, 2015 -
The Air Force thinks it's done a good job of making sure its IT networks are protected from cyber threats, but that's only 20 percent of the cyber problem. A brand new task force will try to take an enterprise approach to protecting the other 80 percent of Air Force systems that are vulnerable to cyber threats, including weapons systems and critical base infrastructure. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the story.
April 02, 2015 -
The Army says it's taking the DoD directive to trim its headquarters staff extremely seriously. And that's not just because it will save money. The service's number two civilian sees it as an opportunity to flatten what he calls a "sclerotic" bureaucracy, which does a poor job of responding to changing circumstances and urgent needs. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.
April 01, 2015