Defense Department
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The Navy is applying its 20-year-old open systems architecture strategy to a new class of ships. The OSA strategy tackles acquisition and system development in a modular way, so the Navy can customize weapon systems and designs throughout the lifecycle of the program. Nick Guertin is director of transformation in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said open systems architecture is even more valuable today because it also drives down costs.
April 01, 2015 -
The Defense Contract Audit Agency has a backlog of around five years worth of Incurred Cost Submissions it needs to audit. The Government Accountability Office, the DoD Inspector General and Congress have all been critical of DCAA's inability to address the backlog. Now the agency is taking aggressive, and somewhat unusual, measures to address the problem. A policy memo went out recently with requirements for the agency's auditors; attached was a list exposing around 1,000 delinquent contractors. Rich Wilkinson is vice president for client services for NeoSystems. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain how contractors should handle the situation.
March 31, 2015 -
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will propose a 401k-like retirement program for uniformed military personnel this week. USA today reports the goal is that everyone that leaves the military takes away a retirement fund, even if they don't stay in 20 years. Todd Harrison is senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he compared the idea to the work he's done on compensation and the work the Military Compensation Commission did.
March 30, 2015 -
If Congress passes the defense acquisition reform bill, introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry this week, it won't be enought to fix the defense acqusition system. And he's the first to admit that. But the legislation does attempt to chip away at what Thornberry views as clear problems, including a lack of clear lines of authority, and too much paperwork. Beth McGrath, federal practice director of Deloitte and former deputy chief managment officer for the Defense Department, tells In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu what she thinks of the bill.
March 27, 2015 -
The Department of the Navy plans to use one of the three projects in its Innovation Cell to create data analytics for talent management. The goal of the cell is to rapidly acquire commercial IT by involving industry early in the requirements process.
March 27, 2015 -
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a court martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He's the soldier who wandered away from his unit in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years. Desertion can carry a death penalty, but the military hasn't executed anyone for 50 years. So what can we expect from Beghdahl's trial? Brian Bouffard, a former Navy JAG and now a military defense attorney, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to offer some answers.
March 26, 2015 -
Even if Congress finally finds a way around sequestration, the drawdown plan the Army has already laid out would take it down to a size of 450,000 soliders within the next five years. Officials said they won't be able to shed 40,000 personnel just through attrition. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, the Army is expected to involuntarily separate at least 14,000 more soldiers, and thousands more if the budget caps stay in effect.
March 25, 2015 -
The House and Senate Budget Committees are working through plans today that would add funds to the Overseas Contingency Operations budget. But the White House has already said President Barack Obama won't sign a budget with a huge increase in OCO funding. Long-term financial planning for the military is one aspect of a long-term strategy detailed in a new work called "Avoiding Trivia: A Strategy for Sustainment and Fiscal Security." Retired Navy Capt. Jerry Hendrix is the author and senior fellow and director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for a New American Security. On In Depth with Francis Rose, Jerry explained where the term "avoiding trivia" comes from and how it applies to military strategy.
March 25, 2015 -
In our latest online chat, Doug Wiltsie, head of the Army's Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems, discusses budget pressures, the move to agile development, acquisition innovation and cyber, among other topics.
March 24, 2015 -
The Defense Department's inspector general has reversed its findings on the Marine Corps' 2012 schedule of budgetary activity, saying the clean opinion it first issued is no longer to be relied upon. The 2012 SBA had been the first successful financial audit for any of the military departments.
March 24, 2015 -
The last round of base realignments and closures (BRAC) back in 2005 did some good. Many of the bases were repurposed and used to help the homeless. But BRAC had problems, too. As outlined in a new report from the Government Accountability Office, DoD and Housing and Urban Development don't track progress on base conversions very well. It's a concern as the Defense Department raises the urgency of its request for a new round of closures. Brian Lepore, director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at the GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the problem.
March 24, 2015 -
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the acquisition proposals he will release on Wednesday are merely a discussion draft and he's actively seeking more input. Initial language would boost program managers' roles in the system and shave reporting requirements.
March 24, 2015 -
Navy officials plan an industry day to formally launch a new framework for IT procurement, designed to work within the existing acquisition system to much more rapidly insert commercial technologies into Navy networks.
March 24, 2015 -
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says the defense reform legislation he'll introduce this week will include a focus on DoD's acquisition workforce and strengthening the place of program managers in the chain of command. Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) says Congress shouldn't try to fix the DoD procurement system all in one year, but it's time to get started. Federal News Radio DoD reporter Jared Serbu has the details.
March 23, 2015 -
The prospect of letting Defense Department employees conduct government business on their personal wireless devices has been a bit too nervous-making for the department to take a bring-your- own-device model seriously. In this week's Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook, Jared Serbu says that may be about to change, albeit slowly.
March 23, 2015