Defense Department
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Anticipating another round of sequestration in 2016, the Defense Department is trying to make some headway in preparation for a tighter budget. The Pentagon sees a small treasure chest of money in back-office operations that could be used for mission and readiness needs. Federal News Radio's executive editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with details on how DoD plans to unlock that treasure chest.
March 18, 2015 -
The Defense Business Board outlines three approaches for the Pentagon to save $125 billion across six administrative areas. Defense Deputy Secretary Bob Work said the 90-day study will help his department improve productivity as sequestration looms.
March 18, 2015 -
By DAVID ESPO and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans launched a boldly conservative 10-year budget plan on Tuesday that would favor the Pentagon, partially privatize Medicare and rely on deep cuts…
March 18, 2015 -
The Air Force owns a huge stockpile of intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers that are quickly aging in place. It owns two out of three legs of the US nuclear triad; the Navy owns the third. Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration for the Air Force, tells Federal News Radio's Jason Fornicola how the service is modernizing its two legs of the US nuclear triad.
March 17, 2015 -
The House of Representatives released its fiscal 2016 budget proposal. It would parse back the strict spending limits on the Defense Department while keeping in place a range of cuts for domestic programs. Gary Schmitt is co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Strategic Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and former staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he broke down the House Budget Committee's plan.
March 17, 2015 -
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) released his $3.8 trillion budget plan, which includes language calling for an increase to federal employees' contributions to their retirement plans. All federal employees would pay 6.6 percent of their pay into their retirement plans. The bill also increases funding to the Defense Department's Overseas Contingency Operations fund, while keeping total DoD spending under sequestration caps.
March 17, 2015 -
You might remember Charla Nash. She's the woman who was horribly disfigured when attacked by a friend's pet chimpanzee back in 2009. The Pentagon has been closely watching her long recovery. More than watching, actually. The Army has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of Nash's medical bills. The hope is Nash's ordeal can help the military learn to care for disfigured soldiers returning from war. Dr. Wendy Dean, a medical advisor in the Army's Tissue Injury and Regenerative Medicine Program Management Office, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the effort and what the military hopes to learn.
March 17, 2015 -
The U.S. Air Force will award a contract for a long-range strike bomber this year. That contract could completely change the landscape of the aerospace industry, according to Richard Aboulafia. He's vice president of analysis at the Teal Group Corporation. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said if there's only one thing to pay attention to in the aerospace industry this year, this contract is it.
March 12, 2015 -
Cuts to service contracts are part of an Army-wide push to use soldiers and civilians for jobs that had been outsourced by necessity during wartime, officials said Wednesday.
March 12, 2015 -
The Army says it's in the midst of a significant reduction in its spending for service contractors -- including a $2 billion cut to logistics support contracts that officials expect to double in the coming years. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, most of the work they're performing will be handed over to soldiers and Army civilians.
March 11, 2015 -
Military contractor requirements seem simple enough: Get the right material to the right location on time. Some contractors are better at it than others. It's true that you get what you measure, which is why the military branches have the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). They use it to create an incentive program to spur on suppliers. Bobby Smart, the Air Force's deputy assistant secretary for Acquisition Integration, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain how the system works.
March 11, 2015 -
The Defense Department couldn't provide reliable data on many of its current Acquisition Category II and III programs. That's according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Those programs include everything from a multi-billion dollar radar modernization program to soldier clothing. Mike Sullivan, the director of acquisition and sourcing management at GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the report.
March 11, 2015 -
The military already has shown it can improve services on bases through public-private partnerships. As budgets shrink, the next task is to partner with local governments.
March 11, 2015 -
The Army says it has the backing of legal authorities to start an aggressive push for public-private partnerships to help deal with funding cuts to its military bases. The service says it's set up a speedy approval process in the Pentagon to let base commanders make agreements with their local communities and to share a wide range of public works services rather than running them on their own. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.
March 10, 2015 -
Richard Ginman, the director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, left government late last month. In an interview with Federal News Radio's On DoD a few days before his retirement, he reflected on what's changed during his 42-year career, and what hasn't.
March 10, 2015