Defense Department
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Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald seems to be closing the deal several secretaries of Defense and at least one postmaster general couldn't, says Federal News Radio's Francis Rose in a new commentary.
March 10, 2015 -
A wrinkle is developing in the effort for defense acquisition reform. If the goal is to do away with cost overruns, acquisition policy may be beside the point. The Pentagon is getting ready to release a new analysis that purports to show that decades of different acquisition approaches haven't made much of a difference one way or another. The one thing that has made a difference is whether budgets are rising or falling. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu writes about it in this week's edition of Inside the Reporter's Notebook.
March 06, 2015 -
The Defense Department says it will spend about $55 billion in the coming decades on the next-generation long range strike bomber. Fortune magazine says the program could upend the combat jet industry, and the Washington Post reports details about the program are sketchy right now. Todd Harrison is director of defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said we do know a few things about the bomber program.
March 06, 2015 -
The Veterans Affairs Department says it is spending $24 million per year to maintain facility space it can't use. Some of the restrictions on closing them are political, some are local, so VA thinks it needs a BRAC of its own.
March 06, 2015 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has a similar problem to the Defense Department: too many underutilized facilities in its inventory and a lot of dilapidated structures it can't afford to tear down. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, VA is asking Congress for its own version of a BRAC.
March 05, 2015 -
The Air Force announces a nine-step plan to make itself more diverse. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh detail the plan in a memo. Emily Kopp has details on the memo and the rollout with Secretary James at an event Wednesday at the Center for a New American Security. Emily tells In Depth with Francis Rose why the diversity goals aren't limited to one group or another.
March 05, 2015 -
After two years of operating under sequestration level funding, the Army now faces a $3 billion maintenance backlog and 5,500 work orders, said Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment.
March 05, 2015 -
Troubled by a lack of women and minorities at the Air Force's higher levels, its leaders are rolling out nine initiatives focusing on recruitment, promotions and retention. Some are new ideas; others are existing programs that will be enhanced. That's according to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. She spoke at an event on women and leadership yesterday, sponsored by the Center for a New American Security. Emily Kopp was there, and joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with a report on it.
March 05, 2015 -
Ashton Carter, the new Defense secretary, told lawmakers this week that most of DoD's civilian workforce is performing mission-critical functions. But large budgets over the past decade have let the department do a lot of hiring without much thought toward cutting outdated positions, he said.
March 05, 2015 -
Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress Wednesday he believes civilian workforce reductions need to be part of the Pentagon's strategy to deal with tightening budgets. Carter said the workforce has grown in some understandable ways over the past decade, but there are some areas that ought to shrink. Federal News Radio's DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the story.
March 04, 2015 -
The Defense Department will close 15 sites in Europe over the next two years. The Department expects the European Infrastructure Consolidation to save $500 million a year. Katherine Hammack is assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she shared the details on this and DoD's other cost-saving plans.
March 04, 2015 -
Nearly a quarter of the military's facilities are rated as in "poor" condition; another 7 percent are failing. Officials say their 2016 budget would begin to dig out of billions of dollars in backlogged maintenance needs.
March 04, 2015 -
The budget the Defense Department is pushing for in 2016 will help the agency start to dig out of a big backlog of deferred maintenance on military bases. But Pentagon officials say even their own plan isn't a complete solution to deteriorating facilities, and if sequestration returns next year, things will likely get much worse. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.
March 03, 2015 -
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are fighting back against the Pentagon's cost-cutting plan for employees who travel for work.
March 03, 2015 -
The Defense Department has a plan for improving and extending the live of its existing weapons system. It involves replacing microelectronic subassemblies, and DoD has set aside a lot of money for it. A new multiple award contract (MAC) worth billions is coming from the Defense Microelectronics Activity. Daniel Snyder, a contract specialist for Bloomberg Government, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the MAC and DoD's plan.
February 27, 2015