Defense Department
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The Air Force recently completed a test launch of one of its Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 5,000 mile flight test was supported by Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and several other contractors. So how does the Air Force maintain readiness of the ICBM fleet? How can it assure the Commander-in-Chief that in the unlikely event of a real launch, the 40-year-old missiles would go where they're supposed to? Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, Commander of the 20th Air Force, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the test flight and the ICMB program.
December 11, 2014 -
The Pentagon's new Defense Innovation Initiative is called the third offset strategy. But it's not the only offset the defense industrial base should pay attention to. Patrick Costello is deputy director of Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy studies for the Council on Foreign Relations. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what these offsets are.
December 10, 2014 -
The budget deal and the National Defense Authorization Act give the Defense Department certainty for the rest of Fiscal 2015. After that: Nobody knows for sure. Sequestration is back on the table, at least for now. Robert Hale is former Undersecretary of Defense Comptroller -- he's now a fellow at Booz Allen Hamilton. He's my guest for Pentagon Solutions today. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the impacts the sequester had on the department.
December 10, 2014 -
The Defense Contract Management Agency is creating a new team of dedicated pricing experts, looking for more consistent decisions within DoD about what constitutes a commercial product.
December 10, 2014 -
President Barack Obama announced three major initiatives today to boost the Senior Executive Service. It's the latest in a long line of initiatives and research on improving the SES. Booz Allen and the Partnership for Public Service have proposed reforms to the SES. Booz Allen's Ron Sanders -- former Chief Human Capital Officer for the intelligence community -- and Bob Hale -- former Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller) -- talked about those SES reform recommendations on In Depth with Francis Rose.
December 09, 2014 -
Four years after a push from the President, the federal government is hiring employees with disabilities at a rate that's higher than it's been in decades, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management.
December 08, 2014 -
The next big change at the Department of Defense may be in the Chief Information Officer's office. But it may not be a personnel change; it may be a change to the organization chart. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu tells In Depth with Francis Rose about some of those changes as part of this week's edition of Inside the Reporter's Notebook.
December 05, 2014 -
The big national defense authorization bill is moving through Congress. It passed the House yesterday, and the Senate is expected to take it up next week. In purely military spending terms, the bill is a mixed bag. Some programs and platforms get plus-ups, others get cuts. Todd Harrison is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He's been studying the bill, and joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to analyze the bill's winners and losers.
December 05, 2014 -
After a 40-year career in government, Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness Jessica Wright announced her retirement to President Obama and DoD Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday. As under secretary, Wright oversaw personnel matters for DoD's workforce and called for reforms to stop sexual assaults in the military.
December 05, 2014 -
Office of Federal Procurement Policy administrator Anne Rung has released a memo detailing a road map to create a new model for federal contracting. The administration will expand the concept of category management across the government, while also developing a cadre of IT acquisition experts and revamping the government's relationship with its vendors.
December 04, 2014 -
New request for information kicks off DoD's long-range R&D planning initiative, an effort to regain technological superiority that Defense officials fear is rapidly eroding.
December 04, 2014 -
The Senate Armed Services Commitee is reviewing a group of new White House nominees to fill top-level positions at the Defense Department. The list includes DoD's general counsel position, the commander of Pacific Command and three assistant secretary positions.
December 03, 2014 -
Upgrades are coming at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota that are a long time coming. The Military Times reports the nuclear weapons facility there has maintanance, upkeep, and infrastructure problems. Retired Navy Adm. John Harvey is Virginia's Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, and former commander of Fleet Forces Command. He led a team along with retired Air Force Gen. Lawrence Welsh to look at the nuclear enterprise. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared his thoughts about how the nation's nuclear enterprise is in the news all of a sudden.
December 03, 2014 -
Phyllis Wilson is the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Army Reserve. She talked about the program and the Reserve's broader plans for 2015 with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on this week's On DoD.
December 03, 2014 -
After at least two leading candidates took their names out of contention for Defense Secretary, the President turned to Ashton Carter, a former deputy secretary. Carter first worked as a civilian analyst in the 1970s, and holds degrees in physics and medieval history. He held policy positions in both the Clinton and Obama adminsitrations. What can the military expect from a Secretary Carter? Former Senator Jim Talent, now a senior fellow and director of the National Security 2020 Project at the American Enterprise Institute, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss.
December 03, 2014