The Government Accountability Office finds more problems with the Marine Corps' 2012 financial audit. The Defense Department's Office of Inspector General didn't go through the right procedures or find the right evidence to support a clean financial audit opinion in fiscal 2012. The DoD IG rescinded the clean opinion back in March. Asif Khan is director of financial management and assurance issues at the GAO. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose why he conducted the study and what tipped him off that the fiscal 2012 audit opinion may not be accurate.
Semper fidelis or always faithful applies to the Marine Corps in more ways than one. Colonel Keil Gentry is the director of the Marine Corps War College. Charles Neimeyer is the director and chief of Marines Corps History at the Marine Corps University in Quantico Virginia. The tell In Depth with Francis Rose about some leadership lessons they teach their students that can apply to almost anyone.
The Senate has confirmed Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force Gen. Paul Selva will be the new vice chairman. It's the first time in 32 years all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are turning over within a year. Nora Bensahel is a distinguished scholar in residence at American University's School of International Service, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose about her recommended reading list for the incoming Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford will be the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He'll begin his term October first when the current chairman — Army Gen. Martin Dempsey — retires. Retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2001 to 2005. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the challenges he walked into on his first day as chairman and how they might compare to what Dunford has on his plate.
After nearly 20 years of development, the Marine Corps said its first squadron of F35B joint strike fighters is just about ready for combat. It's the first joint strike fighter model to reach initial operational capability and the Defense Department spends nearly $100 billion in the process so far. Jim Hasik is a senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what the Pentagon could have spent its money on instead.
The military lacks the resources it needs for nearly every one of its forces. The Marines are running with two-thirds of the number of battalions it has needed in the past to meet its daily operational needs. The Army is losing 40,000 active duty troops in the next two years. And advanced missile defense programs are underfunded and behind schedule. Michaela Dodge is a senior analyst for defense and strategic policy at the Heritage Foundation. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose that DoD and the next administration are in desperate need of a new nuclear game plan.
The man who authorities say killed four Marines in an attack on a military recruiting center and another U.S. military site was a 24-year-old, Kuwait-born engineer who had not been on the radar of federal authorities until the bloodshed. Federal authorities are looking into the possibility it was an act of terrorism, but say there is no evidence yet that anyone else was involved, or that the public is in any danger.
A blended retirement plan for uniformed military personnel is headed to Capitol Hill. The blend is a mix of the current defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan that would be set up in the Thrift Savings Plan. Dr. James Joyner is an associate professor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and nonresident senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose why the time is right for a look at military retirement.
A lot of female veterans feel invisible, both on active duty and at home. That\'s according to a new survey released by the non-profit The Mission Continues. The survey found that female veterans feel a need to prove themselves twice: First to be recognized as warriors by their male peers in the military, and then for their service when they return home. Mary Beth Bruggeman is the southeast executive director for The Mission Continues and a Marine Corps veteran. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the survey.
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.
The Pentagon\'s cyber teams have a new standard now, thanks to the work of the Marine Corps\' first National Cyber Protection Team. The 81 CPT built cyberspace training, technology and mission planning toolkits. The team has a group of experts who can respond to cyber incidents and analyze vulnerable networks across any government agency. The 81 CPT wins a Government Information Security Leadership Award from ISC(2). Capt. Robert Johnston is the team leader of the 81 Cyber Protection Team. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about some of the innovative cyber techniques that the team is developing.
After 34 years in the Marine Corps, Brig. Gen. Kevin Nally is retiring.
The Department of the Navy plans to release the first of two requests for information this summer for the follow-on to NGEN, which could be worth $3.5 billion over five years.
The Department of Navy later this summer will move the Data Center and Application Optimization program office under its PEO-EIS group and out of its SPAWAR organization. Acting CIO John Zangardi said the DCAO will create a cloud brokerage hosting program with commercial and federally-approved clouds.
Navy proposes several changes to modernize its personnel system, many of which will require help from Congress.