Navy
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Federal agencies are wise to contractors that low-ball their contract prices just to get a deal. Some of those companies try to get around the low price by doing the work at normal price anyway, and getting the agency to reimburse them. Bill Welch is partner at McMahon, Welch and Learned. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he did a post-mortem on a recent Navy contract that shows the agency's catching on to this tactic.
February 09, 2015 -
A Navy scientist won the 2014 NATO Science and Technology Organization's Scientific Achievement Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to aerospace science and technology or aerospace systems applications. The winner was Steve Anderson, a Principal Scientist with the Naval Surface Warfare Center. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to detail how he won.
February 09, 2015 -
Right out of a science fiction novel, the Navy and Marine Corps are investing millions of dollars in unmanned helicopters, jeeps and boats. The scientists and technologists were in full geek mode as they discussed the next generation of vehicles and weapons at the recent Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo. Federal News Radio's executive editor Jason Miller visited the expo. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, he shared some of the descriptions the experts behind these technology innovations gave him.
February 09, 2015 -
The Office of Naval Research has an update to its strategic plan and a new chief to help to put those priorities in place. Rear Adm. Mat Winter, the new chief of Naval Research, has been on the job for about four weeks. Federal News Radio's Lauren Larson spoke to the new ONR chief at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology expo. He tells her what ONR looks for when updating its strategic plan.
February 04, 2015 -
The Navy has a powerful software system that dramatically reduces the time it takes to plan safe submarine missions. That same software recently made its way above the surface and was installed on the guided missile cruiser, USS Mobile Bay. Dr. Kip Krebs, program officer in the Office of Naval Research's Warfighter Performance Department, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the app's uses.
January 30, 2015 -
The Littoral Combat Ship U.S.S. Fort Worth is in the Java Sea, helping with the effort to recover the remains of the Air Asia flight. The ship's work in that effort is generating a discussion about the future of the LCS program. Sydney Freedberg in Breaking Defense writes the mission "shows why the Navy needs something like LCS at all." Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Jerry Hendrix is senior fellow and director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program for the Center for a New American Security. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained if he thinks the LCS program has turned the corner and is headed toward respectability in Congress.
January 14, 2015 -
CENTCOM's Twitter and YouTube accounts are back up and running after Islamic State sympathizers hacked the sites yesterday. The Defense Department says the attack lasted for about 30 minutes. The sites posted threatening messages about American troops and showed pro-Islamic State images. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Jamie Barnett is a partner for the cybersecurity practice at Venable. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what the cybervandalism means for CENTCOM and national security.
January 13, 2015 -
Critics of the Navy's maritime strategy -- or lack thereof -- are all over the federal defense community. One retired officer tells the U.S. Naval Institute the defense community may not understand what the word "strategy" means anymore. Congressman Randy Forbes has an open letter to chief of naval operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, asking him to lead an effort to restore strategic planning to the Navy. Barney Rubel is former dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said those critics are missing an important piece of the strategy puzzle.
January 08, 2015 -
Stop us if you've heard this before. If you tell contractors bidding on a big procurement you're going to use Plan X for evaluating prices, you better use Plan X. Otherwise you could lose a protest. That's what happened to the Navy in a $2.5 billion program. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain more of what happened and the lessons learned in this week's Legal Loop.
January 08, 2015 -
Troops start the new year with a 1 percent pay raise. That's a little less than the 1.8 percent raise they would have gotten automatically from the annual cost of living adjustment. A study on pay and benefits from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is due next month. Vice Adm. Norb Ryan is president of the Military Officers Association of America. He says some kind of reform is long overdue. He shared his Top 3 for 2015 on In Depth with Francis Rose. He says morale is still a top priority for the military, even with fewer commitments in Afghanistan.
January 06, 2015 -
Enlisted Navy and Marine Corps service members have a new, easier route to medical school. It's called the Enlisted-to-Medical Degree Preparatory Program. It puts them on equal footing with counterparts in the Army and Air Force. Dr. Art Kellermann is Dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain how the new program works.
January 02, 2015 -
The new year will bring new contracting initiatives throughout government. A big case in point: The Army's forthcoming Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services, or RS3. It's one of several big, multiple-award contracts that will drive consolidation of professional services. Many more service contracts are likely to flow through vehicles like RS3 and the Navy's SeaPort E. Kevin Brancato, Senior Defense Analyst at Bloomberg Government, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to provide a broader outlook on RS3 and defense contracting in 2015.
January 02, 2015 -
The Navy knows three things about its plan to build a stronger version of the Littoral Combat Ship. The first is it has the green light from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The second is who's going to build it. And the third is who's going to build it. Bryan Clark is senior fellow for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He's former Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations and Director of his Commander's Action Group. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the Navy's plan to buy two different versions of the small surface combatant ship from two different companies.
December 15, 2014 -
Until now, the Intelligence Community Information Technology Environment is mainly focused on serving the Intelligence Community. But DoD is taking baby steps toward deploying the intelligence community's shared services plan to its components. Janice Haith, deputy CIO for the Department of the Navy, told an audience at an AFCEA luncheon, the Navy is already where it wants to be in adopting ICITE.
December 12, 2014 -
Many senior IT managers fight an uphill battle. Too often, they're seen just as the tech guy by senior level peers. Enter the National Defense University's Information Resources Management College or iCollege. For many years, it's been offering high-level, strategic education to both military and civilian IT and acquisition career employees. Navy Rear Adm. Jan Hamby is the new Chancellor of NDU's iCollege. She joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss where she hopes to take a venerable institution.
December 05, 2014