Navy
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With sequestration now in effect, the Defense Department says it will have to begin to make decisions that cross the threshold between "reversible" cuts to military capability and those that will have long-lasting impacts.
March 04, 2013 -
Small firms already have taken a disproportionate hit from DoD's pullback in 2013 spending, Pentagon officials say. Military acquisition leaders worry the sudden cuts will bankrupt small businesses that provide one-of-a-kind capabilities.
March 01, 2013 -
The Department of the Navy has announced it may spend up to $1.2 billion more for support of its Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI). In a Feb. 20 FedBizOpps posting, the Navy issued sole-source justification, detailing a notice of intent to increase the price of Hewlett-Packard's continuity-of-service contract (CoSC). The notice also allows the Navy to extend the CoSC services from April 2014 through September 2014 to ensure the department can complete the transition to its Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN). However, that contract option would only be exercised if the NGEN transition is further delayed.
February 21, 2013 -
Undersecretary of the Navy Robert Work will become the CEO of the Center for a New American Security, a prestigious defense think tank with close ties to the Obama administration. Work will start at CNAS April 22.
February 20, 2013 -
The fledgling effort to replace IT systems aboard 193 Navy ships, called CANES, will take longer than expected. With or without sequestration, the Navy expects eight installations scheduled for 2013 to be interrupted.
February 20, 2013 -
As the Navy scours its IT systems to determine exactly what it owns, it's discovered it operates double the data centers and tens of thousands of servers and applications more than it previously thought. The findings come more than a decade after the Navy implemented its Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, which was supposed to reduce the number of disparate systems run by the agency and eliminate stovepipes. All told, Navy's IT budget could be as much as $4 billion more than it initially thought.
February 18, 2013 -
Shortfalls in operating accounts would mean military units would be undertrained, underequipped and unable to deploy by the end of fiscal 2013, senior DoD officials predict.
February 04, 2013 -
Sharon Roth of the Merit Systems Protection Board discusses a new survey on federal management. Lt. Cmdr. Jean Marie Sullivan of the Navy Office of Women's Policy talks about the new DoD decision to open up combat jobs to women. Greg Kutz, a senior audit executive with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Audit, talks about a new report his agency released. Keith Lucas, vice president for AFGE Council 228, discusses a new contract his union signed with the Small Business Administration.
February 01, 2013 -
Spending on conferences is among first casualties as various defense components make cutbacks. DoD's online meeting service is suffering from its own popularity.
January 31, 2013 -
Round one is already in effect and includes a civilian hiring freeze, cancellation of conferences, cutbacks on training, and a reduction in IT spending for the Navy. Round two would involve unpaid civilian furloughs, operational reductions for deployed ships, and cuts to tuition assistance for sailors.
January 30, 2013 -
DoD's operations and maintenance accounts will likely be hit first if sequestration goes into effect. Unlike its procurement and research and development activities, which can continue to function on funds obligated in prior years, O&M dollars generally get spent right away. In preparation for sequestration, the Pentagon has already let go of tens of thousands of temporary hires and is drawing up a contingency plan for one-day-a-week furloughs. Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter says the unpaid furloughs would begin in April and continue through the remainder of the fiscal year if sequestration is not avoided.
January 28, 2013 -
Robert Work, the Navy's undersecretary, will not serve a second term under President Obama.
January 18, 2013 -
Robert Work, the undersecretary of the Navy, says forget about the Reagan-era aspirations of a 600-ship fleet. Even with a smaller Navy, things are better than ever, he says, even if they're about to get worse due to smaller budgets and the threat of sequestration. "Yes, things might get worse. In fact, they probably will get worse. But this is the heyday of the U.S. Navy. And, if you're not excited, you ain't breathing," he said at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium this week.
January 18, 2013 -
The Department of the Navy is finding real dollar savings by moving to enterprise software licenses, managing mobile devices and services better and reducing the number of printers and the amount printed. Terry Halvorsen, the DoN CIO, said they are on track to meet the goal of cutting 25 percent of their IT budget in five years. January 17, 2013
January 17, 2013 -
The Air Force orders commanders to start cutbacks in advance of the next budget emergency.
January 16, 2013