President Barack Obama took the oath of office in a private ceremony yesterday. Soon he’ll have to return to the bruising task of negotiating with Congress over the budget and everything else. But today, during the inauguration ceremony, if he follows tradition he’ll try to inspire everyone and strike a note of hope. Martha Joynt Kumar has been watching presidential inaugurations for a long time. She teaches political science at Towson University and is the director of the nonpartisan White House Transition Project.

President Obama took the official oath Sunday, officially starting his second four-year term. But that doesn’t mean federal agencies won’t see changes. To take a look at how personnel changes at the cabinet and upper management level are likely to play out in the coming months, we turned to Paul Lawrence, a partner at Ernst and Young and long-time consultant to federal managers. Ernst and Young just released the second edition of Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government, which Lawrence edited.

What do you call someone with all the authority to investigate public officials, but none of the power to force them to change? An Inspector General. That’s what Kevin Baron says in his story about the IG’s office for the Defense Department. It has dozens of unfinished cases, some going as far back as 1987.

The military is going all-in for today’s inauguration. They’re doing security. They’re making sure the president gets to the stage on time. And the band is giving us the soundtrack. In addition, thousands of National Guard members are here to help the local government out. It’s a lot to keep track of. But it’s made a bit easier with a new app. It was designed by two airmen, including Senior Airman Daniel Burkhardt.

The military is playing a big role in today’s inauguration. Troops are out in force, but not just for security. Some of them are here to instill pride in our government and make you feel good about being an American. Col. Gina Humble is commander of the 11th operations group at Joint-Base Anacostia-Bolling. It’s her job to make sure the Air Force Band and Honor Guard bring pomp and circumstance to today’s events.