Sunday, September 15, 2024
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
The Defense Department has updated its official acquisition policy guidance to emphasize the tailoring of individual weapons programs, while allowing for increased flexibility for managers who must navigate the Pentagon's famously complex procurement process.
It is "safe to assume" that the Defense Department will make another overseas contingency operations request when it submits its fiscal year 2016 budget to Congress, but it would "not be logical to assume" that the total will continue a downward trend, according to Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon's chief spokesman.
The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold a hearing to consider Ashton Carter's nomination to become defense secretary in the first week of February, which is traditionally the same time the Defense Department submits its budget request to Congress, according to a Capitol Hill aide.
The Defense Business Board is scheduled to meet Jan. 22 to discuss findings and draft recommendations from task groups charged with identifying new science and technology investments and a path forward to gain efficiencies in core Defense Department business practices.
BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to develop the Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle that could total $1.2 billion, according to a company announcement.
General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded a $100 million foreign military sales contract from Saudi Arabia for the procurement and production of Abrams tanks, according to a company announcement Tuesday.
The Pentagon is mulling the release of new Defense Planning Guidance as early as February as part of an ongoing effort to “reset” the planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process by fiscal year 2017, according to an internal briefing obtained by InsideDefense.com.
The United States has spent $1.6 trillion on military operations since the attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.
The State Department has approved possible foreign military sales of 175 Abrams tanks to Iraq for $2.4 billion, along with 1,000 humvees for $579 million, according to recent announcements from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The Pentagon's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization improperly gathered intelligence on U.S. companies and citizens, according to a Defense Department inspector general's report made public Thursday.
Congress has cleared the Defense Department to reprogram $220 million from its operations and maintenance accounts to get the first installment of funds required to train and equip moderate members of the Syrian opposition, according to the DOD comptroller's office.
The Pentagon has begun a major effort to "reset" its planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process by fiscal year 2017 that would enable "better, more defensible budget submissions to Congress," according to a Dec. 11 memo to top defense officials from Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work.
A newly proposed measure for the authorization for the use of military force that has passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would prohibit large numbers of U.S. ground troops from entering combat in Iraq and Syria and limit authorization to three years.
Congressional appropriators have proposed an omnibus spending package that would fund the Defense Department in fiscal year 2015 to the tune of $554 billion and have until Thursday night to pass the measure.
Despite approving other recent nominees, the Senate Armed Services Committee is delaying the confirmation of Elissa Slotkin, President Obama's nominee to serve as the Defense Department's next assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, according to a statement from the committee.
On the heels of a new Defense Department Innovation Initiative aimed at identifying next-generation military capabilities, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, has commissioned a study on weapon system autonomy due next summer.
Congressional allies of General Dynamics Land Systems are attempting a last-ditch effort to stall the Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle program as the service mulls awarding an engineering and manufacturing development contract to BAE Systems, according to memos and officials.
President Obama has nominated Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's former No. 2 civilian, to succeed Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, noting that he is a "reformer who has never been afraid to cancel old or inefficient weapons programs."
The Defense Department has awarded contracts to three independent public accounting firms to audit current-year appropriated funds -- also known as the schedule of budgetary activity (SBA) -- for all the military services, according to a DOD statement.
The Defense Department is slated to spend $16 billion on fuel in fiscal year 2014 to support military operations, training and exercises, after having spent $14.8 billion in FY-13, according to DOD's latest operational energy report.