Wednesday, August 22, 2018
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.
703-562-8742The Pentagon is not planning for another significant funding boost in fiscal year 2020 and is exploring ways to make budgetary "headroom" to support a host of new modernization investments being drawn up by a new innovation team, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford return to Capitol Hill this week, while the House Armed Services Committee begins marking up its version of the fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill.
The Defense Department, in response to a two-year-old congressional directive, is moving to establish a "new pathway" to streamline rapid prototyping for "middle tier" capabilities that could be fielded within five years or use proven technologies to upgrade existing systems, according to a recent memo from Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord.
The Pentagon said today its controversial cloud contract could be won by a single vendor for a period of two years, but stressed that an initial victory did not guarantee eight additional option years.
Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon.
Former Pentagon officials agree with congressional reformers that the Defense Department could find significant savings if it eliminated some "Fourth Estate" civilian management agencies, but the big money, they said, is in base realignments and closures and other politically unpopular actions.
The Pentagon comptroller's office wants all fiscal year 2018 omnibus reprogramming requests submitted by May 17, according to a department-wide memo.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) has drafted reform legislation that would eliminate a host of Pentagon agencies and migrate the functions and facilities of the Defense Information Systems Agency to U.S. Cyber Command.
Former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work has joined the advisory board at HawkEye 360, along with retired Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, the former chief of Army Special Operations Command, according to a company announcement.
The week ahead is full of military posture hearings on Capitol Hill and think tank events featuring senior Pentagon officials.
Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, said today the Defense Department has restructured one of its most troubled programs into a new pathfinder effort for agile software development.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord has hired a new special assistant to help transition the Defense Department to agile software development.
Here are some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon:
The Pentagon, aiming to expand its investment in cutting-edge technologies, is planning new joint program offices focused on hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told lawmakers today.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today he has directed senior Pentagon officials to review the Defense Department's sprawling management structure and "consolidate, eliminate and restructure," if necessary.
The defense industrial base is in a state of stable recovery after several years of workload stress and funding uncertainty, but recent readiness gains will be at risk should Congress be unable to cut another spending deal in fiscal year 2020, according to senior military officials.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who announced he will not seek reelection and retire from Congress in January 2019, counts a recent deal to increase defense spending among his top accomplishments.
President Trump in an April 11 tweet warned Russia to “get ready” for a U.S. airstrike in Syria aimed at the Assad regime.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has been selected to serve as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, succeeding former Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), who retired earlier this month.
The United States is projected to spend $3.325 trillion on defense over the next five years -- and nearly $7 trillion over the next decade -- amid a period of historic deficit increases, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.
