Inside the Pentagon highlights

A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Defense Department could replace 80,000 full-time military positions with civilian contractors to save the government between $3.1 billion and $5.7 billion on an annual basis, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.

Full story: Pentagon staff sizes remain under fire as CBO sees potential savings

2. The Defense Department aims to broaden its policy development process to include contributors from outside the Pentagon and its traditional sphere of influence, according to a Dec. 8 request for information seeking contractor input on the potential for "crowdsourcing."

Full story: Pentagon looks to crowdsource strategic analysis

3. When it comes to non-nuclear weapons that can strike a target anywhere in the world in under an hour, the Defense Department hasn't "given adequate attention" to some risks, including whether U.S. adversaries can determine where the weapons are headed after launch, according to a think tank analyst.

Full story: Analyst: DOD needs to focus on CPGS 'destination ambiguity' issues