The INSIDER daily digest

Continued coverage of the SECDEF's "heartburn letter" leads off this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest:

Continuing our coverage of Defense Secretary Ash Carter's "heartburn letter":

Carter: Legislation cutting personnel would negatively impact DOD goals

Legislative provisions that call for eliminating personnel, officers and headquarters staff in an across-the-board manner without proper deliberation would have a negative impact on the Pentagon's mission and undercut the department's Force of the Future initiative, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told lawmakers in a recent letter.

Carter 'strongly objects' to House language elevating CYBERCOM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter "strongly objects" to House legislation that would require the elevation of U.S. Cyber Command to its own unified command.

Keep an eye out for a White House plan to keep additional troops in Afghanistan through the next 18 months:

Pentagon still working budget for planned troop increases

The Defense Department has yet to send Congress a plan to pay for President Obama's new policy to keep 2,900 additional troops in Afghanistan through 2017, but Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said DOD is working on a path forward with the White House Office of Management and Budget.

A new Defense Innovation Unit Experimental office will be opening soon:

DOD ready to roll out new DIUx Boston office next week as reorg continues

The Defense Department is set to formally unveil its new Defense Innovation Unit Experimental office in Boston next week as the organization continues to retool itself, according to statements from the DIUx press office.

A sneak peek at Friday's Inside the Air Force:

Pentagon pegs nuclear modernization tab at $350B to $450B over 20 years

The Defense Department estimates the cost to modernize U.S. nuclear forces will be between $350 billion and $450 billion over two decades -- a sum that does not include warhead acquisition nor operations cost -- providing a key data point in a policy debate that until now has been largely framed by cost estimates from think tanks and congressional auditors.

Air Force estimates $20 billion savings with new ICBM compared with Minuteman life extension

The Air Force calculates that modernizing the silo-based missile portion of the nuclear triad will yield as much as $20 billion in cost avoidance over five decades compared with extending the life of the current fleet of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to a senior service official.

Document: House hearing on nuclear deterrent modernization plans and budgets

Lt. Gen. Weinstein: Insights on commonality will come with GBSD RFP release

As Congress continues to pressure the Air Force and Navy to make a decision about leveraging commonality between the Air Force's new intercontinental ballistic missile replacement and the Navy's Trident III life-extension program, the Air Force's three-star general in charge of nuclear strategy and integration said this week the benefits of commonality extend beyond partnerships among the services.

Some defense business news:

Shyu joins Roboteam's advisory board

Heidi Shyu, the former Army acquisition chief, has joined the advisory board of Roboteam North America, which was founded in Israel and is known for its unmanned ground vehicles.