The Insider

A new Senate Armed Services Committee report on the Pentagon's annual $10 billion overseas spending "has found construction projects lacking congressional or Pentagon oversight, and allied contributions failing to keep up with rapidly rising U.S. costs," according to a panel statement:

The year-long review of spending in Japan, South Korea and Germany, where nearly 70 percent of spending to support our permanent overseas facilities takes place, suggests that changes to the management of such spending are necessary and that closer scrutiny is warranted to avoid future commitments that may be inefficient or unaffordable.

"Japan, South Korea and Germany are critical allies.  In order to better sustain our presence in these important locations, we need to understand and control our costs.  Federal dollars should always be spent with utmost care, but at a time when the Pentagon and the entire federal government face enormous fiscal challenges, the questionable projects and lack of oversight identified in this review are simply unacceptable," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the committee chairman. "Every dollar spent on unnecessary or unsustainable projects is a dollar unavailable to care for our troops and their families, to maintain and modernize equipment, and to pay for necessary investments in base infrastructure."

"This report reaffirms the committee's commitment to ensure that the resources we provide to the armed forces, as well as contributions provided by our allies, are directed towards the most critical core defense requirements of our U.S. Military stationed overseas," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the committee's ranking member. "In an unprecedented era of rapidly decreasing defense funds, we will continue to extend oversight to each and every taxpayer dollar spent for our national defense."

View the full report.

The total number of security clearances held by federal government employees and contractors at the end of fiscal year 2012 was 4.92 million, compared to 4.86 million in FY-11, according to a report to Congress submitted by the office of the director for national intelligence late last week.

The April 12 report states:

Although agencies are making significant progress to improve the timeliness of security clearance determinations, the ODNI will continue to stress the need for improvements in the investigative and adjudicative clearance processes. The IC faces challenges in clearing individuals with unique or critical skills -- such as highly desirable language abilities -- who often have significant foreign associations that may take additional time to investigate and adjudicate. Further, compartmentalization and variations in information technology platforms within the IC are impediments to the implementation of automated systems that have the potential to improve the timeliness of processing non-issue cases and allow security specialists to concentrate on issue cases.

A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile successfully shot down a tactical ballistic missile target in a flight test today at White Sands Missile Range, NM, PAC-3 builder Lockheed Martin announced this morning.

"Two PAC-3 Missiles were ripple-fired in the test per current doctrine," the company statement reads. "The first interceptor destroyed the target and the second PAC-3 Missile self-destructed as planned. Mission objectives were focused on reducing risk for a flight test of the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) scheduled later this year."

Richard McDaniel, vice president of PAC-3 Missile programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said: "Today's flight test provided us the opportunity to demonstrate the PAC-3 Missile against a challenging TBM target."

Preliminary data show "all objectives were achieved," he added.

Bell Helicopter unveiled its tiltrotor helicopter design -- the V-280 Valor -- that it submitted last month to the Army's Joint Multi-Role technology demonstrator competition, according to company briefing slides released today.

Industry submitted at least four proposals to the Army for a chance to build a JMR technology demonstrator air vehicle that will guide possible designs and concepts for the service's Future Vertical Lift helicopter expected to take flight around 2035, according to company sources. Of the proposals, two designs will be selected to be built and flown during the demonstrator phase. The Army is expected to make awards in late 2013. The demonstrators would be ready for flight in 2017.

While Boeing and Sikorsky announced earlier this year that they would join forces to submit a design proposal for a JMR demonstrator aircraft centered around Sikorsky's X2 helicopter technology, Bell is taking a turn to tout its offering.

Bell's V-280 Valor features an advanced tiltrotor design that can achieve cruise speeds of 280 knots, has "turbo-like ride quality," is fuel efficient, has an advanced composite fuselage and "superior high-speed handling qualities," the slides note. The helicopter design doubles the range capability of current platforms, the document shows.

Bell and Boeing were awarded, as a team, a $4 million, 18-month study contract to look at tiltrotor designs for the JMR effort in 2011. Boeing has experience building the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft flown by the Marines and the Air Force. Bell was also awarded another JMR study contract independently. Sikorsky and AVX Aircraft Company were the remaining companies to receive JMR study contracts.

EADS and AVX Aircraft Co. also submitted demonstrator designs to the Army last month. So far, EADS has chosen not to discuss details of its proposed design. AVX submitted a design centered around its coaxial rotor and ducted fan technology, company spokesman Mike Cox said in February.

The Air Force has issued a stand-down order to its active-duty combat squadrons due to budget cuts that have negatively impacted Air Combat Command's operations and maintenance account, according to a service statement.

ACC's flying hours -- specifically, the training hours its airmen are allotted -- will be reduced by about 45,000 hours between now and Oct. 1, the statement indicates. Defense News reported on April 8 that the Air Force would begin grounding its combat squadrons today.

“ACC, as the Air Force's lead for Combat Air Forces, manages the flying-hour programs for four major commands,” the statement reads. “This decision to stand down or curtain operations affects about one-third of the active-duty [Combat Air Forces] aircraft -- including those assigned to fighter bomber, aggressor and airborne warning and control squadrons -- stationed in the United States, Europe and the Pacific.”

ACC commander Gen. Mike Hostage said ACC has had to implement a tiered readiness approach in which "only the units preparing to deploy in support of major operations like Afghanistan are fully mission capable.” The units will stand down “on a rotating basis” so that the Air Force's “limited resources can be focused on fulfilling critical missions.” Hostage noted that the stand-down would have a “significant and multiyear impact” on the Air Force's operational readiness.

Some of the combat squadrons, which include A-10 twin-engine planes, B-1 long-range bombers, F-16 fighter jets and F-22 fighter jets, will stand down “after they return from their deployments,” according to the statement. Other squadrons will stand down operations today, April 9. Additionally, active-duty airmen assigned to the Air Force Reserve or the Air National Guard's A-10 and F-16 squadrons will also stop flying until October, the statement adds.

The stand-down will continue throughout fiscal year 2013, “barring any changes to current levels of funding,” according to the statement.

“Units that are stood down will shift their emphasis to ground training. They will use flight simulators to the extent possible within existing contracts, and conduct academic training to maintain basic skills and knowledge of their aircraft,” the statement reads. “As funding allows, aircrews will also complete formal ground training courses, conduct non-flying exercises and improve local flying-related programs and guidance.”

The White House Office of Management and Budget this week issued "further guidance on specific issues regarding the management and implementation of sequestration." Part of that guidance involves the "appropriate use of existing reprogramming and transfer authority." Specifically:

Sequestration provides an agency with little discretion in deciding where and how to reduce spending. All non-exempt budget accounts in a given spending category must be reduced by a uniform percentage, and the same percentage reduction must be applied to all programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) within a budget account. However, depending on an agency's account structure and any existing flexibilities provided by law, some agencies may have a limited ability to realign funds to protect mission priorities. As directed by Memorandum 13-03, in allocating reduced budgetary resources due to sequestration, agencies should generally "use any available flexibility to reduce operational risks and minimize impacts on the agency's core mission in service of the American people." Agencies should also "take into account funding flexibilities, including the availability of reprogramming and transfer authority."

Consistent with this guidance, agencies with reprogramming or transfer authority should continue to examine whether the use of these authorities would allow the agency to minimize the negative impact of sequestration on core mission priorities. In doing so, agencies must consider the long-term mission, goals, and operations of the agency and not just short-term needs. For example, agencies should avoid taking steps that would unduly compromise the ability to perform needed deferred maintenance on facilities, invest in critical operational functions and support, conduct program integrity and fraud mitigation activities, and pursue information technology or other infrastructure investments that are essential to support the long-term execution of the agency's mission. Similarly, while agencies with carryover balances or reserve funds should consider appropriate use of these funds to maintain core mission functions in the short term, it is important not to use these funds in a manner that would leave the agency vulnerable to future risks due to a potential lack of available funds in future years.

Agencies should consult with their OMB Resource Management Office (RMO) to assess options for utilizing existing authorities and ensure that any proposed actions appropriately balance short-term and long-term mission priorities. Agencies must also consult closely with their OMB RMO on any proposed actions that would reduce carryover balances or reserve funds below historical levels.

View the full memo.

The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee today announced their picks for nominations to the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force. Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) each selected individuals who recently left government service.

According to a committee release, McKeon has nominated retired Gen. Raymond Johns, who most recently served as the top military official at Air Mobility Command and left the service just months ago Before that, Johns was the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon. Notably, Air Mobility Command's aircraft are operated by a heavy mixture of active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard airmen.

For his nomination, Smith chose Erin Conatan, the Air Force's former under secretary. Conaton left that position to take over as assistant secretary of defense for personnel and readiness in mid-2012 but resigned from the job at the end of the year. Before that, though, Conaton held the under secretary position for multiple years and showed particular familiarity with the Air Force's space portfolio.

Conaton and Johns would join President Obama's four picks, announced earlier in the week: Margaret Harrell, Janine Davidson, Whit Peters and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy. Senate leaders have not yet made their nominations to the commission.