In Depth Show Blog – October 31, 2013

Agencies across government think about the mobile revolution in at least two ways. One way is their own work forces and how their people want to use mobile technology for better productivity. The other way is about citizens and how they want to use their mobile technology to connect with the government. Mobile was the focus of our Industry Chatter today with Scott Armstrong, chief strategy officer at INADEV.

As Veterans Day approaches, the Department of Veterans Affairs is highlighting some of the cutting-edge work it’s doing to make life better for Vets no matter where or when they served. One of the hardest jobs they have is serving injured vets coming home from combat. Dr. Timothy O’Leary, acting director of the Office of Research and Development at the Department of Veterans Affairs, calls the two main conditions veterans bring home from war now the “signature injuries” of combat.

RELATED STORIES:

Hormone findings point to possible TBI therapy (VHAR&D)

Survey of national sample: PTSD affects more than one in eight women Veterans (VHAR&D)

Study yields potential biomarker for PTSD-resistant brains (VHAR&D)

PTSD tied to changes in brain’s ‘amygdala’ (VHAR&D)

Two weeks away from the Federal government from news about the shutdown and news about the budget battle would be an easy sell right about now. Federal News Radio’s Tom Temin is back on the Federal Drive with Emily Kopp this morning after a two week break. Tom says he stayed pretty well up to date.

The F-35 program has met a great number of challenges since it began. One of those has a solution from the Office of Naval Research. Neil Graf is Program Officer at the Manufacturing Technology or ManTech Division at the Office of Naval Research. He told me about the cockpit enclosure problem he and his colleagues at ManTech dealt with.

One the biggest reforms in civil service history is causing huge headaches today. The Classification Act of 1949 created the General Schedule system that dictates federal salaries, but that law is turning the public sector into one giant anachronism. Jeff Neal is senior vice president of ICF International and former chief human capital officer and the Department of Homeland Security. He’s the host of the Chief HRO blog.

The Office of Management and Budget kicks off a 120-day review of the security clearance process next week. The interagency working group will make recommendations to the President for improvements across three broad areas. Federal News Radio’s executive editor Jason Miller is here with details of the review and why some lawmakers want action sooner.