DoD

• Big breakthrough for beyond-line-of-sight communications in the U.S. Military

  here has been a significant achievement for DoD’s Space Development Agency. Last month, SDA demonstrated it could use a communication system called Link 16 between ground stations and its new network of low-earth orbiting satellites. It is the first time the ubiquitous military communication protocol has ever been used in space. For more on why that matters and what it means, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Jennifer Elzea, SDA's Director of Strategic Engagement on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

  Defense

  December 04, 2023
• Contract spending is set to grow across the board in 2024

  Bloomberg Government predicts record contract spending, once Congress passes appropriations bills for 2024. It sees $762 billion in total procurement, including $113 billion for professional services. With how companies need to prepare, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to federal sales and marketing consultant Larry Allen.

  Contracting

  November 07, 2023
• Fear and loathing in Defense IT: Time to enforce FAR conflict of interest rules and revolving door abuses

  John Weiler, the executive director and co-founder of the IT Acquisition Advisory Council, calls for agencies to be more aggressive in preventing suppliers from advising on IT projects and then developing the system.

  Commentary

  October 20, 2023
• What to do about obesity among military service members

  Obesity is worsening as a military recruitment and readiness problem. Too many potential enlistees arrive at recruitment stations too fat. More than two thirds of active duty service members carry too much weight. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with someone who has studied this problem extensively, and has some recommendations for improving it: National Security Research Fellow at the American Security Project, Courtney Manning.

  Defense

  October 19, 2023
• A tough picture emerges for women veterans

  Women veterans, who were wounded or injured, are more likely, compared to men, to have post traumatic stress disorder and to die by suicide. That is according to the Wounded Warrior Project, which surveyed 18,000 male and female veterans. For more on the survey, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Tracy Farrell, VP of the Project.

  Veterans Affairs

  October 18, 2023
• The impact and associated risks of AI on future military operations

  With the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, we are entering an era of national security reshaped by revolutionary technology. AI presents the potential to improve future military operations by enhancing decision-making, combat effectiveness and operational efficiency.

  Commentary

  October 18, 2023
• An outside look at security-clearance process, reveals some flaws

  Last spring, when a Air National Guard member was found to leak secrets on the Discord app, it raised questions about how he got and kept his security clearance. Raw Story reporter Alexandria Jacobson spent three months looking at the security-clearance and found quite a few flaws. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked to her about it.

  Workforce

  October 06, 2023
• Culture disruption or enablement — Marking and tagging CUI in government agencies

  As technology advances, future trends in AI, such as natural language processing and AI-based analytics, promise to further enhance CUI handling. Government agencies must remain adaptable to embrace emerging technologies to stay ahead in safeguarding sensitive information.

  Technology

  September 18, 2023
• Does the Pentagon skip too many of its congressional reporting duties?

  The Defense Department is under statutory obligation to deliver a thousand reports to Congress each year. One analysis says the department consistently fails at this task and that Congress doesn't get the information it needs for proper oversight of military affairs. For more on all of that, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Brennen Center counsel Katherine Yon Ebright.

  Defense

  September 14, 2023
• How to keep new policy from making procurement less efficient

  Frontline contracting officers contend with a lot of policy. One thing about policy, it's always changing. And that can get in the way of basic efficiency and pricing considerations.

  Acquisition

  August 02, 2023
• Congress did its job – agency leaders now have to do theirs

  Implementing Congress’ directives won’t be easy for some agencies, because those directives come in addition to normal duties like allocating and fulfilling other congressional priorities for national defense, border security, farm insurance requests, Social Security payments and Medicare reimbursements.

  Commentary

  August 02, 2023
• A leading military research unit celebrates a century of work

  It was established in the steam-power and rotary engine era. And it remains relevant in the nuclear and jet propulsion era. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) recently marked 100 years in business, and a history of helping U.S. naval forces keep their competitive advantage.

  Navy

  July 31, 2023
• Delivering on artificial intelligence’s potential

  As agencies move beyond artificial intelligence and machine learning pilots, we find out what it takes to be successful. We talk with experts from the Army, CISA, DoD, GSA, NGA, NRO, NTIS, OSTP and from ABBYY, DataRobot, H2O, MarkLogic and Red Hat.

  Federal Insights

  January 24, 2023
• They teach military members’ kids. Now they’d like a contract.

  Department of Defense Education Activity or DoDEA, employs 500 teachers for the children of service members stationed in Italy, Spain, Turkey and Bahrain. They are trying to negotiate a new contract.

  Benefits

  October 20, 2022