The Vast Majority of IRS Employees Aren't Corrupt
GSA Mishandled Executive Bonuses
EIG 2013 as Told by Your Tweets
Infographic: Nominee Limbo
Will You Be Furloughed?
Boldly Go Where No Fed's Gone Before
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Bob Brewin
Editor at Large
Bob Brewin joined Government Executive in April 2007, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience as a journalist focusing on defense issues and technology. Bob covers the world of defense and information technology for Nextgov, and is the author of the “What’s Brewin” blog.
Army Awards $156.6 Million Anti-Nerve Gas Agent Contract
May 13, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
This story has been updated with additional details and background. The Army has awarded a $156.6 million contract to the DynPort Vaccine division of Computer Sciences Corp for development of an anti-nerve gas agent that protects against a wide range of nerve gases for up to 60 days. The agent ...
Who Wants a Nondeployable Helicopter?
May 9, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Who wants a nondeployable helicopter? Not the Army, which views its fleet of Lakota choppers as operational only in “permissive” environments such as the United States, according to Lt. Gen. William Phillips, the Army’s uniformed acquisition chief, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. In 2006 the Army awarded ...
VA Awards National Cell Phone Contract to Three Carriers
May 9, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
This story has been updated. The Veterans Affairs Department awarded a contract for national cellular service and devices valued at $200 million to three carriers: AT&T Mobility; Verizon Wireless; and A&T Systems, a company in Silver Spring, Md., that says it provides telecommunications and information infrastructure to federal, state and ...
Commercial Radios Are Better, Cheaper Than JTRS, Army Official Says
May 8, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Lt. Gen. William N. Phillip, the Army’s acquisition chief, told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee today that commercial tactical radios are “cheaper and better” than radios developed under 10-plus-year-old Joint Tactical Radio System or JTRS project. These commercial radios, Philips said, “meet almost all our requirements,” and ...
VA Says it Deferred 2012 Bonuses for Some Health Execs
May 8, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Veterans Affairs Department spokesman Josh Taylor defended VA’s system of paying executive bonuses, telling Nextgov the payments are necessary to “attract and retain the best and brightest leaders.” In response to the department’s ongoing struggle to reduce the backlog of disability claims as well as recent deaths at VA medical ...
Key Lawmaker Wants to Ban VA Bonuses for Five Years
May 8, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
This story was last updated at 5:34 p.m. to include a comment from VA. The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee proposed legislation that would ban all bonuses for senior executives in the Veterans Affairs Department for the next five years. The move by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., is ...
Why You Shouldn't Buy Used Italian Airlifters
May 7, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
In 2008, the Air Force bought 18 twin-turboprop G. 222 aircraft, formerly used by the Italian Air Force, for the fledgling Afghan Air Force to use. The cost was pegged at $600 million. Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh III told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee ...
Pentagon: China Views Information Warfare as Key to Countering U.S. Pacific Forces
May 6, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
China views cyber warfare as the essential element to attack U.S. forces operating in the western Pacific, the Defense Department reported today in its annual analysis of that country’s military capabilities. The Pentagon, in its report “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” said the People’s Liberation ...
Defense Intelligence Agency Contemplates Austerity
May 6, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
Since 2001, intelligence agencies have had just about all money they wanted, but not anymore, as the cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act are hitting even previously inviolable spook accounts. In a reflection of this new reality, the Defense Intelligence Agency plans a conference with industry at its Darth ...
Pentagon Approves Use of Samsung Android and New BlackBerry Devices
May 2, 2013
FROM NEXTGOV
The Defense Department has approved the Android Knox smartphone made by Samsung and new BlackBerry smartphones and tablets running Enterprise Service 10 software for use on its networks. The Pentagon did not approve the use of Apple smartphones or tables yet, which numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, ...
