Defense
Pentagon would have to explain future JAG firings under NDAA provision
The compromise version of the defense policy bill reflects lawmakers’ concern about Hegseth’s February purge of three judge advocates general.
Workforce
House strips its own provision protecting Defense civilians’ union rights from NDAA
A source familiar with congressional negotiations said that the bipartisan language effectively nullifying President Trump’s anti-union executive orders as they pertain to the Pentagon was dropped due to lack of support in the Senate.
Management
CISA tells staff to not speak with reporters, internal email shows
“CISA does not comment on leaked internal emails, especially when they’re about leaking internal emails,” CISA Director of Public Affairs Marci McCarthy told Nextgov/FCW when asked for comment.
Defense
NSA has met 2,000-person workforce reduction goal, people familiar say
A broader Pentagon goal to shrink the nation’s defense budget over the coming five years could potentially subject the agency to further downsizing.
Defense
Foreign spies are targeting Army soldiers, civilians and families, official warns
Current and former federal workers, especially those with security clearances, should be aware of the attempts, an Army intelligence chief said in a November memo.
Defense
Memo lays out path to removing even more defense civilians from their jobs
The Defense Department, which has met its 8% overall reduction goal, is now going after “low performers.”
Defense
Senators challenge Hegseth’s bottleneck on communications with Congress
The Senate Armed Services chairman said new limits in a recent memo “may need to be clarified.”
Defense
Hegseth uses unprecedented meeting to unveil 10 personnel, due-process reviews
After summoning senior officers from around the world, the Defense secretary invites them to resign if they don’t agree with him.
Defense
Navy to cut at least a third of its civilian public-affairs staff
The service is also centralizing all PAO hiring and contracting.
Management
Troops in DC to help with ‘monument security,’ ‘area beautification’
Pentagon officials had few details to offer Wednesday about the National Guard’s role in the unprecedented deployment.
Defense
Defense tech office cuts staff down to 40
The cuts to the Defense Technical Information Center are intended to refocus it on “its core statutory mission” according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
Workforce
New lawsuit scrutinizes Hegseth’s implementation of Trump’s anti-union EO
While previous lawsuits argued simply that President Trump’s citation of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act’s so-called “national security exemption” en masse violated federal regulatory law, a new suit from IFPTE drills down on the Defense secretary’s implementation of the controversial edict.
Workforce
Reconciliation bill includes measure to help civilian intel analysts cover moving costs
The policy aims to ease the financial burden on non-military intelligence workers by aligning their moving expense tax benefits with those already afforded to military personnel.
Updated
Pay & Benefits
More than 60,000 feds are still waiting for their 2025 pay raise
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision last spring to shutter a slew of advisory committees has imperiled already enacted pay raises for federal employees in blue collar jobs.
Defense
Pentagon won’t say how many civilians have left since February
The department has used a mix of layoffs and voluntary resignations to cut workforce.
Defense
Hegseth halves staff of Pentagon’s testing-oversight office
The move may reduce the quality of the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation’s second opinions, but may not affect safety, former officials said.
Defense
Pentagon orders civilian employees to submit money-saving ideas
It’s the last step in the "5 bullet points" weekly email exercise.
Defense
Space Force losing 14% of its civilian workers
That’s more than other military branches, and it means the service will end the year with nearly 1,000 fewer people than expected.
Workforce
Neglect the IC’s human capital at our peril
COMMENTARY | Taking a blunt approach to the Intelligence Community's workforce management strategy can produce dire repercussions, as it did prior to 9/11.
Defense