Serving as a management and financial watchdog for the Department of Defense (DOD) is an enormous task, one made all the more daunting in recent years by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the huge growth in military spending.
As the managing director for defense capabilities and management at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Janet St. Laurent has been more than up to the job. Keep reading →
This commentary originally appeared as a blog post on The White House’s Office web site.
COMMENTARY:
When the Administration took office, it was clear to us that for too long there was not adequate oversight of contractors, leading to wasted taxpayer dollars, repeated delivery delays, and unacceptable contractor performance. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in wartime contracting during the last decade. That’s why this Administration has focused on cutting waste in contracting, boosting oversight, and strengthening accountability of contractors. And more broadly, earlier this summer the White House launched the Campaign to Cut Waste, a government-wide drive to crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse.
On August 31, the Commission on Wartime Contracting released a report on these challenges. We welcome the report and commend the Commission for shining a spotlight on waste in contracting, on the need to strengthen the contracting function at agencies, on the value of increasing competition in contracting, and on the importance of holding contractors accountable for their performance. Keep reading →
It’s hard to believe that the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is almost here. It was one of those events, like Pearl Harbor or the Kennedy assassination, which remains in the memory with startling clarity.
From where I was working in the Government Printing Office (GPO), we could see the column of smoke from the strike on the Pentagon. Later, after Federal Government facilities in the DC area closed down, I walked from GPO to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (I still remember a woman telling a Smithsonian guard that she had seen someone on the building’s roof – and who could tell what that meant in a world spinning out of control?) to meet my wife, who by some miracle got into the District and picked me up. Keep reading →
A recent GAO report on Department of Defense business management systems found that the department has requested $17.3 billion to operate its business systems during fiscal year 2012.
It turns out the number of DoD systems in operation is rather staggering: According to the inventory information, those funds were to be used to operate 2,258 business, 335 financial management, 709 human resource management, 243 real property and installation, and 281 acquisition management systems. Keep reading →
Last week’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake along the east coast and the subsequent battering by Hurricane Irene unleashed not only a heavy dose of nature’s fury, but also a torrent of social media messaging.
And perhaps more than ever before, the federal government played a prominent role in the dialogue. While figures for this past week’s activity are still being gathered, a snapshot of social media use by federal agencies in mid-August, assembled by Breaking Gov, shows its no longer just the White House that is gaining a growing social media following. Keep reading →
The sheer size of the Department of Defense (DoD) makes streamlining IT operations or changing IT investment management daunting, yet this size makes the payoff of successes that much greater.
To achieve these successes, we are looking to reap the benefits of today’s leading edge thinking and technologies in many of the IT management efforts we have underway. Several of our initiatives dovetail nicely with the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal IT Management, such as the IT Enterprise Strategy and Roadmap and cloud computing strategy that the Department is currently developing. Keep reading →
After sitting in countless meetings over the last few weeks with government executives brainstorming about cost-cutting possibilities, I have listened to many options. Repeatedly, executives appear to be falling into a trap of believing that future platform cost savings will be solely the result of lower cost gadgets from industry.
However, I have yet to hear someone suggest cost cutting linked to the government business processes that drive up industry costs. A more efficient approach to the contracting process alone will save labor costs and auditing overhead, and, in effect, result in cheaper goods and services. Keep reading →
Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright has a long history of commandeering technology before it was ready for the military.
So few were surprised, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn, when Cartwright–better known in defense circles as Hoss Cartwright–was soon brandishing a specially-secured iPad capable of accessing classified military information otherwise off limits to iPad devices. Keep reading →
Washington: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a safe choice and elevated the head of Pentagon acquisition to serve as his deputy. Ash Carter will lead the Pentagon’s enormously difficult efforts to cut the budget without gutting America’s military capabilities.
The nomination of Carter, who has won consistent praise from defense lawmakers for his oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter program and other major defense programs, was announced by the White House this afternoon. The deputy defense secretary runs the Pentagon day to day, oversees major acquisition decisions and serves as the department’s top finance officer. Keep reading →
Reading Between The Lines: DoD’s Cyber Operation Strategy
By Lt. General Harry Raduege, USAF (Ret.)COMMENTARY:
The Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace has attracted its share of attention and criticism since it was released last month. Keep reading →