Tag Archives: DoD

Conference spending drops dramatically

Posted on by

Originally posted on Federaltimes.com by Andy Medici

Conference spending at four agencies fell 88 percent from fiscal 2010 to 2012, according to a report released Jan. 3 by Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.

The Defense Department, Veterans Affairs Department, the General Services Administration and the IRS spent a combined $224 million on conferences in fiscal 2010 compared to $26 million in 2012, according to the report.

Mica, chairman of the subcommittee on Government Operations in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said increased congressional oversight of these agencies contributed to the drop in conference spending.

Continue reading →

DLA Guidance: Something’s Gotta Squeeze

Posted on by
Originally posted on Defense Industry Daily

Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek has been heading the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for 2 years and presented an update on the agency's challenges and progress during WBR's 2013 Defense Logistics conference. He candidly talked about how DoD at large, and DLA specifically, had benefited from "budget largesse" in recent years, especially with supplemental budgets (i.e. OCO / war spending) and had grown "thicker in the middle" as a result. In plain admission of the government's shortcomings, the development of a "culture of judiciousness" to apply better judgment and save money is necessary within DLA. This is a welcome evolution in public discourse after so much hand-wringing about sequestration and befuddlement at the very idea of having to operate within financial constraints.

Continue reading →

GEOINT POSTPONED Due to Language in “Pay Our Military Act”

Posted on by
"We {GEOINT 2013} are one of the few events this year to fill downtown Tampa nearly to capacity. However, new legislation, subsequent legal interpretations, and resultant directives have drastically changed the environment." Keith Masbeck, CEO USGIF

After the October 1 announcement that the GEOINT 2013 Symposium would take place in spite of the government shutdown, USGIF CEO Keith Masbeck announced this week that the symposium will, in fact, be postponed.  Originally scheduled for October 13-16 in Tampa, GEOINT will now be held in the spring of 2014.

Continue reading →

Looming Threats in Cyber Warfare, Espionage Hero, & Technologies Offer Hope

Posted on by

Posted by Andrew M. Scott

Advances in technology and our increased reliance on technology to deliver services to citizens have created a new battleground for both perpetrators and victims - one that is fought virtually. Government agencies are no exception. In its ongoing military conflict with the U.S., the real threat of cyber warfare capabilities from Syria, Iran and China poses imminent threats.

The new arena of cyber-attacks offers assailants the opportunity to gather critical information by infiltrating networks and data, then using that information to attack their victim with highly sophisticated tactics and tools such as malware, malicious files and spear phishing.

Continue reading →

Federal travel tab slashed $1 billion, largely in conference cuts

Posted on by

Originally posted by TravelMole

Federal government travelers cut their spending by more than a billion dollars so far in 2013, largely by cutting down on conference spending, the Federal Times reported last week.

Travel-related charges to the SmartPay charge card program fell 17%, from $7.3 billion to about $6 billion -- and more than 40% from the $9.6 billion government workers spent on travel in fiscal 2011.

Continue reading →