Tag Archives: Army

Armed Forces Day is celebrated the third Saturday in May, falling on May 18 this year. That’s the day we should all thank a military member for their service, fly the flag and appreciate what the military does for our country.

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated in 1950, after the five military branches were consolidated under the Department of Defense. It was intended to replace the separate Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard birthdays, but those days are still observed as well.

President Truman issued a proclamation in 1949 encouraging Americans to “display the flag of the United States at their homes on…

DoD Sees Four Sequestration Scenarios

Marcus Weisgerber, Defense News. SecDef Panetta held a closed door meeting with a host of the leaders from the defense industry last week to discuss sequestration and the possible outcomes resulting from the budget agreement passed by Congress last year.  He outlined four different possible scenarios including it actually occurring; Congress finding a solution in the lame duck session; Congress finds some $1.2 trillion in cuts before the election; or the ‘mini-sequester’ where the can gets kicked down the road a couple of years but some $100M or more of cuts occur as planned. Industry and Panetta are definitely on the same sheet of music…

U.S. Military Embraces Robots with Greater Autonomy

David Alexander, Reuters. In what is likely the next phase of robotic vehicles, the military and industry are experimenting heavily with autonomous vehicles of varying sizes to allow delivery supplies without human guidance. While true autonomy is likely far off, it is increasingly likely that systems such as convoy vehicles, or the currently being tested Squad Mobile Support System, will see service in coming years. These systems mean there are fewer soldiers and Marines on the road and at risk, while increasing logistics capacity.

With NGEN, Navy Prepares for Move to the Future

Amber Corrin, Federal Computer Week. There are certain contracts that are…

Pentagon’s $525 Billion Budget Takes Most From Lockheed F-35

Tony Capaccio and Gopal Ratnam, Bloomberg. The F-35 loses 13 aircraft in the new budget proposal while other systems also face cuts or slow downs to save costs on the acquisition budget. Capaccio and Ratnam have a good view of the various pieces in the budget that was received with some skepticism on Capitol Hill this week. Of course, the biggest cuts will come in personnel for the Army and Marines tied with raising the fees for current retirees and their healthcare.

Cuts in End Strength, Rise in Medical Fees Appear to have Senate Support

John Grady, ScoutComms. The DoD is…

Exclusive: Pentagon Budget Eyes $178.8 Billion for R&D, Procurement

Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters. Copies of the 2013 defense budget started getting to the press over the weekend and the early reports have a 7.5% drop in the procurement budget and an overall 12.2% drop from last year’s budget with the drop in war funding. Generally aircraft and ship programs fared well while cuts in the medium family of vehicles for the Army went down substantially, and the Humvee upgrade program was killed in favor of the JLTV.

San Antonio Firm Barred from Fed Contracts

Sig Christenson and Patrick Danner, San Antonio Express. The Booz Allen Hamilton office in San Antonio, Texas has…