Nextgov

Multiple Companies Protest $1.6 Billion Pentagon Contract

The bid protestors contend the contract re-up is an improper sole-source request for cloud services that would give VMware an unfair advantage competing for DOD’s growing cloud demand.

Oversight

Congress Returns With No Plan to Avoid Shutdown

Both chambers likely will spend the week refusing to budge on DHS funding.

Defense

The Homeland Security Department Is Starting Shutdown Prep

More than 85 percent of the department’s employees would have to report to work without pay, based on 2013 plans.

Defense

Who Would Be Forced to Work During a DHS Shutdown?

A look at which parts of the department would have the most employees still on the job, based on 2013 plans.

Pay & Benefits

Many Service Members' Feb. 27 Paychecks Will Be Smaller

A processing error at the Defense payroll agency affected retirement deductions related to Roth accounts.

Management

Scaled-Back DHS Headquarters Plan Would Squeeze 3,000 More People Into the Same Space

Flexible workplace strategies would help accommodate 17,000 employees in an area originally planned for 14,000.

Defense

Most Americans Now Back Ground Troops Against ISIS

The Islamic State's brutality has dramatically shifted public opinion in the United States.

Management

Watchdog: Pentagon Could Learn from HHS on Curbing Medical Claims Fraud

Health and Human Services has a better system than Defense does for identifying improper payments, GAO says.

Defense

White House Struggles with the Language of Terrorism

"We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie," Obama says. "They are not religious leaders. They're terrorists."

Defense

Why Obama Won't Talk About Islamic Terrorism

The president didn't label the Paris attacks "random" because he wished to avoid identifying the victims, but rather, because he wished to avoid identifying the motives of their perpetrators.

Defense

Pentagon: Sexual Assaults Are Down on Military College Campuses

Defense Department estimates there were 200 fewer victims among academy students in 2014 than in 2012.

Nextgov

The Social Science Behind DARPA’s Plan to Map Out the Dark Web

DARPA’s state-of-the-art search engine, called Memex, would mean little without the guiding hand of social science.

Nextgov

The Two Acronyms That are Key to Obama’s New Plan to Fight Hackers

The terms are essential for explaining how the government will expand information sharing with the private sector.

Oversight

Panel Backs Bill Establishing that Yes, VA Can Claw Back Bonuses

Measure would give VA secretary the authority to rescind employee bonuses, after an appeal process.

Pay & Benefits

Military Compensation Reform Reminds Lawmaker of Calculus – And That’s Not a Good Thing

Explaining proposals to overhaul military pay and benefits to lawmakers is just as hard as selling them, panel finds.

Defense

Obama on His Authorization of Force Proposal: 'ISIL Is Going to Lose'

The president delivered a statement Wednesday afternoon after sending a draft resolution to Congress.

Defense

How Reforming Benefits Could Undermine the Pentagon’s Future

The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission's recommendations are appealing to reformers. But here's how they could actually end up doing irreversible harm to the all-volunteer force.

Oversight

Here's Why the House May Never Pass Obama's Request to Use Force Against ISIL

Republicans don't trust President Obama, and both the White House and the GOP may prefer the status quo.

Defense

White House: Authorization of Force Language is 'Intentionally' Fuzzy

White House Press Secretary John Earnest said Wednesday that the request provides "flexibility" in responding to "contingencies" on the ground.