Digital Government
There GOES the Weather
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., floated what he considers a nifty idea to finance a nationwide public safety broadband network at a <a href=http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2046:hearing-on-a-bipartisan-staff-discussion-draft-to-provide-funding-for-the-construction-and-maintenance-of-a-nationwide-interoperable-public-safety-broadband-network-and-for-other-purposes-and-on-hr-4829-the-next-ge&catid=134:subcommittee-on-communications-technology-and-the-internet&Itemid=74>hearing</a> on Thursday of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet: auction off a mess of spectrum to raise the billions of dollars need to finance the building and operating of the broadband network.
Digital Government
Navy CIO Carey Casts Off
Rob Carey, the Navy's chief information officer, said in a statement he expects to weigh anchor and move to a new position inside government, most likely by the end of the summer.
Digital Government
Where's Your BlackBerry?
That's a question that 13 employees of the Veterans Affairs Department would have a hard time answering, said VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said in a call with reporters on Wednesday. The unlucky 13 reported they lost their portable gizmos in the month of May.
Digital Government
I'll Pass on Djibouti Industry Day
The Navy wants to <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=f2fb4464c0517ddd2713689a4b846c5a&tab=core&_cview=1>beef up</a> its networks at <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lemonnier>Camp Lemonnier</a> in Djibouti, headquarters for the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa. So the service invited interested vendors to attend a two day briefing there next month.
Digital Government
For Army PTSD Form, Less is More
The Army's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, issued a memo on June 9 governing the screening requirements for post-traumatic stress disorder and mild Traumatic Disorder (mTBI) for administrative separation of soldiers that stands out as a model of brevity.
Digital Government
Amtrak WiFi for Everyone
Amtrak has offered WiFi service to high rollers zooming along the Northeast corridor on the high-speed Acela Express trains, but the national passenger rail carrier said it has released a proposal to now provide WiFi on all its trains.
Digital Government
The EZer VA Disability Claim Form
I'm told sometime in the past month the Office of Management and Budget approved a six-page claim form that veterans use to apply for disability benefits, replacing a 23-page application that was so complex that only a bureaucrat could comprehend it.
Digital Government
Submarines and UAVs?
We have all come to accept the fact that the Navy and Army have sizeable air forces. And the Army even has its own mini-Navy of just fewer than 50 ships, including a nifty <a href=http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/usa/images/tsv1x.jpg>high-speed ferry</a> that can transport 600 troops and their gear.
Digital Government
Google Maps Can Steer You Wrong
D'Val Westphal, the "Road Warrior" correspondent for my local paper, the <em>Albuquerque Journal</em>, had a insightful column on Monday on why we should never, ever fully trust Google maps to get directions.
Digital Government
Senate: Everyone Wear Same Camo
In December 2009, Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughhead put out a <a href=http://soldiersystems.net/2010/01/01/aor-comes-out-of-the-closet/>directive</a> establishing nifty new camouflage uniforms for Navy SEAL and other Naval special warfare folks -- but not mere mortals engaged in the ground combat theaters of operations.
Digital Government
A Hooah for the Guard
National Guardsman (and woman) from Alabama, Missouri and Louisiana responded quickly to the Gulf of Mexico oil mess, doing the grunt work they always do in the face of disaster.
Digital Government
Cyberattack Estimate: 250K an Hour
Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the new U.S. Cyber Command, estimates that bad actors now probe Defense Department networks and systems 250,000 times an hour -- or some 6 million times a day. Or this: 2.19 billion times a year.
Digital Government
How Far Would You Drive for Billions?
The Technology Acquisition Center at the Veterans Affairs Department held an industry day for its planned $12 billion <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091203_2809.php>Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology</a> (T4) procurement at a hotel near its headquarters in Eatontown, N.J. -- a trip some potential bidders found a wee bit too far.
Digital Government
Health Policy End Run?
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to make it easier to transfer medical information from the Defense Department to the Veterans Affairs Department without the need for prior authorization from a service member.
Digital Government
Time to Reflect
On Monday, we will (hopefully) stop to pause and remember those we have sent into harms way, and here are my reflections:
Digital Government
Vietnam Mail Call, the Poem
A tangible hit of far off homes The orange mail bag Carries everything from books to poems
Digital Government
Now, That's Transparency
The Veterans Affairs Department briefs Congress monthly on data breaches, and yesterday Roger Baker, chief information officer at VA, held the first of what he said will be similar monthly data breach briefings for the press.
Digital Government
America's First Black Aviator
Ask anyone to identify America's first black aviators, and they would undoubtedly cite the famed <a href=http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/>Tuskegee Airmen</a> of World War II, including Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr., who went on to become the first African American Air Force General.
Digital Government
Hill Wants Access to Secret SIPRNet
Congress -- an outfit which consists of 535 folks in search of a sound bite and <a href=http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly35.asp>24,000 staffers</a> who support that goal -- wants access to the Defense Department's classified network, or also known as the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet).
Digital Government
Final Honors for Forgotten Vets
As we get ready to honor those who served and died for this country on Memorial Day, the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services will take care of some forgotten veterans: those who died with no known family to bury them.
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