Digital Government
Questions For VA Contract Award
ACS Federal won the contract that the Veterans Affairs Department <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091028_2433.php>announced</a> on Wednesday to pitch in, on a temporary basis, to help the department process GI bill benefit claims.
Digital Government
Where's VA's Report?
Last week I reported that the Veterans Affairs Department <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2009/10/oops_forgot_that_education_data.php>didn't include</a> education claims data in an <a href=http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/index.asp>online report</a>, called the Monday Morning Workload Report, which details pending claims managed by the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Digital Government
For Shinseki, Vets Before Reporters
Last Friday, I traveled to Duke University in Durham, NC for dedication of a memorial to Duke graduates who lost their lives in action since WW II, including the best company commander I ever had, <a href="http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2009/10/honoring_marine_maj_corky_ram.php">Marine Maj. Corky Ram,</a> where Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was the featured speaker.
Digital Government
Honoring Marine Maj. Corky Ram
DURHAM, N.C. -- I'm at Duke University this Friday for dedication of a <a href=http://www.dukealumni.com/olc/pub/DUKE/general/general_43.html_>memorial</a> to the Duke graduates who lost their lives on active duty since World War II, including the best company commander I ever had the privilege to serve, Maj. Cornelius "Corky" Ram.
Digital Government
Oops, Forgot That Education Data
The Veterans Affairs Department manages a whole bunch of claims -- for disability, education and even burial benefits. Until this month, the department presented data on pending claims in a relatively <a href=http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/2009/092809.xls>straightforward fashion</a> in a spreadsheet called the <a href=http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/mmwr/index.asp>Monday Morning Workload Report</a>.
Digital Government
Loran Gets 3 Month Reprieve
The Coast Guard-operated Long Range Navigation system (Loran) managed to survive the Obama administration's cancellation attempts until at least January thanks to language in the final version of the <a href=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_reports&docid=f:hr298.111.pdf>Homeland Security Department Appropriations bill</a>, which awaits the president's signature.
Digital Government
What's at Stake in VistA Project
As I <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091014_6336.php>reported last week</a>, the Veterans Affairs Department <a href=http://www.iaconline.org/Pages/default.aspx>asked the Industry Advisory Council</a> for its help in modernizing its venerable, but more than two-decade-old, Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture, or VistA.
Digital Government
First Texting, Now GPS
According to New York State Gov. David Paterson, it's time to add truckers, who might be following GPS-enabled map systems, to texting drivers as the latest high-tech road hazard.
Digital Government
Mullen, CBS' Couric Share a Barber?
Well, if not the same barber, definitely the same haircut. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chefs of Staff, joked during a speech last night at the annual Alfred E. Smith Foundation dinner in New York, where CBS News anchor Katie Couric was one of the guests.
Digital Government
Contractors Wag Defense Watchdog
Want some outrage today? Take out your pay stub, look at the gaping hole the Internal Revenue Service has made in your income and then read this Government Accountability Office <a href=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10163t.pdf>testimony</a>. It details how contractors have managed to defang the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the outfit that's supposed to protect the public purse from looters called federal contractors.
Digital Government
The Information Dominance Corps
Navy meteorologists and oceanographers might not consider themselves cyber warriors, but they are going to be lumped into a new Navy Information Dominance Corps established by Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, on Oct. 6.
Digital Government
Petzel for Top Doc at VA
By default, it sure looks like <a href=http://www.visn23.va.gov/Leadership/Network_Director.asp>Dr. Robert (Randy) Petzel</a>, director of the Veterans Affairs Department's Midwest Health Care Network, has all but landed the job as VA's new undersecretary for health.
Digital Government
No More 'i' This and '2.0' That
In Australia, Vegemite, a dark brown sandwich spread with a salty and bitter taste made from used brewers yeast extract, has an iconic status and brand recognition that any company would lust after. It's loved by Aussies with the kind of passion they have for rugby.
Digital Government
A Transition Council - That's the Ticket
The Defense Department has spent almost $1 billion to develop as new personnel and pay system called the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System, or DIMHRS. And what has it got? Bubkes, said Congress in its final version of the <a href=http://armedservices.house.gov/>fiscal 2010 Defense authorization act</a>, which a Senate-House conference approved on Wednesday.
Digital Government
Yep, Computers for Offensive Ops
The Defense Department shies away from talking about its cyberattack plans, but a <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8e86b740b9f47bbc28dff0d8af72e5ce&tab=core&_cview=>solicitation</a> released by the Air Force Electronic Systems Center yesterday indicates that the service definitely plans to have the capability to attack adversaries using computers.
Digital Government
131,000 Homeless Vets
That's the <a href=http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1795>stark and depressing news</a> the Veterans Affairs Department released on Tuesday, while VA said the goods news is that the number is down 15 percent from last year.
Digital Government
A Must Read: Inside MI5
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the United Kingdom's Security Service, MI5. To mark the occasion, a Manhattan-phone-book-sized (1,032 pages) authorized history of the secret agency was released on Monday and has drawn some rave reviews for its candor and historical insights from the British press.
Digital Government
Student Vets Get Pay -- and Pizza
Here's a real "<a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooah>Hooah</a>" for the top leadership at the Veterans Affairs Department, who decided early on Friday to keep all 57 of the department's 57 regional offices open until every veteran waiting in line picked up an <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090925_9070.php>emergency GI bill check</a> valued at up to $3,000.
Digital Government
Schoenhard Tapped as Health Ops Deputy
Late last month I <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2009/09/hospital_exec_tapped_for_va_health_job.php>reported</a> that St. Louis hospital executive <a href=http://www.ssmhc.com/internet/home/ssmcorp.nsf/46a13372d66f8fe8862569f50053bbaa/777fc0898ff3324a862573cd007b92f4?OpenDocument>William Schoenhard</a> appeared to have the inside track for appointment as the new undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department.
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