The May 17, 2013, memo signed by Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale requests congressional permission to shift $617 million that ostensibly would fund higher-priority military intelligence needs, but also includes money for efforts like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Ground Based Midcourse Defense programs.
The Dec. 31, 2012, Selected Acquisition Reports -- released on May 23, 2013 -- "summarize the latest estimates of cost, schedule, and performance status" for a number of Defense Department acquisition programs.
On May 23, 2013, President Obama gave a speech at the National Defense University on combating terrorism.
The May 13, 2013, document "describes the Army Research, Development, and Acquisition (RDA) for ten capability portfolio areas and the Science and Technology portion of Fiscal Year 2014 (FY 14) President's Budget Request."
The May 23, 2013, Government Accountability Office report recommends that the defense secretary "direct component heads to discuss in their certification letters all required inventory review elements, as well as how instances where contractors are performing inherently governmental functions were resolved."
The May 23, 2013, Government Accountability Office report finds that the "Navy's analysis of costs and benefits regarding Naval Station Mayport demonstrated some best practices and minimally addressed other requirements."
The Defense Department's May 2013 biannual Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness Plan Status Report "details progress made toward improving business systems, controls and processes across all functional areas and achieving audit-ready financial statements."
In a May 21, 2013, letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, 122 House lawmakers call for funding for the upgrading of the M1A1 Abrams tanks that the National Guard uses.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
In a May 22, 2013, statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces it has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to South Korea for F-35 aircraft weapons and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $793 million.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services intelligence, emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
On May 21, 2013, the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee released a draft mark for its portion of the fiscal year 2014 defense authorization bill.
The May 17, 2013, memo "establishes a Navy component commander for U.S. Northern Command, which had not previously had a Navy component commander."
The Pentagon is seeking $6.4 billion in additional weapons procurement spending in fiscal year 2014 as part of a $79.4 billion overseas contingency operations spending request the Obama administration sent to lawmakers on May 17, 2013.
The May 17, 2013, memo from Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale seeks congressional approval to shift $8.9 billion among various fiscal year 2013 Defense Department accounts.
In a May 20, 2013, statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces it has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Netherlands for the continuation of a continental United States (CONUS)-based Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 Formal Training Unit and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $191 million.
The Defense Department has provided Congress two reprogramming requests totaling $9.6 billion, according to a cover letter sent to lawmakers on May 17, 2013, by Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale.
In an April 17, 2013, report to Congress, the Army states it will cut its manned aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance fleet by more than half and will focus its efforts on modernizing its existing platforms and sensors rather than procuring new systems as part of its aerial ISR strategy for 2020.
In a May 8, 2013, statement of work, the Navy anounces it plans to have a hardware critical design review for its Air and Missile Defense radar just 11 months after awarding the engineering and manufacturing design contract, with a software and systems review 16 months after the contract award.
The May 16, 2013, report updates the 2007 "Next-Generation Integrated Power Systems Technology Development Roadmap" and notes that "now is the time to take advantage of the planning time horizon and begin to influence technology developments to support out-year ships."
On May 14, 2013, the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommitte held a hearing on Marine Corps modernization issues. Includes the joint prepared testimony of Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley and Marine Corps Combat Development Command chief Lt. Gen. Richard Mills.
On May 16, 2013, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the law of armed conflict, the use of military force and the 2001 authorization for use of military force. Includes the prepared joint testimony of acting Defense Department Counsel Robert Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Michael Sheehan, Joint Staff Deputy Director for Special Operations/Counterterrorism (J-37) Maj. Gen. Michael Nagata and Joint Chiefs Legal Counsel Brig. Gen. Richard Gross. Also includes the prepared testimony of Georgetown University Law Center Prof. Rosa Brooks; South Texas College of Law Prof. Geoffrey Corn; Harvard Law School Prof. Jack Goldsmith; Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch; and Charles Stimson, manager of the National Security Law Program at The Heritage Foundation.
The May 17, 2013, Government Accountability Office report finds that the Defense Department's continuing efforts to set up a business enterprise architecture and modernize its business systems and processes still faces "long-standing challenges."
The purpose of the May 7, 2013, memo is to "establish the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Managers' Internal Control Program (MICP) reporting requirements and procedures for Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) principal officials (OPOs) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) echelon 2 commands."
The purpose of the May 8, 2013, memo is to "issue the revised required operational capabilities (ROC) and the projected operational environment (POE) for Tactical Air Control Group (TACGRU) ONE."
On May 17, 2013, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey held a briefing at the Pentagon.
The April 2013 Air Force report contends that using the RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft would be less expensive for the service to conduct a variety of high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance missions than using the U-2 spy plane.
In a May 13, 2013, letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, call on hagel to deny the Air Force's efforts to wiggle out of a congressional mandate to purchase the remaining three aircraft due to come off the Global Hawk production line.
In a May 9, 2013, Advance Planning Briefing To Industry, the Air Force division in charge of simulator training for legacy aircraft lays out its vision for dramatically expanding distributed mission operations training across the service's mobility platforms and bases, which would allow crews at different sites and flying different platforms to remotely connect with each other for training exercises.
The May 16, 2013, Government Accountability Office report finds that "additional information [is] needed to improve military departments' strategies for corrosion prevention and control."
The annual report -- required by law, dated April 2013 and released May 14, 2013 -- finds that the quality of cost estimates prepared by the services for major weapon systems is improving.
In an April 19, 2013, guidance memo, the Pentagon issues new guidelines to enable the developmental testing community to better develop a "robust cybersecurity" strategy.
In a May 6, 2013, memo, members of the Reserve Forces Policy Board urge Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to include National Guard and Reserve priorities in the ongoing Strategic Choices and Management Review, seeking more directly than before a comparison with the active-duty military in the face of shrinking budgets.
The March 12, 2013, report states that the Defense Department is engaging in a number of activities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its business operations in addition to updating its strategic management plan.
The May 15, 2013, Government Accountability Office report finds that "GAO's analysis of resources devoted to the Department of Defense's (DOD) geographic combatant commands shows that authorized military and civilian positions and mission and headquarters-support costs have grown considerably over the last decade due to the addition of two new commands and increases in authorized positions at theater special operations commands."
In a May 15, 2013, statement, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces it has notified Congress of a pair of possible Foreign Military Sales to Oman and Qatar for two AN/AAQ-24(V) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Systems and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support to each country for an estimated cost of $100 million and $110 million, respectively.
On May 7, 2013, the Defense Department forwarded to Congress a second package of legislative proposals to be considered along with the Pentagon's fiscal year 2014 spending request, including a request to extend the Defense Exportability Features (DEF) pilot program -- which began in FY-12 and is set to terminate at the end of FY-14 -- from FY-15 to FY-20.