In an April 7, 2020 statement, Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he accepted acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's resignation in the wake of Modly's remarks regarding the firing of the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
Documents
April 07, 2020
In an April 6, 2020 letter, Air Force Research Laboratory Commander Brig. Gen. Evan Dertien tells Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) AFRL is making changes to existing contracts to maximize teleworking and ensure mission-essential personnel can continue their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an April 7, 2020 notice, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announces it will hosting a virtual "proposal day" in support of the Army's Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution program.
The April 1, 2020 Navy memo from the service's chief information officer "provides amplifying guidance on the acceptable use of the Department of the Navy IT; i.e., Government Furnished Equipment."
April 06, 2020
On April 6, 2020 the Defense Department issued a fact sheet on the rationale for U.S. nuclear weapons.
The April 2, 2020 Congressional Research Service report discusses issues for lawmakers regarding "three new ship-based weapons being developed by the Navy -- solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the gun-launched guided projectile (GLGP), also known as the hypervelocity projectile (HVP)."
The April 2, 2020 Congressional Research Service report discusses U.S. military support to civil authorities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 3, 2020 the Defense Department issued a statement on its effort "to aggressively partner with the defense industry to mitigate impacts from the COVID-19 national emergency."
April 03, 2020
The April 3, 2020 Congressional Research Service report discusses "the funding, authorities, and descriptions of potential ways [the Defense Department] might further contribute" to "support the U.S. government's domestic response" to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The April 3, 2020 Defense Department document features answers to frequently asked questions about implementing new guidance to increase progress payments to contractors during the COVID-19 crisis.
In an April 3, 2020 notice, the Army Corps of Engineers is seeking capability statements from potential vendors for an unmanned ground vehicle with autonomous capabilities.
April 02, 2020
The undated executive summary of a report sent to lawmakers breaks down what U.S. Indo-Pacific Command requires to meet the Pentagon's call to shift to a period of great power competition with countries like Russia and China under the National Defense Strategy.
In an April 1, 2020 letter to officials at the Small Business Administration marked "for official use only," Defense Innovation Unit Director Michael Brown writes the coronavirus has put non-traditional defense suppliers "under intense pressure."
On April 2, 2020 House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) released a standalone Pentagon reform bill he hopes to include in the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill. Includes a fact sheet as well as the legislation.
In a March 31, 2020 letter to leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, as well as other congressional panels, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Professional Services Council ask lawmakers to delay implementation of Part B of Section 889 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The April 2, 2020 Defense Department inspector general's report "determine[d] whether the DOD has secured and accounted for U.S. military equipment retrograded from Syria."
The April 2, 2020 Government Accountability Office report found that the Defense Department "took about four years to award 21 new utility services contracts between 2016 and 2018. DOD, however, did not track the total time to award these contracts or systematically collect lessons learned."
The March 31, 2020 Defense Department inspector general's report determined "whether the U.S. Air Force effectively planned, designed, and constructed Air Base 201 in Niger to provide airfield and base support infrastructure in support of U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) operations."
April 01, 2020
In an April 1, 2020 letter to the Pentagon, several Ohio lawmakers, led by Rep. Mike Turner (R), request better COVID-19 guidance be provided to the defense industrial base, especially those working at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
In a pair of March 31, 2020 memos, Kim Herrington, the Defense Department's acting principal director for defense pricing and contracting, issues new guidance to allow "maximum flexibility" to award emergency contracts for commercial products and services in preparation for a "significant number of new awards" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Determining and Making Commercial Item Procurements to Respond to COVID-19