U.S. and Afghan officials yesterday agreed to explore ways to strengthened defense cooperation between the two countries and cement a long-term partnership for the future, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday hosted Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Afghan Intelligence Chief Amrullah Saleh [...]

“The health and prosperity of our nation is due to the strength and ingenuity of our small business,” said Dr. Paul T. Anastas, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. EPA is helping small businesses by awarding around $2.5 million to 11 different companies to support new environmental technologies. The work of the [...]

The Department of Defense yesterday announced the start of the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, which will zone in on combat pay, compensation for reserve-component servicemembers, caregivers and survivors and pay incentives for critical career fields. Appointed to lead the review is Thomas L. Bush, a former senior executive who recently worked in the [...]

Federal government recruitment and hiring will be revamped and updated. Yesterday, May 11, 2010 President Obama signed a memorandum calling for federal government hiring reform. The memo calls for removing the essay-style questions in the application process because of the lengthiness they present. It also called for increased involvement in the hiring process itself by [...]

The Department of Energy is hosting its 11th Annual Small Business Conference and Expo, but this year is different from the past. The conference has a record number of attendees at the conference at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Annual Small Business Conference and Expo started yesterday, May 10, 2010 and [...]

Army Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency, is receiving praise from defense officials for his recent promotion. Senate confirmed Alexander on May 7, 2010 to lead the new U.S. Cyber Command. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: “We are pleased that the Senate has moved forward with his confirmation. General [...]

The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will hold a joint public workshop on the intersection of patent policy and competition policy and its implications for promoting innovation. The workshop will address ways in which careful calibration and balancing of patent policy and competition policy can best [...]

NASA is not just about exploring outer space: The space agency has announced an underwater endeavor that will send two astronauts into the ocean off Florida’s east coast this month to test exploration concepts and learn more about working in hostile environments. The 14th expedition of NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, begins May [...]

U.S. Strategic Command officials are urging servicemembers to be extra careful when opening emails as they could be part of a phishing scam that lure individuals to expose personal information, making them vulnerable to identity theft. Recipients of the fraudulent emails are asked to give out or verify personal information such as name and rank, [...]

Currently, the United States suffers from an impending shortfall in acquisitions personnel, a major focus area for “inherently governmental” work.  “In fiscal year 2000, there were 56,000 federal employees to manage $208 billion worth of contracts. Seven years later, there were 61,000 acquisition personnel managing $517 billion. So, while the value of contracts in that [...]