The Government Accountability Office has recommended the U.S. Navy fully implement the Defense Department‘s Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness guidance for the service branch’s Fund Balance With Treasury plan.

GAO said Friday implementation of the FIAR in areas of process analysis, prioritization, internal control assessment, testing and supporting documentation evaluation can help support the Navy’s audit readiness.

Auditor discovered the Navy has not fully implemented four tasks under the Discovery phase of the FIAR guidance that include to report identity document processes, prioritize of audit readiness efforts, assess and test controls and evaluate supporting documentation.

GAO noted the gaps included audit readiness prioritization and strategy implementation, as well as documentation of FBWT processes and information technology general computer controls for significant systems in system narratives and flowcharts.

GAO conducted the study in an effort to determine the extent of the Navy’s efforts towards the Discovery phase of the general fund FBWT financial improvement plan as part of a mandate to audit the government’s consolidated financial statements including activities and balances of executive branch agencies.

Merri Sanchez, Air Force Space Command chief scientist, has said the U.S. Air Force wants to develop technologies that could support the on-board defense and resiliency of space and cyberspace assets, C4ISR & Networks reported Monday.

Mark Pomerleau writes Sanchez told the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama that the Air Force is looking into technologies such as self-healing satellites, human-machine interface, cognitive electronic warfare and big data.

Sanchez added human-machine interface and big data platforms will support the battle management functions of the Joint Space Operations Center and the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center, Pomerleau reported.

Sanchez noted the Air Force also needs tools that could identify whether natural occurrences or man-made threats cause disruptions in space and cyber domain assets, the publication stated.

The Defense Commissary Agency plans to establish a new approach for commissaries to calculate and monitor customer savings more frequently than what the current system requires.

The Defense Department said Friday DeCA also aims to compare commissaries’ prices with those of the private sector through a “market basket of products” that consumers usually buy.

“We hear from our military families that they sometimes find lower prices on selected items outside the gate,” said Joseph Jeu, DeCA director and CEO.

“For the first time through this new approach, we will compare our prices with local grocers on a more frequent basis to better inform our customers of potential cost savings over stores in their nearby community,” he added.

Jeu noted the new approach will not affect patrons’ out-of-pocket expenses.

President Barack Obama’s defense budget request seeks to nearly double the annual retention bonuses of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots from $25,000 to $48,000, CNBC reported Friday.

Jeff Daniels writes Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the branch needs to retain pilots in the fighter community and the planned increase does not cover all Air Force pilots.

The Air Force expects to fall short of 700 pilots by the end of September and the deficit could reach up to 1,000 fighter pilots by 2022 if no action takes place, Daniels reported.

Mid-career pilots that agree to remain in service receive aviation continuation pay through five or nine-year terms.

The U.S. Air Force has formed a new task force that would work to reduce additional duties for airmen in a move to help troops focus on their core missions.

Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein released a memo that introduces the Airmen’s Time task force whose charter is to streamline and remove extraneous duties for air troops, the Air Force said Friday.

“In meeting with Airmen at installations around the globe, we have heard consistently that additional duties assigned at the unit level affect our ability to focus on core missions, which in turn impacts our readiness,” James and Goldfein said in the memo.

The task force reviewed the duties under the direct control of the Air Force and reassigned 29 out of of 61 duties identified under Air Force Instruction 38-206 titled Additional Duty Management.

Commander support staff instead will perform the reassigned duties and those responsibilities will no longer be imposed on all units to allow commanders to identify the obligations necessary for their specific unit.

“Until the new CSS decisions are implemented and CSS manning is healthy, commanders are empowered at all levels to consolidate CSS-assigned duties as appropriate, and discontinue non-critical duties beyond their ability to resource,” said James and Goldfein.

The Air Force will also introduce a new screening process in the fall to examine policies and determine areas that create additional duties for airmen.

The USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) aircraft carrier and its crew have completed the fifth phase of inspection conducted by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey, the Navy reported Sunday.

Matthew Sembach, senior chief machinist’s mate and Carl Vinson’s INSURV assistant, said the INSURV Phase V completed on Wednesday and included 354 checks on the ship’s systems that involved demonstrations by crewmembers on how to operate the vessel’s equipment.

“INSURV ensures the ship is still effective in its ability to operate and support the war on terror as designed,” he added.

Congress established INSURV in 1882 to facilitate inspection of naval ships and assess their readiness based on the service branch’s standards.