Personnel
Space Force scrambles to repair workforce as massive budget increase looms
The service is trying to recruit at a record pace even as Pentagon officials insist civilian departures didn't hurt acquisition.
The counterterrorism czar without a counterterrorism plan
Iranian threats against U.S. targets have brought renewed attention to the absence of Sebastian Gorka's long-promised doctrine.
Hegseth orders termination of DOD union contracts
Federal court orders protect some collective-bargaining groups, but members of the American Federation of Government Employees remain vulnerable.
CIA employees will get AI 'coworkers'—and eventually run teams of AI agents, deputy says
Deputy Director Michael Ellis said the spy agency recently used AI to generate an intelligence report for the first time.
Hegseth forces out Army’s top general in ‘widely anticipated’ move
The writing was on the wall late last year, when Gen. Randy George’s deputy was replaced by Hegseth’s senior military aide.
Don't bottleneck defense-personnel vetting with a small-business set-aside
Screening a million federal employees a year has never been a small job, and it's getting bigger.
Mullin takes DHS helm as 100,000 employees remain unpaid
Senator vows reforms, staffing rebuild as he steps into his first executive-branch job.
Aircrew who died in KC-135 crash likely lacked parachutes
The Air Force removed chutes from the tankers in 2008 to save time and money.
Exclusive
Hegseth orders ‘ruthless’ review of JAGs. Some see an attempt to evade accountability
Current and former military lawyers question the secretary’s motives and timing.
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A year into Hegseth’s cuts, defense civilians report ‘degraded performance’ and low morale
And the hiring freeze is still keeping overseas civilians from taking new jobs stateside.
New science on heat is changing the future of soldiering
Suffering in the sun doesn’t make better troops.
Air Force cybersecurity chief tapped to lead Pentagon's information-security efforts
James Bishop will replace acting DCIO(CS)-CISO David McKeown, who followed acting chief Katie Arrington.
Why the US went to war without a plan to evacuate DOD civilians, contractors, and others
A diplomatic veteran cites operational secrecy—and describes how things might have gone better.
Exclusive
CISA nominee: I left Coast Guard to address GOP hold
Sean Plankey told Nextgov he was reacting to lawmakers' concerns about his shipbuilding ties.
Move over, Best Ranger; the Army’s looking for the best drone pilots
The Huntsville competition is also meant to shape the selection and training of unmanned systems operators.
CISA to furlough most of its workforce under impending DHS shutdown
The shutdown would also slow ongoing revamps of a major cyber incident reporting rule that was signed into law in 2022, acting director Madhu Gottumukkala said this week.
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Some Army civilians worked during the shutdown—and were told to say they didn’t
What started as confusion became a coverup, employees and emails say.
White House initiates shutdown process as Congress hopes to keep duration minimal
Impacted employees will soon receive furlough notices, though they could still avoid missing any time.
