Policy

Biden Holds to Aug. 31 Evacuation Deadline, But Orders Up ‘Contingency Plans’ for Afghanistan Pullout

Military, contracted planes have airlifted 87,900 people from Kabul as of Wednesday—but the Taliban is now clamping down on who can leave.

Defense Systems

Pentagon pushes ahead with COVID vaccine mandate

The Defense Department will mandate Pfizer-produced COVID-19 vaccines following the Food and Drug Administration's approval, and other agencies are expected to follow.

Defense Systems

Why the Pentagon wants to make software buying easier

This interview with Tory Cuff, senior advisor for agile acquisitions, explores the Adaptive Acquisition Framework's special software pathway and DOD's pilot experiment with "colorless" money.

Defense Systems

CMMC board chief talks assessors, IT staff

Matt Travis, the CEO for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, said proper training and IT access to the Defense Department's Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) application, which will house CMMC data, still needs to be finalized for the third-party organizations that will be charged with conducting cyber assessments.

Defense Systems

Army looks to revise cyber operations doctrine

Brig. Gen. Paul Stanton, the commanding general for the Army's Cyber Center of Excellence, said the service was in the final stages of publishing a revised field manual on how it executes cyber operations.

Defense Systems

Can tech protect R&D from foreign adversaries?

The Air Force Research Laboratory wants to assess the risks posed by researchers who may be passing R&D to foreign adversaries.

Business

Conference Wire: The Space Symposium Must Go On

In this edition of Conference Wire, a preview of the conference's top agenda items.

Threats

China’s Top Priority In Afghanistan Is Stability, Experts Say

Three miles away from the Kabul airport chaos, it’s business as usual at the Chinese embassy.

Policy

US Has Evacuated 42,000 from Kabul; 16,000 in last 24 Hours Alone, Pentagon Says

The pace is still rising; Taliban have threatened “consequences” if U.S. forces remain beyond Aug. 31.

Threats

Defense Secretary Orders US Airlines to Help With Evacuation

It's only the third time in history that the U.S. airlines have been mobilized by the military.

Policy

US Helicopters Rescued 169 Americans Outside Airport; More Ops Could Follow

Biden “will mobilize every resource necessary” to save more, but U.S. has yet to test Taliban checkpoints. Meanwhile, fuel-strained air operations resume.

Ideas

What Comes Next? A Lesson from Saigon

Rather than marking the eclipse of American power, withdrawal from Vietnam coincided with its spectacular increase.

Policy

It Really Was 800+ Afghans on That Plane. They Forgot to Count the Kids.

The iconic photo of Reach 871, the packed U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane, touched people around the world—and highlighted the dire situation now facing Afghans.