WASHINGTON – With furloughs now in full swing and many Defense Department civilian employees finding themselves with more time on their hands but less money in their pockets, morale, welfare and recreation officials are encouraging them to check out some of the programs offered right where they work. Every military service provides fitness, recreational and educational services,…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) – The Defense Department continues working toward its goal of ensuring the mission is met with fully qualified and capable personnel, regardless of gender, the Pentagon’s director of officer and enlisted personnel management said here yesterday. Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee subcommittee hearing on women in service, Juliet Beyler said the services and…

WASHINGTON (AFPS) – If sequestration continues into fiscal year 2014, the Defense Department will be forced to consider involuntary reductions-in-force for the civilian workforce, draconian cuts to military personnel accounts and a virtual halt to military modernization, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a letter to Senate leaders today. The senators had requested detailed information on how…

WASHINGTON – Beginning July 1, whistleblowers working for Defense Department subcontractors will begin receiving protection against reprisals through a new law intended to better protect those who expose possible wrongdoing. In addition, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, contractors who report suspected waste, fraud and abuse within their company…

ARLINGTON, Va. – In light of recent budget woes, Defense Department officials are weighing resource priorities and moving toward the decision phase for the fiscal year 2014 budget, a Pentagon official said at the National Defense Industrial Association National Logistics Forum in Arlington, Va., June 14. During the strategic choices management review designed to plan a timeline over the…

WASHINGTON – Amid a spate of allegations of criminal behavior by military recruiters and service members involved in the Defense Department’s efforts to prevent sexual assaults and help that crime’s victims, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters. In a statement,…

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) – Base identification card issuing offices will no longer be able to manually correct or update certain types of personnel information in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, Air Force Personnel Center officials said May 9. DEERS is the system used to enroll Airmen and their eligible family members for an…

WASHINGTON (AFNS) – Internet posts making the rounds claiming that the Defense Department will court-martial service members who espouse Christianity are not true, a Pentagon spokesman said today. “The Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of members of the military services to observe the tenets of their respective religions and respects, (and supports…

WASHINGTON (AFPS) – Allegations of misconduct against an Air Force officer in charge of the service’s sexual assault prevention and response effort underscored the importance of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s effort to prevent sexual assault across the military. Hagel began his Pentagon news conference Tuesday by discussing the incident in which the officer was arrested by Arlington…

WASHINGTON (AFNS)  – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has eliminated the Distinguished Warfare Medal, DOD officials announced today. Instead, the military will recognize service members who directly affect combat operations without being present through distinguishing devices that will be affixed to already existing awards. Soon after being sworn in as defense secretary Feb. 27, 2013, Hagel asked…