Digital Government
Spectrum War: Karate Road vs. Defense
In hyping President Obama's decision on Monday to allocate 500 MHz of very scarce spectrum for mobile wireless broadband services, his economic adviser Lawrence Summers said this amounted to the best use of spectrum currently used by federal agencies and TV broadcasters.
Modernization
Obama backs FCC broadband plan
But the White House doesn't identify where they'll acquire the necessary spectrum to make the expanded service a reality.
Digital Government
Congress, White House AWOL at Intrepid
Despite <a href=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/06/24/128079301/leader-of-military-s-program-to-treat-brain-injuries-steps-down-abruptly>reports by National Public Radio</a>, Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, who <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/06/bg_sutton_quietly_leaves_ptsdtbi_job.php>quietly left her position</a> as director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury on Monday, did, indeed, make the Thursday opening of a $56 million center focused on treatment of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Digital Government
Pentagon orders system to track soldiers for brain injuries
After years of criticism for not properly diagnosing and treating troops affected by battlefield explosions, Defense calls for a database that would alert physicians to check for hard-to-detect concussions and brain damage.
Digital Government
Now, Sorta UnBefuddled
I <a href=http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/06/befuddled_by_va_virtual_call_center_notice.php>wrote on Wednesday that I couldn't even began to comprehend a Veteran Affairs Department <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=72ff3c1024d9b04d43176eca88fbbbeb>FedBizOps notice</a> on Virtual Call Centers because it was written in language that barely resembled common English.
Digital Government
VA plans to provide wireless Internet access to patients in hospitals
The service could be based on Wi-Fi or cellular and would require overcoming unique hospital designs and interference caused by medical devices.
Digital Government
Befuddled by Virtual Call Center Notice
The Veterans Affairs Department <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=72ff3c1024d9b04d43176eca88fbbbeb>says it plans to issue</a> a procurement on June 28 for virtual call centers. I think this may be a good idea, if I could understand the tortured language in the FedBizOps notice.
Digital Government
Government delayed measuring rate of oil flow for five weeks
High-tech sensors could have been deployed to accurately estimate the amount of oil escaping into the Gulf of Mexico, but U.S. officials thought the deep-water well would have been capped quickly.
Digital Government
BG Sutton Quietly Leaves PTSD/TBI Job
Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, who ran the <a href=http://www.dcoe.health.mil/>Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury</a> since it was established in November 2007, left that command on Monday in a very low key ceremony, I'm told.
Digital Government
Canada sends aircraft to map spreading Gulf oil slicks
The Dash-8 jet relies on special radar, scanners and cameras to create maps in real-time to determine where oil can be captured or dispersed with chemicals.
Digital Government
The Start of Making Cyborgs Real?
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=3da082fa3b92bc8b725e56b1a450a783>wants some help</a> from smart folks who can develop new kinds of optical, biological or brain-based computers.
Digital Government
Sen. Webb: Few Grunts in Vietnam
Before the Senate hands over $13.4 billion to the Veterans Affairs Department to compensate Vietnam Veterans for exposure to Agent Orange, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has a few questions for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, according to <a href=http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,216344,00.html>this syndicated column</a> by Tom Philpott.
Digital Government
Debate heats up on the Hill over sale of public safety spectrum
Some say auctioning off frequencies allocated to first responders will not affect emergency response, but others believe it will require more equipment and increase costs.
Digital Government
There GOES the Weather
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., floated what he considers a nifty idea to finance a nationwide public safety broadband network at a <a href=http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2046:hearing-on-a-bipartisan-staff-discussion-draft-to-provide-funding-for-the-construction-and-maintenance-of-a-nationwide-interoperable-public-safety-broadband-network-and-for-other-purposes-and-on-hr-4829-the-next-ge&catid=134:subcommittee-on-communications-technology-and-the-internet&Itemid=74>hearing</a> on Thursday of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet: auction off a mess of spectrum to raise the billions of dollars need to finance the building and operating of the broadband network.
Digital Government
Navy CIO Carey Casts Off
Rob Carey, the Navy's chief information officer, said in a statement he expects to weigh anchor and move to a new position inside government, most likely by the end of the summer.
Digital Government
Where's Your BlackBerry?
That's a question that 13 employees of the Veterans Affairs Department would have a hard time answering, said VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said in a call with reporters on Wednesday. The unlucky 13 reported they lost their portable gizmos in the month of May.
Digital Government
VA faces flood of new claims and charges of a 'hostile' work environment
Tests of new work processes show ways the department can manage a double-digit increase in claims it expects to receive in the next two years.
Digital Government
I'll Pass on Djibouti Industry Day
The Navy wants to <a href=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=f2fb4464c0517ddd2713689a4b846c5a&tab=core&_cview=1>beef up</a> its networks at <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lemonnier>Camp Lemonnier</a> in Djibouti, headquarters for the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa. So the service invited interested vendors to attend a two day briefing there next month.
Modernization
Could the smart phone be standard issue for every soldier?
The Army integration directorate plans to test how the devices, a ubiquitous tool among young troops, can be used on the battlefield.
Digital Government