FederalDaily - June 8, 2007
GAO: DoD Supplying Enough Body Armor for Troops
Amid a congressional debate over the adequacy of military body armor, a new government report said
the Army and Marine Corps have fixed their supply-chain problems and are now providing enough armor
for all servicemembers in combat zones. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released
June 6, looked at whether enough body armor was being supplied, and whether DoD has controls in place
to assure that the manufacturing and fielding of body armor meet requirements. GAO said the Army and
Marine Corps have resolved their manufacturing issues and now have plenty of body armor for those deployed,
including those participating in the current Iraq troop surge. GAO also said DoD tests show that the
armor currently meets theater ballistic requirements. Those tests, however, were called into question
at a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee after NBC News reported that the Army’s standard-issue
body armor was outperformed by a competing brand. Congress has asked for a new round of tests. To see
more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d07911t.pdf
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DHS Launches Academy
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced June 5 that it is launching a new DHS Homeland
Security Academy to increase graduate education opportunities for government officials. The first class,
at the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Eastern Management Development Center in Shepherdstown,
W.Va., was held June 6 and included DHS, state, local and military officials. The Shepherdstown classes
will add capacity in the national capital area to the master’s degree program conducted by the
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Center for Homeland Defense and Security in Monterey, Calif. More than
150 government officials have earned master’s degrees through the 18-month program, which is
sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said FEMA Administrator Dave Paulison. “The
NPS master’s program has a proven track record of building a national network of leaders who
work across agency and jurisdictional lines to solve problems and protect the American people,” Paulison
said. To see more, go to: www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1181075311087.shtm
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Appropriators Block Funding for DHS Personnel Changes
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) applauded a House panel which on June 5 approved a Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) FY 2008 funding measure that would block funding for a controversial DHS
human resources system. The House Appropriations Committee also approved language in its markup that
directs the head of the DHS Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to grant law enforcement
officer status, with its early retirement option, to CBP Officers, NTEU President Colleen Kelley said.
The bill also provides $27 million for an additional 250 CBP officers for port security operations
and related matters mandated in the SAFE Port Act. Despite the panel vote, DHS has declared its intention
to put in place segments of the personnel rules that were not enjoined by the courts—a course
Kelley has called on DHS not to pursue. “This decision to provide no funds to implement a human
resources program is the latest in a series of steps I hope will lead to an end by DHS to impose personnel
rules that would further devastate already slumping morale within DHS,” said Kelley. To see more,
go to: www.nteu.org
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