Precision Public Relations for Aerospace, Defense, and Veterans Affairs
Posts tagged Defense
Compensation, Retirement Panel could re-define way of ‘supporting the troops.’
February 18, 2013
by John Grady
John Grady, Special Correspondent
While Congress is taking a “much needed break” from doing anything about the across-the-board budget cuts in federal spending that are to kick in March 1 or pass a defense spending bill by the end of March, the administration is wrapping up its budget submission for the next year that reduces the proposed military and civilian pay raise to 1 percent and promises another struggle over ways to contain skyrocketing personnel, medical and retirement costs.
And this time, the Defense Department may have new allies on Capitol Hill, including the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in holding down costs of “supporting the troops.” Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon was quoted last week as saying, “We are going to have to look at health care,” now topping $53 billion annually. We are going to have to look at retirement,” questioning the fairness of having to serve More >
Major changes in store for the ground forces in new defense budget
January 26, 2012
by John Grady
John Grady is a ScoutComms Special Correspondent
The Army is reviewing how many Brigade Combat Teams it will need in the future and how it will be organized as the fiscal year 2013 budget plan heads to Congress next month. It certainly will not need the 42 it now has and the service is already pulling two of its four BCT’s from Europe and their colors are likely to be cased as the department emphasizes Asia/Pacific and the Middle East.
The leaders of the Department of Defense and the Army have made it clear in the last two days that one of the largest bill payers in the budget cuts will be ground personnel numbers. The largest personnel cuts in the future will come from the active Army and Marine Corps, which will drop to 490,000 and 182,000 respectively.
While their force structure in Asia/Pacific will likely be stable, what these soldiers More >
New strategic guidance leaves as many questions as answers
January 6, 2012
by John Grady
John Grady is a ScoutComms Special Correspondent
President Barack Obama announces a new defense strategy at the Pentagon on January 5, 2012 surrounded by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter, the military chiefs and service secretaries. (Official White House photo)
President Barack Obama in announcing the new Defense Strategic Guidance Jan. 5 offered few specifics on what it means to the federal budget for the coming fiscal year, but it was clear that the size of the active-duty components of the Army and the Marine Corps were coming down – perhaps earlier than projected.
The personnel cuts, expected to start in 2015, will be used to pay for future investments in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyberspace, counter-terrorism, to build up air and naval forces in the Pacific and Asia and to maintain “the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny us More >
The Scout Report 47th Edition
January 2, 2012
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
January 2, 2012
Happy New Year to all of our readers! We have some really interesting stuff planned for 2012 that we think you will enjoy from new products to original reporting and events that will help build a better understanding of defense and veterans issues. These past holidays didn’t slow things down and produced a slew of big sales for U.S. defense manufacturers that should brighten the 2012 outlook quite a bit. Meanwhile the presidential campaign kicks off this week and will suck the oxygen out of much of the national conversation for months to come. We encourage you to use the social network sharing buttons above to share the Scout Report with your friends and followers.
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The week ahead:
Themes: More >
The Scout Report 42nd Edition
December 16, 2011
by Fred Wellman
The Scout Report 42nd Edition:
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers! We are truly thankful to have so many of you supporting our efforts. We encourage you to share this on your social networks and with your colleagues. This last week also marks the one year anniversary of ScoutComms founding. We are proud to have built a firm that is making a difference for our clients and informing our subscribers. This edition has some really good stories to read ranging from revolutionary uses for iPhones by soldiers, passage of a new jobs bill for veterans and the military’s use of social media to counter enemy propaganda.
The week ahead:
Themes: The Super Committee has likely failed so this short week will be all about who is to blame and a mad scramble to stave off the More >
The Scout Report 45th Edition
December 12, 2011
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
December 12, 2011
It was a rough weekend for ScoutComms with yet another loss by our beloved Army football team to storied rival Navy. It was a heck of a fight this time at least. We have made some more tweaks to the Scout Report dropping the opening summary section so you can get right to the stories. There is a lot to check out this week so take your time and please sign up to get this directly to your email on Monday mornings at http://bit.ly/ScoutReportSubscribe. We would love you to visit our homepage as well to learn more about what ScoutComms can do for your team at www.ScoutCommsUSA.com .
The week ahead:
Themes: Congress is close to coming up with an omnibus spending bill to keep the government functioning in the new fiscal More >
The Scout Report 44th Edition
December 5, 2011
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis…and Beat Navy
December 5, 2011
This was one of those weeks where the hardest part was cutting down the long list of fascinating stories to choose from to paint a picture of what is going on in the aerospace, defense and veterans’ sectors. We recommend you follow our Twitter feed, @ScoutComms, to catch any stories we leave out of the Scout Report. Most importantly this week is the upcoming Army-Navy game at FedEx field in Landover, Maryland where the Army will finally break a nine year losing streak and stop embarrassing all of us grads! BEAT NAVY!
The week ahead:
Themes: There seems to be a lull in the budget battle right now as Congress tries to figure a way out of the hole they have dug themselves with the super committee failure. The departure from Iraq More >
The Scout Report 43rd Edition
November 28, 2011
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
November 28, 2011
The week ahead:
Themes: The Super Committee failed officially so Washington will be a burst of activity to stave off the sequestration in between blame game antics. There are two very interesting hearings this week on the controversial Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business certification program at VA and a look at mental health care programs for vets.
Tradeshows:
Society of Military Engineers Small Business Conference (28-30 Nov) National Harbor, MD
The SAME Small Business Conference for DOD Engineering, Construction and Environmental Programs provides business leaders an opportunity to identify key contracting partners, learn of upcoming projects and opportunities and generate new business. The Small Business Conference has grown in both size and influence over the past few years. Boasting an audience of more than 1,800 attendees and with More >
The Scout Report 41st Edition
November 17, 2011
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
Dubai Airshow is rolling in the UAE; Dover Air Force Base mortuary is the newest military war scandal for the media; Veterans Day meant a lot of talk on vet issues with a heavy focus on unemployment while everyone rolls out their own solution to the issue in a thundering herd while the consolidations in the defense industry are rolling with GD buying vehicle maker Force Protection.
The week ahead:
Themes: The consensus is that the Super Committee won’t be pulling it off so the battle to stop the mandatory defense cuts is already starting. The Washington Post smells a story so it’s wall-to-wall on Dover Mortuary problems and we expect to see the politicians joining the outcry next. The biggest Dubai Airshow ever is in full swing hopefully news of some more big deals for aerospace companies More >
The Scout Report 40th Edition
November 17, 2011
by Fred Wellman
Military, Veterans and Defense Industry Issues and Analysis
Another general commits career suicide with inopportune comments to a reporter as Army Major General Peter Fuller gets fired Friday. Veteran unemployment went up again and the Senate takes on hiking the role of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to a member of the Joint Chiefs while the tech crowd is busy in town with DC Week 2011.
The week ahead:
Themes: Folks are losing faith that the Supercommittee will pull off a grand bargain so expect to see movement in alternative measures to avoid the big sequestration. It’s DC Week as well so lots of tech talk in Washington’s version of South-by-Southwest.
Tradeshows:
No major shows this week however the Dubai Airshow kicks off next week.
Congress: The Senate is in session this week except for Friday, Veterans Day. The More >