Acquisition

Make the 1st BlackBerry FAR App, Get $500

The Problem: The FAR is a pain to access by BlackBerry. The Solution: $500 of my own money will be awarded to whomever creates the first BlackBerry app that fulfills 4 simple, key requirements. The Requirements: (1) Be downloadable on the most common BlackBerry models, (2) be able to access or download the entire FAR,Read… Read more »

Portraying Government Procurement: Is It The Media Or The Culture?

From The Acquisition Corner Recent testimony by Steve Schooner, co-director of The George Washington University’s Government Procurement Law Program, and others before the House Armed Services Committee’s Defense Acquisition Reform Panel, helped paint the picture and made valid points about how the media portrays the federal acquisition environment and the current state it is in.Read… Read more »

Federal Eye: Eye Opener: Pentagon changes line of succession

Happy Tuesday! Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has reorganized the Pentagon’s line of succession, reverting back to a pre-Rumsfeld pecking order that emphasizes civilian service chiefs and adds new positions. President Obama issued an executive order Monday that restocks the order this way in the event that Gates dies or is otherwise unable to serve:Read… Read more »

OSD Joins the Navy/Sole-Source Fray!

In the days since my last post, William J. Lynne, Deputy Secretary of Defense, signed a policy memorandum covering the use of internet-based capabilities — including social media. Because of this memo, I listened to a blogtalkradio broadcast of an interview with Price Floyd, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. During his interview, IRead… Read more »

Privacy News Highlights – Feb 13 – 28

Privacy News Highlights 13–28 February 2010 Contents: EU – Legality of Fingerprint Database to be Tested in Netherlands Court 3 CA – Alberta Retailer Ordered to Stop Credit Checks. 3 CA – Privacy Commissioner Cites Sobeys for Collecting Personal Info. 3 CA – Saskatchewan Privacy Boss Decries Denial of New Staff 4 CA – CommissionersRead… Read more »

ACQ SPOTLIGHT ON: DAU Learning Tools

DAU has wonderful online courses – they’re the best I’ve taken so far. However, DAU has amazing features that are underused. These tools go beyond the classroom and promote memory retention and post-classroom learning. Awareness of and utilizing these DAU resources will improve your acquisition knowledge. (NOTE: if DAU sites say your or the site’sRead… Read more »

Battle RATS and Quiet Helicopters

Sterling Whitehead is a Contract Specialist, Acquisition Freak and loves Star Wars way too much. He also publishes a blog called All Things Sterling. Want to give our boys on the ground the best weapons, but want them to be affordable? Well, here are a few things that will peak your interest. Battle RATS ThisRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: Hundreds of stimulus recipients haven’t reported on money’s whereabouts

An anti-hunger nonprofit based in the District, Queen Anne’s County in Maryland and a Virginia dredging company are among 389 recipients of federal stimulus dollars that have failed to report on the whereabouts of more than $55 million in economic stimulus funding, federal watchdogs said Thursday. The total amounts to less than 2 percent ofRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: Homeland Security has more contractors than feds

Happy Wednesday! Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have told lawmakers in recent weeks that it employs more private contractors than government employees, a revelation that shouldn’t surprise close observers of the department’s seven-year history. The department employs 200,000 contractors, and roughly 188,000 federal employees, a total that does not include uniformed members ofRead… Read more »