Forest Service Plans to Carry Out Major Reorganization with or without Approval From Congress
The U.S. Forest Service announced a sweeping reorganization that will relocate its headquarters to Salt Lake City and close 57 of its 77 research facilities along with all nine regional offices. About 500 employees—roughly 1.5% of its 30,000‑strong workforce—are expected to move, while unions estimate up to 6,500 staff could be affected by the headquarters shift and 2,700 by research center closures. The FY 2027 budget proposes cutting 800 of the agency’s 1,110 research‑scientist positions, effectively zeroing out R&D funding. Agency chief Tom Schultz says the plan will proceed with or without congressional approval, emphasizing a focus on field operations over facility overhead.
Wildland Firefighters on Track for 25% Hazard Pay Boost for Prescribed Burns
The Office of Personnel Management has issued proposed regulations that would grant a 25% hazard‑pay increase to federal wildland firefighters performing prescribed‑burn operations. Currently, hazard pay is only available for uncontrolled wildfires, despite similar health and safety risks in controlled...
Fewer Federal Workers, Same Mission: Why AI Is the Productivity-First Technology Critical to Agency Operations and Efficiency
The federal government is confronting a shrinking workforce—317,000 employees departed in 2025—while still tasked with delivering services. Budget pressures have limited overall spending cuts, but IT outlays rose to $126 billion in 2024, prompting agencies to turn to artificial intelligence for...
The Tactical Edge Is Now: Deploying AI and Communications in Disconnected Environments
Federal IT modernization has long prioritized cloud‑centric, multi‑cloud solutions, but field operations often lose connectivity, forcing a shift to resilient edge architectures. The article argues that graceful degradation—designing systems to shed complexity and keep core functions alive—is the defining metric...
DC3 Making Better Sense of Its Cyber Data
The Defense Department Cyber Crime Center (DC3) is widening its Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity program, adding more prime contractors and subcontractors and boosting daily data inflows. To tame the surge, DC3 is deploying a data‑mesh fabric with metadata tagging, zero‑trust...
A Big Refund Feels Good, but Getting More of Your Money Throughout the Year May Feel Better
The interview with Mike Meese, president of Armed Forces Mutual, emphasizes that large tax refunds often signal over‑withholding and should be treated as missed cash flow rather than a windfall. He advises using refunds to eliminate high‑interest credit‑card debt, build...
OPM Adds Cybersecurity Jobs to Tech Force Hiring Program
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has expanded its Tech Force hiring program to include cybersecurity specialists, adding to existing roles for software engineers, data scientists and product managers. The initiative aims to fill temporary two‑year positions that protect critical...
DoD Moves to End Most Collective Bargaining Agreements
The Department of Defense announced it will terminate the majority of its collective bargaining agreements within 24 hours, citing compliance with presidential executive orders 14251 and 14343. Secretary Pete Hegseth directed undersecretary Anthony Tata to issue supplemental guidance and ensure...
The Myth of the CMMC “Easy Button:” Why Shortcuts Usually Collapse Under Scrutiny From a Third-Party Assessor
Defense contractors face intense pressure to meet CMMC Level 2 requirements on compressed timelines, turning what was once a planning exercise into a contractual mandate. The article warns that shortcuts—such as relying on shared multi‑tenant environments or skipping a proven reference...
The Transparency Tax: The Cost of Not Knowing What’s in Your Software
The article introduces the "transparency tax," the hidden operational cost organizations incur when they lack continuous visibility into the components of their software. It cites past supply‑chain attacks—such as Log4Shell, which averaged over $90,000 in incident‑response costs—to illustrate how manual...
Most DoD Joint Bases Stumbling on Facility Sustainment, Raising Flags for Readiness and Accountability
The Government Accountability Office reports that the Department of Defense’s 12 joint bases are receiving only about 57% of the funding needed for facility sustainment, far below the 90% target. Eleven bases fell short of the goal, leading to deteriorating...
It’s Tax Day and the IRS Is Offering More Help to Extension Filers
On tax day, the IRS announced extended in‑person assistance, adding Saturday hours at Taxpayer Assistance Centers and lengthening weekday service through April 30 for taxpayers who filed extensions. Meanwhile, Congress moved to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative Act through 2034, and...
Nervous About the Market? What Federal Employees Should Be Thinking About Right Now
Federal employees are confronting market volatility as their Thrift Savings Plan shifts from accumulation to a source of retirement income. While a pension and Social Security provide a baseline, the remaining “gap” forces careful withdrawal timing and asset allocation. The...
DIA Stands up Digital Modernization Accelerator to Scale AI
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) launched a year‑long Task Force Sabre to break down siloed AI projects and prove rapid acquisition using Other Transaction Authority (OTA). After executing six OTAs—one in just 40 days—the agency formalized the effort by creating...
Archives’ Information Security Office Tackles AI and CUI
The National Archives’ Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) is confronting the rise of AI in managing Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Director Michael Thomas highlighted both risks—such as AI‑driven data aggregation that could aid adversaries—and opportunities, like using large‑language models to...