Oversight
From Nextgov.com: VA seeks to turn employee-generated ideas into reality
Department puts out proposals to advance development of winning worker proposals in health IT contest.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: 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.
Oversight
From Nextgov.com: Feds delayed measuring rate of Gulf oil flow for five weeks
High-tech sensors could have accurately estimated the amount of oil escaping, but BP executives turned down the technology saying the deep-water well would be capped quickly.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: 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.
News
From Nextgov.com: NOAA launches public site to track Gulf oil disaster
GeoPlatform.com provides the same information regional coordinators use to respond to the disaster , including detailed geographic features, fisheries closures, wildlife observations and aerial imagery.
News
From Nextgov.com: Defense unable to track deployed troops' use of psychiatric drugs
The Military Health System cannot identify the soldiers taking prescribed drugs for mental illness, raising the risk they could experience adverse drug interactions when treated for battlefield wounds.
News
From Nextgov.com: Navy joins effort to track moving oil slick in the Gulf
The service deploys systems to measure currents, water temperature, salinity and organic matter such as oil from the surface to depths of thousands of feet to develop a model of the evolving spill and where it's headed.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: Senate panel denies IED group $400 million emergency funding
Lawmakers say an organization that removes roadside bombs abused its freedom from acquisition rules, made unwise investments and asked to fund projects outside the scope of its charter.
News
From Nextgov.com: Army wants soldiers' devices to keep going, and going, and going
Service asks for ideas for how to make batteries that power electronics on the battlefield lighter and last longer .
Oversight
From Nextgov.com: Laptop stolen from VA contractor contains veterans’ personal data
Rep. Steven Buyer, R-Ind., tells Veterans Affairs secretary that hundreds of the department’s contractors are not adhering to rules and regulations requiring them to encrypt data stored on computers.
News
From Nextgov.com: Institute uses ink-jet cartridges to 'print' skin for wounded soldiers
Technology could help treat soldiers who receive burns on the battlefield.
News
From Nextgov.com: Group recommends upgrading VA health system with open source
Report submitted to Veterans Administration has implications for the White House’s push for a national network for health records.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: Unplugged VA computer affects treatment of cancer patients
Without network connection , doctors could not check X-rays of veterans with prostate cancer to determine how they were responding to radiation, the department’s inspector general reports.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: VA finds bug that caused mix-up in health exchange system
Glitch that combined patient data or returned incomplete files should be fixed in May.
Defense
Army surgeon general notes concern about drugs prescribed to wounded soldiers
Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker defends overall quality of care at warrior transition units after reports of addiction in New York Times .
News
From Nextgov.com: PUFF, just like that Air Force predicts volcanic cloud path
Within minutes the computer model forecast where plumes of ash were headed, giving commanders valuable information about where to establish temporary operations and route aircraft.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: McCain suggests using military tech on Mexico border
The Arizona senator describes drug cartels’ operations in the area as irregular warfare and says the rising violence justifies a military response , including the use of technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: Senate set to consider NSA chief as head of Cyber Command
Lawmakers have held up Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander’s nomination because of concerns about the militarization of cyberspace, the command’s relationship with the National Security Agency and the use of the Internet.
Defense
From Nextgov.com: Army impressed by initial test of next generation radios
A central part of a plan to modernize brigades, radios will link units so they can transmit broadband data , including imagery.
Defense