Washington pulse

April 2008

By Sandra I. Erwin, Grace V. Jean & Breanne Wagner

Big-Bucks Cyber Security Program Proposed

The Bush Administration has launched a secretive “cyber initiative” to better protect government networks. The White House requested $30 billion for the nine-year project, says Tiffany Jones, director of government relations with computer security firm Symantec. “The DNI [director of national intelligence] is rumored to be running the classified part and is delegating the unclassified portion to the Department of Homeland Security,” she said. The funds requested for the program will pay for everything from security enforcement and research and development to actual operations.

A Softer Side to China’s Military Edge

At the Pentagon, there is rising anxiety about China’s military buildup. China’s floating military hospitals, however, can be a source of admiration. The Chinese military’s new state-of-the-art hospital ship is “what I would design if I could,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Bob Kapcio, who recently commanded the USNS Comfort on a humanitarian mission. U.S. hospital ships such as the Comfort are too big, he said at an industry conference. “We don’t even use it to full capacity.” China’s is a shallow-draft modern high-speed vessel that can more easily dock in places where U.S. ships can’t because of their size.

Lawmaker Condemns GDP-Based Defense

The Pentagon’s top brass has been trying for some time to persuade Congress that the defense budget should be 4 percent of the nation’s gross national product, versus about 3.2 percent currently (not including war spending).

But with defense budgets as high as they’ve been since World War II, some members of Congress are saying enough is enough.

“Defense spending based on GDP? I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, chairman of the House Armed Services air-land subcommittee. “People see $12 billion a month being borrowed for Iraq … There are limits to what Congress will swallow,” Abercrombie said. “The American people will pay for a strong defense. But they don’t want cavalier waste. They don’t want to be suckers.”

Navy May Declassify Its Confidential Wish-List

The Navy’s super-secret “strategic plan” can be described as the service’s itemized wish-list that rarely anyone from the private sector gets to see. That may change in the future, suggested Vice Adm. Terrance T. Etnyre, who recently retired as commander of naval surface forces. The plan, which specifies what the Navy wants to buy to be able to execute its maritime strategy and concept of operations, is a classified document. In response to frequent complaints from industry, the Navy is considering releasing an unclassified version, Etnyre told an Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association conference.

Overpriced, High-Maintenance Hardware Hurts the Army

The Army needs equipment that is “cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate and cheaper to maintain,” says Nelson M. Ford, assistant secretary of the Army for financial management. “And that does not mean junk,” he told contractors at the Association of the U.S. Army winter symposium. Why can’t the Army have squad radios the size, weight and cost of a Bluetooth headset, he asked. Why should the next-generation combat truck, the joint light tactical vehicle, cost $500,000 to buy and $50,000 a year to maintain? If the commercial sector can deliver affordable, low-maintenance hardware, Ford said, why not the defense industry?

Please email your comments to SErwin@ndia.org

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