The Wrap: DOD’s New Drone Boss; DOGE’s Quiet Exit; OPM Dumps Paper - EUROPE SAYS
Welcome to The Wrap for Thursday, July 2!From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is establishing a. . .
Welcome to The Wrap for Thursday, July 2!From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is establishing a newdrone bossto serve as the Defense Department’s (DOD) single integrator for unmanned and autonomous systems – because the drone lane needed an air traffic controller. The new direct reporting portfolio manager for unmanned offensive and defensive systems, or DRPM-UxS, will oversee development, procurement, fielding, sustainment, and operations across all military domains. Hegseth’sJune 29 memosays adversaries are producing millions of unmanned systems each year, while the United States has been slow to field them at scale. The office will have authority over small unmanned aerial systems, surface vessels, underwater vessels, ground systems, autonomy, artificial intelligence, swarming software, counter-drone systems, and related marketplaces. The clock is already ticking: DOD must hire staff within 30 days, submit an org chart within 60 days, and deliver a departmentwide inventory and implementation plan within 90 days. The White Housedoes not plan to issue afinal reportbefore theDepartment of Government Efficiency(DOGE) reaches its scheduled July 4 expiration date, despite bipartisan pressure from lawmakers for one last accounting. Exit interview? Apparently not on the calendar. During a June 30 House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing, lawmakers pressedOffice of Management and BudgetDirector Russell Vought on whether Congress would receive documentation detailing DOGE’s accomplishments, spending reductions, or operating costs. Vought’s answer: No plans for a closing report. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. , also questioned DOGE-driven civilian workforce reductions, saying “the chainsaw apparently went a little too deep” as some agencies look to rehire. Vought argued that DOGE’s work already shows up across appropriations and rescissions. For now, the only public accounting isDOGE. gov,which says the initiative saved $215 billion – with posted receipts accounting for roughly 30% of claimed savings. TheU. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)ended paper retirement processing for more than 95% of Federal retirement applications, closing the book on one of government’s longest-running paper chases. OPMannouncedits “Last Day of Paper” on July 1, saying nearly all retirement applications are now submitted and processed electronically through the Online Retirement Application system. The shift gives retirees, agency human resources offices, payroll providers, and OPM a single electronic record throughout the process, replacing the old mail-it-around-the-country routine. OPM Director Scott Kupor said that era is over, and the agency says the online system has processed more than 155,000 applications in the past year. New features include a pre-retirement application, earlier processing while final payroll information is still pending, and a pledge to issue a retiree’s first pension payment within seven days when a complete package is submitted by the separation date. Goodbye paper, hello pension speed run. TheNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)releasedupdated system-plan guidancethat expands beyond security documentation to cover privacy and cybersecurity supply chain risk management. The revised guidance – titledDeveloping Security, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Plans for Systems– consolidates how organizations develop and maintain key risk management documentation for information systems. In plain English: NIST wants agencies to think bigger, connect the dots earlier, and keep their paperwork from gathering too much dust. The guidance says system plans should capture assets, authorization boundaries, interconnected systems, data flows, responsible personnel, environments, and risk controls. It also points agencies and contractors toward machine-readable data formats that can feed governance, risk, and compliance tools; SOAR platforms; and SIEM systems. NIST said those dashboards can support “near real time” risk decisions and reduce reliance on static documentation. Templates are also included for security, privacy, and C-SCRM plans. Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we’ll bring you more tomorrow. Until then, please check the MeriTalk breaking news websitethroughout the dayfor the latest on government IT people, progress, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar (with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents) atnewsstaff@meritalk. com. Tags:Dødpentagonpete hegsethSecretary of Defense