Hawaii Democrat Daniel Akaka, head of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has sent a letter to both DOD chief Robert Gates and VA chief James Nicholson asking for “more detailed information” on a new record-sharing agreement DOD and VA announced Jan. 24. He referred to the “glacially slow progress” the two departments have made in creating an interoperable health record system. Akaka also noted that in testimony last week neither DOD nor VA senior officials gave satisfactory responses on the joint electronic health record issue, which he said was “supposed to have been a priority.”
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…