The cat’s out of the bag—or maybe not—on what may be the first DOD-wide computer security stand down. According to a report in Federal Computer Week, US Strategic Command plans on Nov. 29 to have all of DOD—headquarters, services, major commands, etc.—participate in a day devoted to information technology security. FCW picked up the news at a recent Washington-area AFCEA luncheon when Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, director of the Defense Information Systems and head of STRATCOM’s Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations spoke of the event. What exactly is entailed in this “stand down” is not clear. When FCW questioned Croom’s JTF-GNO, a spokesman said merely that “certain activities” would be employed “to strengthen network security.”
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.