Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) on Dec. 13 introduced legislation meant to protect employment rights of servicemembers returning from duty in the war on terror. According to a statement from the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the measure would impose deadlines on federal agencies to assist vets running into problems and implement efficiency changes recommended by the Government Accountability Office. Despite a law that supposedly secures employment and re-employment rights, there are continued reports of problems, including reservists who say they face a “military service penalty.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth foot-stomped the Pentagon's push for acquisition speed and contractor accountability in a Jan. 12 speech at Lockheed Martin’s production hub in Fort Worth, Texas—the heart of the department’s biggest acquisition program, the F-35.
