Veterans Affairs awarded a $3.7 million contract to SMS, Inc., Aug. 14, to provide “enhanced data security encryption” for all agency computers. The plan calls for all VA laptop computers to have the new encryption program within four weeks of the Aug. 18 start date. After that, SMS will move on to desktop computers and portable media. Sen. Larry Craig, chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, called this contract, and the one last week to provide credit analysis, “major steps forward” following the May 3 data theft affecting more than 26 million veterans and military members—and subsequent VA tribulations.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…