Former Air Force Secretary Michael Donley is leading the Defense Department’s organizational review that will make recommendations on how to implement staff reductions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense to achieve efficiencies. Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter has asked Donley to submit his findings and recommendations by the end of September, according to an Aug. 26 memorandum from Carter to Pentagon leadership. The review will help OSD achieve a 20-percent reduction in its headquarters budget between Fiscal 2015 and Fiscal 2019 and further consolidate functions within OSD, including eliminating positions, states the memo. Donley, the longest serving Air Force Secretary, stepped down from the position in June.
Lawmakers want to expand oversight of artificial-intelligence enabled automated systems to include those the Pentagon uses in planning operations, developing targets or that might recommend what to strike.