DoD Civilians Face Job Scrutiny
Posted by Java Joe on Thursday, October 30, 2025 · Leave a Comment
President Donald Trump interacts with sailors in the hangar bay of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) during a presidential visit while moored pierside on Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Seaman Apprentice Roselia Garcia)
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The Pentagon removed key protections for defense civilian workers and directed that managers move with “speed and conviction” to fire employees with “unacceptable” performance reviews, a day before the government shut down, reports The Washington Post. The new guidelines were outlined in a Sept. 30 memo titled “Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance.”
President Donald Trump spoke for nearly an hour Tuesday aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, to approximately 6,000 US and Japanese sailors, reports Stars and Stripes. During his 50-minute speech, he elicited cheers by saying he supports “an across the board pay raise for every sailor.” He didn’t mention the government shutdown. Military paychecks came through on Oct. 15, but that money may run out by Nov. 15, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
In separate incidents, a US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz crashed in the South China Sea on Sunday less than an hour apart, reports Navy Times. All crew members ejected and were rescued. Both the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, at 2:45pm local time, and the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, at 3:15pm, were conducting routine operations when they went down.
The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion to the Navy Supply Systems Command to contract for construction and maintenance of migrant detention facilities in Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah, and Kansas to house as many as 10,000 people each, reports CNN. Construction on some of the facilities is set to begin as soon as next month.
The US on Monday struck four more vessels allegedly trafficking narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 and leaving one survivor, DefSec Pete Hegseth announced on X. The four vessels were hit in three different strikes, reports CBS, and bring the total death toll of US alleged traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific to more than 50.
Google Threat Intelligence Group is investigating ramped-up attacks into a vulnerability in Windows Server Update Service, reports Cybersecurity Dive. WSUS manages the deployment of Microsoft product updates. Microsoft issued a patch earlier in the month, but the software update was ineffective. Security firms confirm exploitation attacks on their clients. Eye Security researchers believe “at least two adversaries are exploiting it since last Friday.”
Several Navy warships assigned to the Caribbean counter-narcotics mission were moved to avoid Hurricane Melissa, reports TMZ. As the hurricane approached Jamaica, on a path pointing toward Cuba, the US Navy evacuated hundreds of families from Naval Station Guantánamo Bay on the southeastern tip of Cuba. Some 864 family members, civilian employees, contractors, and pets were evacuated to Pensacola, FL, on Saturday and Sunday, says Military Times.
Customs and Border Protection is now authorized to require biometrics from all non-citizens leaving the United States, according to a final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday. The goal, reports NextGov/FCW, is to find people using fraudulent documents or overstayed visas. US citizens can opt out, but DHS has already widely implemented facial recognition entry checks and piloted exit checks at 57 airports. The latest rule takes effect Dec. 26 and removes previous restrictions against using the technology on children younger than 14 or people over 79.
DARPA has launched a prize challenge to demonstrate multicopter uncrewed aircraft that can carry payloads more than four times their weight, reports Aviation Week. Under the $6.5 million DARPA Lift Challenge, teams will compete head-to-head in live performance trials planned for summer 2026 at a location to be announced.
A panel of judges denied a request from Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to pause the work of the court that handles appeals for veterans seeking disability compensation while the federal government is shut down, reports Military Times. Collins had said funds for the work would shut down after Oct. 28, and that attorneys handling the claims don’t meet the criteria for working during the shutdown.
Veterans organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is spearheading an initiative to modernize health care operations across the VA, with priorities that include suicide prevention and opioid-free pain management, reports NextGov/FCW. The initiative is being led by David Shulkin, who served as VA secretary from 2017 to 2018 during the first Trump administration, and as undersecretary of health and head of the Veterans Health Administration from 2015 to 2017 during the Obama administration.
Contacts awards are not being published during the government shutdown.
